How Does Steinbeck Present The Treatment Of Women In Of Mice And Men

In the socially realistic novella, ”Of Mice and Men '', by John Steincbeck, the author constructs the character of Curley's wife to explore the brutal reality women had to go through in the harsh environment of America during the Great Depression. Steinbeck, hence, creates a critique on society by delivering several examples of the treatment women in 1930s America received.

Steinbeck portrays the misogynistic view of society all throughout the novel. The character of Curely´s wife gives the reader a clue of the lack of authority and importance women had during the Great Depression , this is because Steinbeck uses the possessive noun Curely´s wife to refer back to the character, the use of the possessive pronoun implies how women were seen

This is then reinforced by the character of Curely´s wife. Curley´s wife´s dream is frustrated by the fact that she is a female, as she has to follow social expectations to be at least respected as a human being, her frustrated dreams are shown in the quotation “I coulda made something of myself - maybe I will yet”. This demonstrates how she had to give up her dream to settle down with someone she doesn’t like due to social expectations, but yet she still has some hope to achieve it, showing the cruelty and the hierarchy of society in the 1930s. As her dream is to become an actress this perhaps could explain her attitude and the way she dresses so glamorously,consequently, people may realise her presence and therefore one day she may drag the attention of an important film director who accepts to test her

Her treatment towards Crooks is poor and disrespectful, but this was the only time she had power over someone, as black people in 1930s America had even less power than women due to racial segregation, reinforced by the Jim Crow laws, their lack of power and authority was that low that they were compared to animals instead of being compared to human beings, this is shown in the novel since the character of Crooks has to live with the animals in the stable, and cannot enter the ranch like any other farmer. Therefore, Curley´s wife's power and authority were so little that she could only rule over a person who was seen as an animal, implying that the only power she had was over living beings that were not human, such as animals. The treatment she gives Crooks is shown in the quotation "I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain't even funny." This quotation shows how poorly valuable were the lives of black people as even women such as Curley´s wife that had almost no power could make his life come to an