Curleys Wife
Curleys’ Wife
Curleys’ wife is a complex character with multiple layers in the novella “Of Mice and Men.” Through the story our perception of Curlers’ Wife changes without her actually changing. She is portrayed as both a villain and a victim. Through the story a more vunerable and sweeter side of her starts to show, which contradicts the first side we are shown of her. Curlers’ wife is presented in numerous ways. Mediums by which she is presented to the reader by Steinbeck is by how she is described by both the characters and Steinbeck, what she is wearing and her body language when she is with the workers, her actions with the characters and what she says (the hidden meaning of what she says).
One of the ways the reader can learn about a Character is through the other Characters description and their opinion of that character, in the case of Curleys’ Wife the first we hear of her is from Crooks, the old swamper, when he is talking to George during a game of cards. He states, “she got the eye” which shows that she is a flirtatious and an immoral woman because she has only been married for two weeks. Candy also describes her as a “tart” (a tart is a woman who dresses or behaves in a way that is considered tasteless and sexually provocative). The fact that Curleys’ Wife is introduced through rumours means that the reader has a biased impression of her.
Already the reader has been introduced to the idea that Curleys’ Wife is a “tart” and an immoral flirtatious woman. This idea is the further strengthened by 1st appearance.
Her first appearance of the story is made in the doorway of the bunkhouse, asking the whereabouts of her husband which is revealed to be a weak excuse to make interaction with the workers. She is wearing “red cotton house dress and red mules, on the instep of which were little bouquets of red ostrich feathers.” Emphasising her sexual presence with the colour red, but the emphasis of the colour red also shows danger because the colour red
Curleys’ wife is a complex character with multiple layers in the novella “Of Mice and Men.” Through the story our perception of Curlers’ Wife changes without her actually changing. She is portrayed as both a villain and a victim. Through the story a more vunerable and sweeter side of her starts to show, which contradicts the first side we are shown of her. Curlers’ wife is presented in numerous ways. Mediums by which she is presented to the reader by Steinbeck is by how she is described by both the characters and Steinbeck, what she is wearing and her body language when she is with the workers, her actions with the characters and what she says (the hidden meaning of what she says).
One of the ways the reader can learn about a Character is through the other Characters description and their opinion of that character, in the case of Curleys’ Wife the first we hear of her is from Crooks, the old swamper, when he is talking to George during a game of cards. He states, “she got the eye” which shows that she is a flirtatious and an immoral woman because she has only been married for two weeks. Candy also describes her as a “tart” (a tart is a woman who dresses or behaves in a way that is considered tasteless and sexually provocative). The fact that Curleys’ Wife is introduced through rumours means that the reader has a biased impression of her.
Already the reader has been introduced to the idea that Curleys’ Wife is a “tart” and an immoral flirtatious woman. This idea is the further strengthened by 1st appearance.
Her first appearance of the story is made in the doorway of the bunkhouse, asking the whereabouts of her husband which is revealed to be a weak excuse to make interaction with the workers. She is wearing “red cotton house dress and red mules, on the instep of which were little bouquets of red ostrich feathers.” Emphasising her sexual presence with the colour red, but the emphasis of the colour red also shows danger because the colour red