Character Analysis: Curly's wife

            The value a person places on his or herself is largely determined by the value others give to the person. Curly is a man who treats his wife as if she isn’t his wife at all. When someone is denied of love and affection they seek attention from others. Curly’s wife is in a relevant situation, her husband over-looks her most of the time, which makes her scout for attention from others. Her personality ranges from a “whore” to a “lonely wife.” She has a complex personality with questionable intensions, but who could blame her? Curly’s wife is a women who gave up her dream of being a star to settle with a man who doesn’t really care if she’s there or not.

            When Curly’s wife was fifteen, a show came through town. She met one the actors, and he told her she could “go with the show,” but her ol’ lady wouldn’t budge on that idea, being the age she was. Later on she met a guy who was in “pitchers.” He took her out to the Riverside Dance Palace and told her he would put her in the movies, and that she was simply, “a natural.” He promised to write her when he got back to Hollywood, and never did. She hung on the idea that her ol’ lady had stolen it, and believed she could no longer live in Salinas. Her solution to her insecurity: marry Curly.

            After marrying Curly, she became lonely. She was bitter when she spoke of how she was restricted to talk to anyone other than Curly, or “else he’d get mad.” She felt trapped into the marriage, and had no friends or family there to comfort her, and support her.

            Being unhappy for so long can lead to physiological damage. Many decades ago women couldn’t leave their husbands; they had no way of supporting themselves. She had confided in Lennie that she “[doesn’t] like Lennie,” and that he isn’t a “nice fella.” Curly’s wife goes on to tell about how she could have been in the movies, worn all the nice clothes, sat in the big hotels, and had pictures taken of her. If she had gone she assured Lennie that she “wouldn’t be livin’ like this.”

          Although Curly’s wife’s life ended tragically, there was a bit of joy. She was no longer suffering the regret of giving up her dream to be a star to marry Curly. Her life of misery married to Curly was at an end. Her spirit was free to ponder, and she could finally be a star.