This document summarises the character of Curley's wife in John Steinbeck's 'Of Mice and Men', looking at the contributions that the character makes to the plot and how language and context shape this effect by highlighting key quotations.
GCSE Of Mice and Men - Curley’s Wife Analysis & Summary
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English Literature (4ET1)
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Curley’s Wife
- No name – depicts lack of identity of women in microcosm (ranch).
- ‘Curley’s’: apostrophe of possession male oppression in 30s USA.
- Appearance (p34): plump lips, wide eyes, made up, rolled hair, cotton dress (red colour
highlighted – death/sensuality?)
- “red”: colour connotations of danger, sensuality.
- “heavily made-up”: trying 2 hide real self? Trying to hide signs of domestic abuse?
- “Ostrich feathered shoes”: symbolism of failed dream; shoes 4 actresses. Also, ostriches can’t
fly, parallel w/ her being stuck + not achieving her dream.
- Nasal voice, broken nose physical abuse
- Beautiful: appearance p34, “purty” (Lennie, p35)
- Flirtatious – posture: “leaned against door frame… body was thrown forward” “bridled a little”
“twitched body” p35
- Flirtatious: “tramp” (Candy), “tart” (George), “got the eye” p31
- Afraid of Curley: “suddenly apprehensive” p35
- Red DANGER (highlighted in appearance, p34), foreshadowing future events
- Contemptuous; Exerting power over the weak: “left all the weak ones here” p87, “a n*****, a
dum-dum and a lousy ol’ sheep” p89
- Aware of everything: “I know where they all went” p87, “you’re all scared of each other, that’s
what”, “I like machines” p90, “I’m glad you bust up Curley a little bit” p92
- Reveals opinions on husband p88
- Racist, contemptuous and domineering to Crooks p91 – exertion of power: “I could get you
strung up on a tree”, “Tell an’ be damned”
- Backstory – wanted to be actress, “in pictures”: superficiality highlighted, fame > art.
- Only able to achieve dream is sexually available to men in power b/c HISTORICAL CONTEXT.
- Reader feels sympathy despite racism b/c she’s only bitter b/c of own failed dreams like
everyone else.
- Isolated: “think I like to stick in that house alla time?”
- Men don’t want her around: scared her flirting = fired; also scared they’ll give in to her flirting if
left 4 too long.
- Sex object 2 all, even herself: evident w/ slurs used against her; her op determined by her
appearance – sad.
- Steinbeck – “She’s not a person. She’s a symbol”: for loneliness, marginalization of women,
futility of AD for the marginalized (women, black, disabled, old); only works is white, young
male.
- Flat (only there for plot development, no name given) or rounded character? Rounded; name
really only not given symbolically.
- “jail bait”: looking 4 trouble through sexuality b/c only way for her to get attention (awareness
of being sex object”
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