What is the importance of the role of Curleys Wife in “Of Mice and Men?”?
She is the downfall of the Dream- it is because of her (or, rather, because Lennie kills her) that the dream dies. Curley’s wife, dressed in red, foreshadows the danger her character gives. In her first appearance she stands in the doorway and blocks out the sun- this physical darkening is metaphorical of her darkening of the dream. The fact she has no name, and referred to as Curley’s property, shows she has no importance amongst the ranch workers but she is actually a complex character who has her own dreams (she wants to be in the movies) and her poor life quality further provides a hint to the reader that dreams rarely come true and George and Lennie’s American Dream will fail as her dream was a complete failure. Like Crooks, she craves attention but when Lennie gives it to her she panics, and this results in her death, Lennie’s death, and the death of The Dream.
