“The key to every actor is deep, deep insecurity,” famed American actress Meryl Streep once said. This is never more true for Curley’s wife in the fictional novella Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. The sole woman on an American 1930s ranch, she initially appears to be the stereotypical image of a shameless temptress who seeks luxury and fame and ruins the life of innocent men. However, Curley’s wife’s putting down of others, fantasy of Hollywood stardom, and attention-seeking ways that lead to her eventual death do not arise from loose morals nor vanity but rather as a mask from an insecurity fueled by society’s lack of understanding and opportunity for women; she is not good or evil --- she is human.
Curley’s wife picks on others’ …show more content…
To Crooks, Candy, and Lennie, she says “contemptuously” that “‘[y]ou bindle bums think you’re so good. Whatta ya think I am, a kid? I tell you I could of went with the shows. Not jus’ one, neither. An’ a guy tol’ me he could put me in pitchers,’” (78) as a retaliation to their scorn. She flaunts that she is above their station; she does not belong in the treacherous conditions of a country ranch --- she is more than just Curley’s wife, a trophy doll caged by a jealous man. Fueled by a sense of defensiveness, she is desperate for a chance to prove herself to those who have depreciated her; yet, this very act of trying to lift herself up in others’ eyes reveals her inner vulnerability. Facing rejection again, in Chapter 5, she bitterly mourns her lost opportunity of glory and “look[s] closely at Lennie to see whether she [is] impressing him,” (88) to appease her tumultuous emotions. As a woman in the 1930s, Curley’s wife has little opportunity to escape from the inevitable domestic life; ironically, she confines herself into the very life that she despises as an act of revenge on her mother, who she blames for hindering her path to distinction. She argues that “‘isn’t gonna stay no place where [she] couldn’t go nowhere or make something of [her]self,’” (88). Curley’s wife wants to be “something,” with pretty clothes and countless admirers, under the belief that life only has a purpose when one outshines others. This is not a purely egotistical impression; more precisely, it is the mantra of a girl who has probably never been appreciated before. She is so easily swayed by the fleeting suggestion and praise of her abilities for she has always been in a narrow life inside the duties of the house. Her yearning of a vain dream and her denial of reality is not
Curley’s wife picks on others’ …show more content…
To Crooks, Candy, and Lennie, she says “contemptuously” that “‘[y]ou bindle bums think you’re so good. Whatta ya think I am, a kid? I tell you I could of went with the shows. Not jus’ one, neither. An’ a guy tol’ me he could put me in pitchers,’” (78) as a retaliation to their scorn. She flaunts that she is above their station; she does not belong in the treacherous conditions of a country ranch --- she is more than just Curley’s wife, a trophy doll caged by a jealous man. Fueled by a sense of defensiveness, she is desperate for a chance to prove herself to those who have depreciated her; yet, this very act of trying to lift herself up in others’ eyes reveals her inner vulnerability. Facing rejection again, in Chapter 5, she bitterly mourns her lost opportunity of glory and “look[s] closely at Lennie to see whether she [is] impressing him,” (88) to appease her tumultuous emotions. As a woman in the 1930s, Curley’s wife has little opportunity to escape from the inevitable domestic life; ironically, she confines herself into the very life that she despises as an act of revenge on her mother, who she blames for hindering her path to distinction. She argues that “‘isn’t gonna stay no place where [she] couldn’t go nowhere or make something of [her]self,’” (88). Curley’s wife wants to be “something,” with pretty clothes and countless admirers, under the belief that life only has a purpose when one outshines others. This is not a purely egotistical impression; more precisely, it is the mantra of a girl who has probably never been appreciated before. She is so easily swayed by the fleeting suggestion and praise of her abilities for she has always been in a narrow life inside the duties of the house. Her yearning of a vain dream and her denial of reality is not