Curley's Wife Sexism Essay

Beginning with the introduction of Curley’s wife to the story, it is obvious that she faces sexism and is treated poorly compared to and by the men. She faces bigotry and mistreatment from nearly every person that she interacts with. All of this malapropism can explain her behavior throughout the novel. The fact that almost every conversation about Curley’s wife includes a remark about how she is a slut and should not be hanging around other men, shows that the men only view her as less than human. She is called explicit names, objectified, and abused by almost everyone. She was never even given a proper name besides “Curley's wife” which only makes her Curley's possession. The way the other characters talk and interact with Curley’s wife demonstrates how sexism was an active part of a woman’s life in the 1920’s. The first time Curley’s wife is mentioned, Candy is talking about Curley’s glove full of vaseline, and how it is to keep his hand soft for his wife. The other ranchers know about this because Curley went around bragging about it, to make him feel better about himself and to assert his dominance. The fact that Curley went around telling people about

Lennie just panics because he knew he did something wrong and George was not going to let him tend the rabbits. Candy finds the body and he is upset, but not because she is dead, “You ain't no good now, you lousy tart.’ He sniveled, and his voice shook. ‘I could of hoed in the garden and washed dishes for them guys” (Steinbeck 95-96). The only reason for this is because Candy’s new dream house will not become a reality. Candy even blames Curley's wife for dying when she was murdered and it was entirely Lennie’s doing. He still needs to look down on her when she is dead and have the blame automatically falls to her. Curley's wife is not mentioned beyond this point, as everyone is caught up in looking for, and killing,