Curley's Wife In Of Mice And Men By John Steinbeck

The Stienbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men demonstrates Curley’s wife being so invisible that she’s not even given a name and her only identity is being owned by Curley. John Steinbeck’s social realistic novella Of Mice and Men takes place during The Great Depression in Salinas Valley, California and describes the lives of two migrant workers Geroge Milton and Lennie Small who travel from place to place pursuing The American Dream. George takes care of Lennie who has the mental capacity of that of a child who is unaware of his incredible strength. This leads to the accidental deaths of animals and eventually Curley’s wife, which results in Lennie’s death by George’s hand. George was presented with the moral dilemma of killing Lennie mercifully

Stienbeck writes George as yelling, “I seen 'em’ poison before, but I never seen no piece of jail bait worse than her. You leave her be” (32). This evidence becomes important because it truly shows no matter how lonely and desperate for affection she was, the men constantly just believed that she was trying to get them in trouble with Curley. During this time period of the novel, Of mice and Men which was around 1930’s men had always just believed a woman’s job was bare their children, be a mother, take care of the house and herself, be obedient to the husband and enforce the idea that a women couldn’t live without a man. Many men on this farm including Curley had believed this idea, which further isolated Curley’s wife as the men only saw her as belonging to Curley which meant she was not to be spoken with. Which all had stemmed from Curley’s wife walking into the men’s bunk house claiming to look for Curley, when she truly was just wanting someone to talk with. The men had believed she was doing this to entice them or get them in trouble with Curley, when they never thought to truly listen to what she was saying, which was just a person to talk with. In other words it was believed a woman was a man’s property which brought to the fact of then a man’s

Curley’s wife had momentarily expressed, “Well, I ain’t told this to nobody before. Mauve I ought’ to, I don't like Curley. He ain’t a nice fella” (Stienbeck 89). In simpler terms people could have believed Curley’s wife would not have been in that barn if she learned to obey her husband. However that would not have worked, Curley’s wife was afraid of Curley, she mentioned he’s not kind and is not a good guy. Even if she would have obeyed him Curley would have still found a way to get mad at his wife and isolate her further. To further this idea the kind of horrendous manipulation Curley used such as telling her not to talk with the men, implying if she did there would be consequences to both her and who she talked to. Curley knew exactly how he was isolating her; however he never attempted to fix anything between them, he was never a husband to her. Which in the end is what isolated her into being in that barn with Lennie ending her life. Therefore, while many could believe if Curley’s wife would have been compliant towards Curley however in Steinbeck's novel Of Mice and Men isolation influenced Curley’s wife actions due to the frightful manipulation and the systemic and rampant misogyny at the