By Amber, Simone & Sophie.

…….AND THIS IS WHY. She is the only woman on the ranch, so she has no one else too talk too apart from men, so just because she likes too dress nicely to feel good about herself she is still classed as a ‘tart’ and ‘jailbait’ by the men at the ranch.. She was a victim of abuse and manipulation.. No proof of her actually having affairs, just alleged.. She just wants to feel loved and wanted like any other woman.. Scared of her husband Curley, but can’t stick up for herself because she is scared of what he will do to her.. Her dreams were crushed, and so she’s settled for something that she does not want.. She didn’t have very many social skills.. Like George and Lennie, she once had a dream of becoming an actress and living in Hollywood, but it went unrealized, leaving her full of self-pity, married to an angry man, living on a ranch without friends, and viewed as a trouble-maker by everyone.

No proof of her actually having affairs, just alleged…. There are no quotes in the book, to prove that she has actually had an affair. Infact, Curley is the one going to the Whore House and obviously cheats on his wife. Throughout the book, the characters go on about how Curleys wife is the character doing something wrong. Candy states on page 39, that Curley’s wife has “got the eye”. So all through the book, the characters go on and on about how she gives people the eye, but they seem to turn a blind eye on how Curley is the one shagging other women. She is discriminated against because she is a women. She is the only one on the ranch. The only women that the men have interaction with, are the hoars in the whore house, so they might not know how to treat the women.

She was a victim of abuse and manipulation….. “’Nother time I met a guy, an’ he was in pitchers. Went out to the Riverside Dance Palace with him. He said he was gunna put me in the movies. Says I was a natural Soon’s he got back to Hollywood he was gonna write to me about it.” Curleys wife then later said “I never got that letter,” Page 87 This shows that Curleys wife was used for sex. She thought she would be working in Hollywood and would be famous because of what the man said to her. It shows she is naive and innocent. It shows she is desperate and Hollywood is her dream, She doesn’t want to be married to Curley on the ranch.

She is the only woman on the ranch…. “Why can’t I talk to you? I never get to talk to nobody, I get awful lonely.” Being the only woman on the ranch means she is desperate for attention and conversation from somebody other than Curley. Because Curley is so protective over her, Curley’s wife become more and more lonely and desperate for attention. This is what eventually kills her, as when she gets some attention she doesn’t know how interact with Lennie.

She is scared of curley…. ‘I don’t like Curley. He ain’t a nice fella.’ We can tell that she is scared of Curley because she says she knows how to get around quickly and quietly. He is always looking for her on the ranch, because she is always hiding away from him, and we know this because they are never together, as they should be considering they have only just got married.

She doesn’t think anyone will listen to her…. “Why can’t I talk to you? I never get to talk to nobody, I get awful lonely.” This shows us that no one ever lets her speak, because she is a woman and this means she is a second class citizen to men. She is also talks very quickly when speaking to Lennie, as she is scared that he will not listen, just like her husband doesn’t.