Of Mice and Men is a novel which tells the story of two friends traveling together and working on a ranch in Depression-era California. This story is filled with memorable characters, one of which being Curley’s wife. Curley is the ranch owner’s son. He and his wife got married at a young age, but her original plan was not to marry Curley. In this novel, she is illustrated as a ‘tart’. A result of her flirtatiousness is that her husband becomes very jealous of the other men on the ranch. These insecurities then cause Curley’s wife to become even more estranged from her husband. When Curley’s wife gets too comfortable with one of the workers, Lennie, she is accidently killed. In this novel, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, Curley’s wife is portrayed as a troublemaking, licentious, and desolate character. One example showing Curley’s wife being a troublemaker is when George first met her, he was very cautious. He said, “She’s gonna make a mess. They’s gonna be a bad mess about her. She’s jail bait all set on the trigger”’(51). He then warns Lennie about being around her. George will not allow Lennie to spend time with her, because he is afraid that it would cause a quarrel. Later on in the novel, Crooks, Lennie, and Candy are talking when suddenly Curley’s wife appeared. Then men stop talking, and Crooks says to her, ‘“You gotta …show more content…
She is shown as lonely and promiscuous in the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. When looking at the way that she acts toward other characters, it is evident that Curley’s wife is often the root of many problems. She caused her husband to doubt his men and to isolate her. Due to her licentiousness and loneliness, Curley’s wife ultimately gets herself killed in the end of the book. Her death was a tragedy, but when paired with her personality, makes for an interesting plot for the story. The controversy surrounding Curley’s wife makes her the most memorable character in the