Analysis of Curleys wife- of mice and men

Curleys wife in the book is portrayed as promiscuous by all of the characters, even her own husband who is constantly paranoid about her talking to other men. This is demonstrated in numerous occasions throughout the book when he is searching for her. The purpose of Curleys wife is to demonstrate the segregation that women felt where they were treated as possessions that should stay at home and only speak to their “owner”, she also is another of Steinbecks methods of showing the distrust that people had for each other during the Great Depression and how scared people were of each other. This is shown by how the workers react to her when she tries to speak to them, they mistrust her and think that Curley will get them fired or worse if they talk to her. This ultimately leads to her demise as she tries to talk to the only person who does not really understand the others fears, Lennie. She divulges her life story to him, this includes the fact that she had a over controlling mother, and she also had a talent for acting that was picked up on at multiple occasions. However she over steps the mark with Lennie, by allowing to stroke her hair. When she try’s to get him to stop, he grabs her, and to stop her from screaming he breaks her neck. Curley’s wife overall is a key element of the story in the way that she is a important in progressing the point of loneliness and wasted lives in the book.