Often, one’s social climate, including but not limited to the relationships that may exist in it, heavily influence one’s behavior. In John Steinbeck’s historical fiction novel, Of Mice and Men, Curley’s wife’s relationship with her husband impacts her behavior around employees of the ranch. Examples of this include her flaunting, arrogance, and sensitivity and these qualities offer insight about Steinbeck’s beliefs and opinions relating to women. Firstly, Curley’s wife often flaunts around the employees because of her relationship with Curley. One instance of this occurs as Steinbeck writes, “She had full, rouged lips and wide-spaced eyes, heavily made up. Her fingernails were red. Her hair hung in little rolled clusters, like sausages. She wore a cotton house dress and red mules, on the insteps of which were little bouquets of red ostrich feathers” (32). The reason that Curley’s wife tends to dress as described is due to her relationship with Curley. Because Curley is the boss’s son, she inherits a level of authority through their relationship. This authority results in her flaunting with the employees by dressing up. …show more content…
Steinbeck describes her actions by writing, “[Curley’s wife] regarded them amusedly…She dropped her fingers and put her hands on her hips." (78). Her actions demonstrate arrogance and superiority over the men which means that she thinks of herself as having power over the others, a direct result of her relationship with