1. overall messsage
1.1. the struggle s of women in a misgoynistic society and how the great depression forced women into a life of loneliness.
1.1.1. only way to get attention is to use her body
1.2. a comment on human nature: power is born out of weakness
1.2.1. easy to pick on curleys wife because she is weak
1.2.2. tiniest bit of power she has she uses it against crooks and it feels good
1.3. victim of society
1.4. desperate to have friendship
2. society has made her
2.1. be tough
2.2. never trust anyone
2.3. lonely
2.4. powerless
2.5. virginity is greatest asset
2.6. unwanted
2.7. missunderstood
2.8. temptress
2.9. desperate
2.10. flirtatious
2.11. unliked
2.12. threat
2.13. cheater
2.14. provocative
2.15. promiscuous
2.16. marginalised
2.17. voiceless
2.18. possession
2.19. trapped
2.20. objectified
2.21. jealous
2.22. temptress
2.23. purty
2.23.1. repeated multiple times
2.23.2. ranch workers admit and call her beautiful/ attractive
2.23.2.1. slim called her, 'good-looking'
2.24. tart
2.25. stand out
2.26. dependant
3. promiscuous
3.1. 'tart'
3.1.1. first presented through the biased opinion of candy, who paints her a licentious
3.2. 'she got the eye'
3.3. 'her body was thrown forward'
3.3.1. curleys wifes flirtatious behaviour would depict curley as weak and incapable of controlling his wife because they live in a patriarchal society.
3.3.2. seductive posture
3.4. 'rouged lips'
3.4.1. her first appearance in the novel seems to confirm Candy's portratal of her.
3.4.2. red lips draw attention
3.4.3. red is a symbol of passion and lust, as well as a symbol of danger that foreshadows the 'trouble she will bring'.
3.4.4. french
3.4.4.1. country of love
3.5. 'her hung in little rolled clusters like sausages'
3.5.1. simile
3.5.2. like food
3.5.2.1. like a possession or something someone picks and consumes
3.6. 'jail bait'
3.6.1. George immediatley sees her as dangerous and a threat
3.6.2. describe a young beautiful girl that men would be tempted by and enter a sexual relationship in and the man ends up in jail
3.7. our initial impression
3.7.1. appears to be a femme fatale stock character
3.8. paralllels with eve
3.8.1. she is a symbol of temptation
4. critical analysis
4.1. she is only woman on the ranch
4.1.1. doesnt 'have the eye'
4.2. she has grown up in a patriachal society which objectifies women
4.2.1. a womans worth is derived from their physical appearance
4.2.2. internalised those sexist views
4.2.3. objectifies herself because she thinks the only thing she has is her physical appearance
4.2.3.1. so she puts all her time into looking good because she believes thats all she has
4.2.4. grown to aspire to be one of the heavily made up female stars she has been watching
4.2.4.1. trying to live up to the standards society has put in place
4.3. Steinbeck gives greater attention to her appearance than any other character
4.3.1. how objectified women were
4.4. when she goes to crooks' room
4.4.1. her lips are, 'slightly parted'
4.4.2. and she is 'breathing heavily'
4.4.3. woman how every action is eroticised
4.5. Can't get a way from the heavily sexualised opinion of her
4.6. speak of her with such comtempt
5. lonely
5.1. 'I'm looking for Curley'
5.1.1. never together
5.1.2. distant
5.1.3. incredibly isolated on a ranch full of men
5.2. 'looking in'
5.3. 'she stood still in the doorway'
5.3.1. marinalisation
5.3.2. men and women are separate
5.3.2.1. not together
5.4. 'i never get to talk to nobody. I get awful Lonely.'
5.4.1. she has nobody
5.4.2. men have each other
5.4.3. reveal her real plight
6. oppressed
6.1. 'curley's wife'
6.1.1. never no her name
6.1.2. little agency she has
6.1.3. referred to by possessive pronoun
6.1.4. emphasizing her objectification
6.1.5. lack of identity
6.2. 'why'n't you tell her to stay the hell home where she belongs'
6.2.1. being near to them represents a patriarchal world where men are fixated on dominanting females in every aspect
6.3. 'they left all the weak ones here'
6.3.1. Curley's wife knows her position in the ranch
6.3.2. belongs to the outcasts
6.4. 'I could get you strung upon a tree so easy it ain't even funny'
6.4.1. power grows from weakness
6.4.2. to be powerful you need people below you and make sure you keep them there
6.5. 'you goddamn tramp... you done it, di'n't you'
6.5.1. candy said this
6.5.1.1. lack of emotion even at the scene of her death
6.5.2. this has been foreshadowed
6.5.3. petting problem lennie has
6.5.3.1. killed dog
6.5.3.2. killed mouse
6.5.3.3. killed curleys wife
6.5.3.3.1. could be portrayed as zoomorphism because lennie killed animals and curleys wife because of the little power she has could be foreshadowed as an animal
6.6. The fact that curleys wife is the only female on the ranch accentuates the woman trapped in a mysogonystic world of men
7. dreamer
7.1. wanted to make a name for herself in the 'movies'
7.1.1. this is ironic because she doesn't even have a name on the ranch let alone the movies
7.2. 'she says I could go with that show'
7.3. 'he says he was gonna put me in the movies'
7.3.1. depended on a man to make her dreams come true
7.3.1.1. highlights the limits women had over the trajectory of their lives
7.3.1.2. it is likely they were lying to her in order to be in favour which mirrors the way the weak in all aspects of society were exploited by the powerful
7.4. 'the meanness..the discontent...the ache for attention'
7.4.1. parallel with other characters
7.4.1.1. george and lennie
7.4.1.1.1. is her mental escape from a cruel world
7.4.1.1.2. dream is futile
7.4.1.1.3. only escape from the world is death
7.4.2. only time when she is at piece is when she is dead