Explore how Steinbeck makes you feel towards Curley’s wife in the lead up to her death, and just afterwards.
Towards the end of the novel Steinbeck manages to alter the reader’s perception of Curley’s wife by portraying her in a different light than earlier on. Steinbeck creates an atmosphere of tragedy and doom in which the reader is aware of Lenny’s anxiety “and rattled the halter chains.” Curley’s wife enters wearing ‘a bright cotton dress’ and ‘red ostrich feathers’ and I as the reader already know that Lennie has an attraction to the colour red which creates a sense of painful inevitability. Her face is “made up” and her “curls” are in place… This suggested to me that she has noticeably made herself as seductive as possible for Lennie. Curley’s wife feels safe with Lenny because he beat her husband in the fight earlier on, after she worked out the lie where Curley supposedly damaged his hand in a machine “Baloney! What you think you’re sellin’ me? Curley started som’pin he didn’ finish. Caught in a machine – baloney”. I think she has worked out an arrangement to make sure that she and Lenny will be alone without interruption as she may have feelings for him but Lenny is relatively aware of George’s instructions to avoid conversation with her as well as the consequences of not being able to “tend the rabbits.” But she is desperate to talk to him “you’re a nice guy, why can’t I talk to you?” and when she is alone with Lennie she pours out her desire for more communication, although Lenny barely listens. Here she describes her dream and passion to be an actress; she shows her childlike behaviour here as she still feels her “old lady” had stolen the letter from the man who thinks that she has a future in the movies and why she married Curley and not actually liking him. But at this point despite her provocative dress sense and her sensuality we realise that she wants only to talk to Lenny “why can’t I talk to you? I never talk to nobody. I get awful lonely” and comfort him when he tells her how he has killed the puppy, “don’t you worry none.” Steinbeck has now cleverly created a more passionate portrayal, someone we can feel sympathy for. At the point where Curley’s wife offers for Lenny to stroke her hair “feel right round there, feel how soft it is” we are; as readers, uncertain as to whether this is an innocent, childish act referring to its texture or that she wants to encounter a more sexual act with Lennie. It is also apparent now, of how young she actually is, the act of stroking hair is very harmless and childlike, not what we would expect of her character earlier on in the novel. She is likened to a little girl who wants to feel physical contact without sexual trace. This also shadows how she was called “jailbait” earlier on in the novel by the other men. When they pointed out how young she actually is.
