Curley’s wife is presented as a provocative young woman, described as a “tart”, who is seen as a danger to the men as she is married and if they are caught having a relationship with her they will be “canned”. We first meet her character in the men’s bunk house. She is described as dressed in all red, with “rouged lips”, “red mules” and “red ostrich feathers”, the colour symbolism of the colour red adds to the idea that she’s a danger to the men. She is described as having a teasing personality in this scene, shown through her body language when she leans against a doorframe so her body was “thrown forward”. Her teasing nature is also shown through how she talked “playfully” to George. She is presented as “purty” and takes a lot of pride in her appearance, shown through her “rouged lips” and “heavily made up” eyes. Her relationship with Curley is presented as unstable, as they are always looking for each other and never seem to be together.
