Of Mice and Men Essay: The Longing Behind The Mask

The Longing Behind The Mask

“It would be too easy to say that I feel invisible. Instead, I feel painfully visible, and entirely ignored. (David Levithan, Every Day)” Curley’s wife is the loneliest character in John Stienbecks’s novel, Of Mice and Men. She doesn't have any friends, doesn't communicate well or has anyone that would be willing to listen to her, and because of the misleading way in which she tries to communicate she is often misjudged. Due to this misjudgement she has obtained a false reputation of being amorous. The men on the farm refer to her as a tart and avoid communicating with her whenever possible to avoid any potential trouble that she might cause. Before Lennie and George had even spent one night on the ranch, the men on the farm had told them about Curley and the unique relationship he has with his wife. They claim that Curley’s wife is one to keep him worrying constantly if she is off flirting or having sex with someone else.

As the book progresses George, Curley, and some of the other “able-bodied” men of the farm decide to head out to the town and hang out at the local brothel. They decide to leave Lennie, Crooks, Candy and Curley’s wife behind. Once Curley’s wife started to yearn for attention she decided to go out in search of some form of company. When she finally finds the group of men who were left behind she states that, "They left all the weak ones here…Think I don't know where they all went? Even Curley. I know where they all went." (Steinbeck 77). Curley’s wife is trying to make herself feel better about being left behind by making this snarky remark. She feels insecure and even though she mentions that the weak ones were left behind she fails to acknowledge that technically, she is also a part of this group. After a few more attempts at communication with the men she gives up and finally mentions that, "If I catch any one man, and he's alone, I get along fine with him. But just let two of the guys get together an' you won't talk. Jus' nothing but mad…Ever' one of you's scared the rest is goin' to get something on you." (Steinbeck 78). All of the men are worried that since Curley’s wife is very flirtatious she will get them in trouble with her husband. Because of this risk when all the men are together they choose to ignore her due to the reassurance they get from the others around them, but when alone most of the men, although reluctant at first, would forget about this “no talking rule.” In order to try and get some communication in her life Curley’s wife typically wanders around the farm in search of men who are by themselves.

One day Curley’s wife happens to come across Lennie who is inside of the barn. When she first tries to say hello to Lennie he tells her that he doesn't want to talk to her and that even George had ordered him to stay away from her. Curley’s wife replies with, "Listen," she said "All the guys got a horseshoe tenement goin' on…Why can't I talk to you? I never get to talk to anybody. I get awful lonely."( pg. 86) Since Curley’s wife finally has one of the men to herself she acknowledges the fact that since all of the men are ostracizing her it makes her feel left out. After being ignored by Lennie even after admitting this major vulnerability she says, "Aw, nuts!...Seems like they ain't none of them cares how I gotta live. I tell you I ain't used to livin' like this. I coulda made somethin' of myself." (Steinbeck 88) At this point Curley’s wife starts not to only get angry at the situation she finds herself in but regretful about her past decisions. She tells Lennie quickly, so as to not lose his attention, that she could have had the opportunity to star in movies! She also mentions that if she had never felt the requirement and pressure from society to get married then maybe she would actually be happy either by herself or with a husband that actually cares for her. Due to Curley’s wife’s obsession with wanting to be loved, the way in which she expresses this desire is often seen as desperate and flirtatious

Everybody assumes that Curley’s wife is a slut due to the way in which she communicates but no one seems to take into account what makes her act in this “way.” While talking to the men who were left behind from the brothel outing she states that, “Sure I got a husband…Spends all his time sayin' what he's gonna do to guys he don't like, and he don't like nobody. Think I'm gonna stay in that twoby-four house and listen how Curley's gonna lead with his left twict, and then bring in the of right cross?” (Steinbeck 78) A lot can be taken away from this statement, like the idea that  Curley isn't a good husband and probably doesn't express love to his wife in the way she so desperately needs. Curley is a very insecure man and due to his insecurities he chooses to limit the time his wife spends with others. Imagine always having to talk to the same person every minute of every day. That would drive almost anyone insane! During one occasion when Curley’s wife is talking with the men, one of them says, "I had enough...You ain't wanted here…An' I tell ya, you got floozy idears about what us guys amounts to. You ain't got sense enough in that chicken head to even see that we ain't stiffs.” (Steinbeck 79) Due to Curley’s wife's reputation none of the men are very fond of her. A person's reputation dictates a huge part of how they live. If someone has a good reputation people will like them and want to be around them but if someone has a poor reputation this will lead to the ostracization of the said person. Being ostracized is one of the leading causes that result in loneliness.

Loneliness is one of the most difficult human emotions to come to terms with. This is mainly because loneliness is not really an emotion of its own but a complex mixture of sadness, anger, regret, and fear. Curley’s wife feels sad because she has no one that truly cares about her. She is angry because due to the way in which she communicates, people often misjudge her. She feels regretful that she married a man that doesn't even love her. Lastly Curley’s wife is fearful. She is afraid that she won’t have any other purpose in her life other than just being known as “Curley’s Wife,” which is quite an ironically fitting “name” for her. In the end however, what Curley's wife fears the most is loneliness itself. This is why she is the loneliest character in the novel.