Never named — defined entirely by her husband. A victim of patriarchy, loneliness and the 1930s limited roles for women. One of Steinbeck's most complex characters.
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Mrs Rumsey · Edexcel IGCSEAnalysis of Lennie from OMAM
Key analysis
⚡ Section C — 40-mark essay: AO1 (20 marks — knowledge, argument, personal response) + AO4 (20 marks — 1930s context: Depression, itinerant workers, racism, gender). Every paragraph needs both. Closed book — memorise quotes.
Character complexity
She is never given a name — identified only as Curley's wife. Steinbeck does this deliberately to reflect her powerlessness.
Initially presented through the men's eyes: "jail bait", a danger. Steinbeck challenges this as the novel progresses.
She reveals a crushed dream — she believed a man could get her into the movies; when he didn't write she blamed her mother.
She is deeply lonely: "I never get to talk to nobody" — isolated on the ranch by Curley's jealousy.
In death, Steinbeck transforms her description: "all the meanness and plannings and the discontent and the ache for attention were all gone from her face"
This moment reveals she was crushed by circumstances, not inherently malicious.
Context (AO4) — women in 1930s America
Women in rural 1930s America had very limited options — marriage was often the only route to stability.
Once married, women were largely defined by and controlled by their husbands.
Curley's wife has no name, no independence, no access to friendships — Curley controls all of this.
Her flirtatiousness is partly a desperate attempt to assert some identity in a world that denies her one.
When she threatens Crooks with lynching, she briefly wields power — showing how oppressed people can oppress others.
"I never get to talk to nobody. I get awful lonely."
Curley's wife revealing her isolation
"All the meanness and the plannings and the discontent and the ache for attention were all gone from her face and she was very pretty and simple."
The narrator after her death — Steinbeck's reframing
"'Coulda been in the movies, an' had nice clothes...' She looked at Lennie, and she was pleased with his attention."
Her dream — the only moment of authentic connection
Exam questions — 2 questions · 22 marks
1 markWhy no name
Why does Steinbeck never give Curley's wife a name?
A Steinbeck forgot to name her during the writing process
B It is a deliberate choice reflecting how women in 1930s America were defined by their relationships to men rather than as individuals — she is Curley's wife, not herself
C She prefers not to be named to avoid Curley finding out who she talks to
D Her name is revealed at the end of the novel but readers have forgotten it
20 marksCurley's wife essayEdexcel IGCSE style
Explore how Steinbeck presents Curley's wife in Of Mice and Men. You must consider the context of the novel. (Full 40-mark question)
Hint: Plan: intro (victim + complex) → namelessness as critique → the men's view vs Steinbeck's → her dream → loneliness → context (1930s women) → flirtation as power assertion → threatening Crooks → death and reframing → conclusion. Quote every paragraph.