How Is Curley's Wife Treated In Of Mice And Men

Breadwinner, the word that told thousands of women in the early 20th century that their roles were limited to meal preparation and housework because only men were deemed capable of achieving success and earning a steady income. The early 20th century was characterized by the Roaring Twenties, which was a period of dramatic social, economic, and political change. This period of mass consumerism was also characterized by many other factors such as the Jazz Age, prohibition, the Great Depression, and later WWI. Although this was a period of change, a group of individuals who didn’t see much change in their favor were women. Therefore, in the early 20th century, women were seen as secondary to men and had little to no freedom because of their inability

In this well-known novella by John Steinbeck, Curley is a well-respected character, even though he isn’t always liked. The BBC describes Curley as “a very aggressive and violent character”. He is the Boss’s son and takes advantage of the power that he has over the other men on the ranch to treat them cruelly and pick fights,” (Curley- Characters). Not only does this show how Curley has authority on the ranch, but it also shows how he held enough power that his actions were rarely questioned. However, when we look at his wife we can see that she wasn’t respected enough to have a name, but was well-known enough to have individuals warn George of her presence by saying, “You’ll see plenty of her. She ain’t concelin’ anything. I never saw anyone like her. She got the eye goin’ all the time on everybody. I bet she even gives the stable buck the eye. I don’t know what the hell she wants,”

Not only were most women uneducated, but if a woman was educated, she likely attended a women’s college that lacked resources. However, most women didn’t have access to these colleges, so instead, they worked in factories for close to 50 hours a week. The conditions in these factories were grueling; women were crowded in moldy rooms with large machinery, no sanitary restrooms, and no protective equipment. Although many groups of lower-class men also worked in similar conditions, women and small children were taken advantage of. Their small and delicate hands were perfect for dangerous textile machinery and many were too scared to question their hourly wages, which meant that they were taken advantage of. Propel HR writer Lee Yarborough states, “Not only were job opportunities limited, but the pay disparity was great. In factories, male workers in 1920 started at 40 cents per hour, while women started at 25 cents,” (Yarborough). Imagine waking up every morning knowing that you would have to work twice as hard as men for the same amount of time, just to come home to everyday household chores and take care of your children. And while doing this, you are barely making enough money to