Similarities Between Of Mice And Men And Curley's Wife

Compare the way Eva Smith and Curley’s Wife are presented as victims in Of Mice and Men and An Inspector Calls.

In ‘Of Mice and Men’ and ‘An Inspector calls’, both authors demonstrated their beliefs and honest opinions about women and the manner in which they were treated by society. Both plays were set during the Edwardian period, between 1912 and the 1930s, where women perceived as a lower class to men; as a result of their gender. The two main victims in both works were women.

In Of Mice and Men the audience are invited to dwell on Curley’s wife vulnerability which was exploited at the hands of others, as a result of their gender and class. On the other hand we gain a deeper insight into the lives of victimised women in both ‘Of Mice and

Men’ and ‘An Inspector Calls’. For example through the character of Curley’s wife we are able to witness how the men on the ranch treated her. Whereas, in ‘An Inspector Calls’ Eva Smith’s life and her character were not physically displayed. Furthermore several characters describe her as being attractive. Gerald describes her as “pretty – soft brown hair and big dark eyes” Eva was introduced as a young woman who “drank some disinfectant, and died, after several hours of agony, tonight in the infirmary.”
Of Mice and Men was created in the early 1930’s, where the Great Depression was a transition in America which is used as an instrument to illustrate women’s lack of uniqueness, liberation and equal rights in comparison to their male counterparts. John Steinbeck uses this to a significant extent to show this through Curley’s wife; the woman with no name or identity and is seen as a possession to Curley. Through John Steinbeck’s characterisations, Curley’s wife is presented as having various complexities which represent her as not just a woman but a woman with life-long hopes and a dream of being a “star”. Her craving to become more than just a man’s wife and her longing for companionship and affection inevitably becomes the death of her. This very portrayal of Curley’s wife depicts her as vulnerable and even a victim due to the fact she is trapped and unable to choose her own path.
Unlike Curley’s wife, all the characters in An Inspector Calls are given a name or multiple names. However, the names given to Eva are representative of a concept, JB Priestley’s political views. Similarly, the fact that Curley’s wife isn’t given a name could also implement this, whereby a large number of women during this era were in the very same social predicament as her. The name Eva is likewise to Eve demonstrating how she used her sexuality as a weapon to get what she wanted, enticing both Eric and Gerald with sexual pleasure. Nonetheless, Eva was a victim of her circumstances and she was also tempted by the prospects of having social security, just as Eve was tempted by the devil. Similarly, Curley’s wife is portrayed as a temptress and is parallel to Eve in the Garden of Eden. Just as Eve tempted Adam, in the process of seeking true love and comradeship, Curley’s wife traumatized Lennie and George’s dream of owning a farm and “living off the fatta the land”.
Both Eva Smith and Curley’s wife use their sexuality as a dangerous weapon, taking advantage of the mere fact that men are slave to their sexual desires, also acknowledging that they could utilise this to fulfil their own desires. Due to this portrayal, both the women could be seen as powerful, and this ideology is in accordance with John Steinbeck’s illustration of Curley’s wife as the “tart” and “jailbait” that threatens to destroy hopes of longevity for all men. In Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck never actually reveals whether Curley’s wife was promiscuous, however portrays her as a woman with her own aspirations and lifelong ambitions bigger than just being a man’s wife. Unlike Steinbeck’s representation of Curley’s wife, Eva Smith was unambiguously shown to be a prostitute of a sort in spite of this, ironically she was a self-respecting and dignified woman, whereby she declined to take stolen money from Eric (“Yes that was the worst of it all, she wouldn’t take any more”).
The name Smith is a very common name and is often used when people don’t want to be identified, indicating that she is an anonymous human being who nobody tends to care for. Eva Smith acquired the name “Daisy Renton” when she was enforced into the sex industry to survive as she was unable to receive another job. The name Renton demotes how she ‘rented’ her body. In contrast, the name Daisy is a beautiful flower, but diminutive and disposable, just as she was expendable to Mr Birling. Though, in Victorian English Daisy also meant the eye of the day or vision. People who have this name usually have the ability to see prophetically. Eva Smith is the vehicle for which the forewarning is delivered and in naming this character Daisy, Priestley indicates the travesty that is to take place.
In An Inspector Calls women (particularly women of a lower social standing) were categorised and objectified, not only by men, but also by the other women who were of a higher social status. In addition to that, it is very peculiar how the upper class women (particularly Mrs Birling) look down upon working class women, referring to them (with disgust) as “girls of that sort”. Why is Mrs Birling so negative towards these women – towards Eva Smith? Perhaps it was because just like Curley’s wife she regarded Eva as: the bitch and tart that is a constant threat to her marriage, family life and potentially her happiness. For this reason she barricaded herself, building her own prejudice therefore allowing herself to remain ignorant. Even before Eva had spoken, Mrs Birling had already formed her own preconceived rulings. She could’ve have given Eva the chance she needed in order to survive, but yet she suppressed her of her formality and left her empty handed. Mrs Birling looked down upon Eva Smith so much so, she even thought she had the right to decide her fate and I expect that she felt ten feet high knowing that she was responsible for the demise of one potential threat.
Self-sufficient, hard working women – Eva Smith and Edna are the only working class women in An Inspector Calls. Comparable to Curley’s wife, these women were objectified-functionary. They are no more than a vehicle for sexual pleasure, and only used to satisfy the desires of men such as Eric and Gerald. Due to how these women were degraded and demeaned, they lack self-esteem and like Curley’s wife towards the end Eva sought self-reassurance. The horrific way in which Eva Smith killed herself shows self-hate. She wanted to cleanse herself because she had committed a sinful act in the eyes of religion, which tarnished her purity; therefore the only punishment she felt that substantiated for the sin was to ingest cleaning substance. Edna is a potential Eva Smith and likewise Curley’s wife because Eva Smith isn’t one woman but an embodiment of all the Eva Smith’s whose dignity was suppressed by the nature of the social order.
In Of Mice and Men Curley’s wife is an example of how the reader’s opinion of a personality can change.

The first time we hear about Curley’s wife, Candy defines her to George using expressions such as “she got the eye” he then goes on to describe her as looking at other men before eventually calling her a “tart”. The words used have a negative connotation and already, the audience develop a bias judgement of Curley’s wife as “… a tramp” and George also articulates his own prejudices based on how Candy describes her by calling her “Jailbait”. The fact that Candy uses very simplistic, conversational expressions could indicate lack of academia and ownership of language, whereby in the 1930’s (when the novella was set) many people in America at this time weren’t fortunate enough to have had parents that could afford to send them to school. So many people like Candy with little or no literacy skills had to do manual labour ranches or in mines. Without little or no education, men of this era were closed-minded and ignorant. This way Curley’s wife is described could also reflect the historical context of the novella. During this era, women often depended on men for survival and it wasn’t uncommon for women to get married at a young age, like Curley’s wife did for social security. Because of this, women were regarded as functionary, property, a trophy therefore, abused and degraded by their misogynistic

counterparts.
As Candy describes Curley’s wife: we (the readers and George) develop a bias decree of Curley’s wife as “… a tramp”. Ultimately, Steinbeck wants us to stray from our prejudices and preconceptions. He wants us to delve deeper and realise that there’s more to a person than their exterior might show. Steinbeck has a created a character for us to feel sympathetic towards. However, some feminists would debate that Steinbeck condones or even encourages old-fashioned, stereotypical images of women. They argue that Steinbeck sees the use of prostitutes as a man’s entitlement. Curley’s wife is a complaisant-victim, but also a threat to men and someone described only in terms of her sexuality. Controversially, Steinbeck doesn’t really show much to make us think otherwise, as the women in the novella are frequently portrayed as “jailbait”, prostitutes or dead maternal figures like Lennie’s aunt.
Both women were used to represent a section of young women in society, who were taken advantage of and exploited as a result of their sexuality and class. Furthermore Eva Smith’s morals and values towards prostitution left her with men not wanting to marry her as she had not been respected. In Curley’s wife’s terms the lack of attention she had received from Curley left her craving attention from others, resulting in her death. Eva Smith is an unseen character but the whole play is about her or what she represents. Does Eva Smith represent every woman of her class at this time? The name ‘Eva’ is like Eve, the first woman God created in the bible, ‘Smith’ is the most common surname in the English language. This is also supported by Goole’s statement – “there are a lot of young women living that sort of existence in every city and big town in this country.” Mrs Birling also makes judgements about Eva and stereotypes her without even knowing her –“girls of that class” The fact that she is never seen might highlight how unimportant she is considered by the upper classes at the time. In addition to the audience is left questioning whether Eva Smith really existed – all the characters see a photograph but is it the same one?
Inspector Goole had left the audience wondering who he is and how did he know, about the death of Eva Smith? Additionally Steinbeck is trying to show the plight of the migrant workers of America. However Priestly is showing the plight of working class, specifically the female working class.

By basing his novella with male figures at the forefront, Steinbeck is writing in regards to the historical context and the firmly American tradition that (to an extent) still stands. This allows him to examine the role and dominance of men post war times, in comparison to their female counterparts. Yet, both literature pieces show how little anyone, male or female, is actually in control of their lives. Nature plays a more prominent role in Of Mice and Men and in contrast, in An Inspector Calls the nature of the social order overrules any prospects of justice and integrity. The Birling’s get two chances; they get one chance to rehearse, to mess up and to learn the error of their ways, and then the real enactment takes place and they are responsible for their role and how they act. Eva Smith’s main role is to provoke thought and give the character the opportunity to fess up and take responsibility for their future events. Both Steinbeck and Priestley want us to sympathise with these characters, thinking before we judge and criticise. They want the audience to reflect on their past and change, so that the world can become a more sympathetic and safe place for all.