How Steinbeck Explore Different Attitudes to Women in the Novel - Essay Example

This situation makes them seek companies of prostitutes especially during weekends. Regardless, of these situations, the writer’s attitude towards women seems to reflect their dissatisfying lives. The novel seems to have expressed varied views on the attitude on women that the modern readers may concentrate to analyze. Steinbeck has explored different attitude towards women. In his novel, Steinbeck has used three different roles of women in the year 1930 to express these attitudes. According to the novel, the 1930 women only had three main responsibilities including being a mother or wife, actors, and or prostitutes, and through these roles, their varied attitudes could be analyzed.

These roles are a clear indication that women were never respected but were only considered as physically weak individuals. Notably, due to the economic depression of the period in the novel, the community only respected those who could work. In fact, those who could not perform were never even to be seen on the ranch. Since women were weak and could not work, ranch … "Ain’t a place for a girl." Only men worked in these ranches but not girls or women (Hinkle and Steinbeck 21 - 31). Curley’s wife is depicted as the main female character.

She was once portrayed as an outcast and no one would relate to her. Men at the ranch never regarded as a real woman, and they never wanted to understand. She was never considered even for work, and she was being marked absent from the start. At one point “George looked away from her and then back.” George’s action was a clear body language that suggested that he never liked her. Moreover, sometimes when Mrs. Curley wanted to talk to George and Lennie, Lennie said, “Sometimes Corley’s in here,” while George said, “well he ain’t now” (Hinkle and Steinbeck 33).

The tone used in this conversation is an indication of sadness that suggested that girls are in trouble. Women are possessed like other households. The main woman character is never named, and she is only referred to as Curley’s wife. This is a clear indication that women feel imprisoned or trapped to men. Additionally, referring to women using their husband’s names is an indication that women are dependent even of their thoughts, but are subject or answerable to their husbands. Moreover, the main purpose of women is only to be companions to men.

Women are also being disregarded. George thought of Curley’s wife as a troublesome woman, and this makes the reader to distaste her especially since she the reader feels that she does not respect herself. At one point, George said, “I seen’em poison before, but I never seen no piece of jail bait worse than her” (Hinkle and Steinbeck 17). This is an indication that this woman character is over disrespected, and this is a reflection of the place of women in this community. In addition, women are portrayed as socially inferior people who are possession objects to men.

Their insignificance is mainly depicted due to lack of recognition. However, the same namelessness has in developing the story in the novel. Additionally, as it is revealed that Curley’s glove is a ‘fulla vaseline’, it is apparent that he likes petting his wife. This can be compared with how Lennie likes petting mice, dogs, and rabbits (Hinkle and Steinbeck 31). This is a picture that Curley thinks of women especially his wife as an animal. Furthermore, it reflects that Curley intends to love his wife, but there is no indication of true love in their relationship.

Nonetheless, Curley seems to be proud of his wife especially when her wife makes other people envious of him. Nonetheless, Curley lacks respect for his wife particularly when he shows