In John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men,
Curley's wife is an Eve, a temptress. When she appears in the doorway and asks for
Curley, George makes the effort to avoid eye contact, and then hopes to dismiss
her:
George
looked away from her and then back. "He was in here a minute ago, but he
went."
Rather than leaving,
Curley's wife stands "so that her body was thrown forward," inviting attention. And,
although she seems to not notice Lennie's leer, "she bridled a little"; that is, she
draws up her chin and head in disdain for him. Yet,
Lennie watched her, fascinated. George said,
"If I see him [Curley], I'll pass the word you was looking for
him."
She smiled archly and twitched her body. "Nobody
can't blame a person for lookin'," she
said.
Curley's wife
understands with George's "brusque" words that although Curley may have been there, "he
ain't now"; and, George's repetition of "I'll pass the word you was looking," that she
is being told to leave by George, for she replies,
"Nobody can't blame a person for
lookin',"
Clearly, George
recognizes that Curley's wife, dressed with flashy red shoes and nails and lips is
trouble, while the child-like Lennie does not understand the danger of this temptress.
When George learns of her from old Candy, he bemoans, "Looks like we was gonna have
fun." Unlike Lennie, George realizes the change in men's behaviors when a woman like
Curley's wife is about. Just as he has to warn Lennie about Curley, George must warn
Lennie about Curley's wife: "a piece of jail bait.....You leave her
be."
In this scene, there is much foreshadowing of the
events to come. First, George has to warn Lennie about Curley, who is antagonistic
toward Lennie especially. Then, George must caution Lennie to avoid Curley's wife,
telling him to avoid "the rat-trap" that will trap him in a situation if she
can.
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