Codependent Relationships In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

725 Words3 Pages
In the Novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, a variety of relationships, as well as the characters in them, meet a grizzly end. This is apparent in the deaths of both Lennie and Curley’s wife. Lennie’s dependency on Gerogoe led to him not being able to function and make rational decisions on his own. While Curley’s wife had no support from her husband and gave none in return leading to a lonely and loveless marriage, causing her to seek companionship wherever she could find it. Their unhealthy relationships led to their demise due to the lack of support they were receiving from their partners emotionally. Codependent relationships are unhealthy one-sided relationships, George and Lennie exemplify this due to Lennie’s reliance on George; while Curley and his wife exemplify a counter-dependent relationship due to their avoidance of love and sentimental attachment. The imbalance in affection and effort between these two pairs leads to their untimely end, Lennie being too attached, and neither Curley or his wife being attached enough. Due to Lennie’s disability, he leans on George to help him with a variety of simple tasks the readers are led to believe he cannot complete on his own. This leads to an unhealthy attachment to George as Lennie believes he cannot function without him. This is apparent from the beginning of the book in this quote, “[Lennie] said gently, "George… I ain’t got mine. I musta lost it." He looked down at the ground in despair."You never had none,