curley's wife Flashcards
summary
- Curley’s wife is the only female character who is directly featured in the novel. Many of the male characters on the ranch feel threatened by her, calling her jailbait because she is flirtatious and her husband is jealous and violent. They perceive her to be a tart because of the way that she acts around all of the men on the ranch.
- Curley’s wife is never named in the novel, which reflects how she is not valued as a person. Her character demonstrates the negative attitude towards women that may have been held by men such as the ranch workers at the time. She is only thought of in relation to her husband and is never seen by the other characters as a worthwhile individual.
- Due to this isolation and misogyny, Curley’s wife is very lonely. She seeks out men to speak to so that she can engage in conversation with somebody. Curley’s wife admits that she does not like her husband and thinks that he’s an unpleasant man. Curley’s wife is also disappointed because of her failed dream to become a movie star.
“I never……………………………………………………………………………………………….
“I never get to talk to… nobody. I get awful lonely.”
- Curley’s wife looks for company throughout the novella, but never finds it because none of the other characters are willing to speak to her.
- Curley’s wife’s statements here are short and simple, reflecting her sparse and limited life on the ranch. She is shown to use only a few words here, in the same way as she speaks very few words in her day-to-day life.
- The word awful is used like we would use ‘really’ to emphasise how lonely she is, but the word awful also shows how sad her life is.
“Her b………………………………………………………………
‘Her body flopped like… a fish”
- She died a brutal death, creating sympathy for her
- Animalistic imagery
‘I don’t………………………….
‘I don’t like… Curley’
- Confession?
- Blunt statement
- Demonstrates how, in this time, women felt like they needed to marry, even to someone they disliked, in order to:
- Survive and live a ‘proper’ life
- Or escape a toxic household
“You know………………………………………………………………………………………….
“You know what I can do to you if… you open your trap?”
- Rhetorical question
- Threatens Crooks with a disgusting and distasteful threat that is clearly not empty
- Takes out her anger and suffering on a character who is even less valued in society
‘Think I d…………………………………………………………………………………………………..
‘Think I don’t like to talk to… somebody ever’ once in a while?’
- First time Curley’s wife opens up about herself
- Loneliness and isolation
- She has little freedom and independence
- Controlled by her husband who she doesn’t even like
“Jesus……………………………………………………………………………………
“Jesus, what a tramp. So that’s what Curley picks for a wife.”
- Represents the misogyny of the time and how the other workers on the ranch viewed her
- Called a prostitute and heavily objectified
‘Rouged…
‘Heavily… lips’
made up’
- In her initial description, Curley’s wife is wearing a lot of red: vibrant colours that draw attention to herself and display her attention-seeking manner and search to escape loneliness.
- The red also symbolises the 1930s prostitution and how women were supposed to look and dress.
- Inappropriate for a ranch
‘Well, she’s………………………………………………………
‘I bet………………………………………………………………………………….
‘Well, she’s got the… eye
‘I bet she even gives the stable buck… the eye’
- A flirtatious look or an expression of desire, showing how Curley’s wife is flirtatious with the other men on the ranch
- Implies that she is undignified ‘even giving the stable buck the eye’, showing her lack of pride that she would even be flirtatious with a black man. Demonstrates the racism of the time
- Demonstrates the misogyny of the time
“I never s……………………………………………………………………………………………
“I never seen no piece of jail bait… worse than her. You leave her be.”
- George emphasises his mistrust of Curley’s wife by saying that he has never seen another woman as likely to get a man into trouble before.
- George warns Lennie away from her, suggesting that she is dangerous and untrustworthy.
- The men talk about Curley’s wife defensively and are made to feel uncomfortable by her, worried that she could get them into trouble (with Curley).
