curleys wife Flashcards
curelys wife development through out story
initial impression: promiscuous
lonely
oppressed
dreamer
promiscuity
-little evidence of promiscuity
-only woman on ranch (who else is she supposed to look at)‘she’s got the eye’
society for women
-grown up in a patriarchal society that objectified women
-encourages aspect of a woman’s worth is derived from physical appearance
-heavily made up face=attempt to live up to standards
-women were objectified and expected to look ‘purty’ and ‘good lookin’ for men yet labelled a ‘tramp’
‘jail bait’
-excuses men for their behaviour by assuming they have no control over their sexual urges
-places blame on curleys wife for being beautiful therefore a temptation for the men on the ranch
description of her in the book
-description of curleys wife gives greater attention to her physical appearance than any other character=exemplifies the objectfication of women in patriarchy
her physical actions (running)
-her action of running to crooks room is sexualised and described with ‘slightly parched’ lips whilst ‘breathing strongly’
-every action is eroticized is it possible to gain leverage without using their sexuality
mens hypocrisy of her
-they give more respect to the girls in the local brothel than they do her-even her own husband prefers to spend the night over prostitues than her=lonley
first impression of her through candy(quote)
‘tart’, ‘shes got the eye’
introduced as sexually uncontrolled
first appearances(quote)
‘her body was thrown forward’‘rouged lips’
-her posture is seductive displaying her curves
-red lips draw attention to a sensual part of her body
-red-symbol of passion and lust or symbol of danger(forshadowing)
-a wife-domesticated completely and loyal to their husband - percieved as flirtatious - depict curley as weak and incapable
femme fatale stock character
a woman’s whose beauty will be used to lure men into disastrous situations. parallels to eve. symbol of temptation
lonliness
-wife efforts to look attractive-desparate attempt to attract company not sexual gratification
shes always separated from curley(quote)
‘im looking’ for curley’
they are never together-emphasises distance between them-isolation of wife.
At this time married women were meant to stay at home to protect male work and was frowned upon if a woman was found working as it stole a job from a man that would have been provding. If she can never find her husband that she has no one=lonely. also hed rather spend time with a prostitute than her so..
margalization(quote)
‘looking in’‘she stood still in the doorway’
-a mans and womans world was separate. shes not welcomed by men.
curley expression her lonliness
‘i never get to talk to nobody’‘i get awful lonely’
-reveals her real motive which makes her sound human rather than a two dimensioned femme fatale character which she is presented as. important she was with lennie when she died because there was nothing sexual. other character could have been percieved as sexual
oppressed in society
the fact that curleys wife is the only female on the ranch accentuates the woman trapped in a misogynistic world of men and highlights how overpowering they were
her name ‘curleys wife’
we never know her name and is referred to as the possessive pronouns emphasizing her objectification and lack of identity
mens anger when shes not at home (quote)
‘why’n’t you tell her to stay the hell home where she belongs?’
anger of her presence, her wearing makeup, speaking to them is representive of a patriachal world where men are fixated on dominating females in every aspect so when shes not doing exactly as they want they get mad
when curley visits all the weak ones in his hut
‘they left all the weak ones here’
she recognises that she belongs with the outcasts
‘i could get you strung up on a tree so easy it aint even funny’
-curleys wife seeks out bigger weakness than her Lennies mental handicap, candys old age and crooks skin colour in order to feel power. steinbecl emphasizing how power grows from weakness. to be powerful you mjust make others feel weak.
when candy shouts at her for dying
‘you goddamn tramp… you done it, di’nt you?’
the lack of emotion especially by her husband highlights the lack of worth given to her and the normalisation of violence against women. lennies danger was always present and we knew was dangerous yet its still her fault?
her dream
ironic how she dreams of making a name for herself in the ‘movies’ yet shes a nameless character. represented how futile the dream is.
‘he says i could go with that show’‘he says he was gonna put me in the movies’
she depends on a man to make her dreams come true. highlight the limits women had over their own lives. she thinks her mum stole the letters but these men were proabbly lying to her in order to be in her favour. = the weak of society were exploited by the powerful.
her american dream (quote)
the dream is her mental escape. but her dream is futile and her only escape from the world is when ‘the meannes.. the discontent… the ache for attention’ leaves her face (died)
overall message
-struggles of women in misogynist society
-how the great depression forced women into a life of lonliness
-power is born out of weakness
