American Dreams of Women in the 1930s

魏綏周 趙閃閃

Abstract： As a critical novel， Steinbecks novella Of Mice and Men has stirred widespread discussions since it first captivated the public. In this paper， it concisely illustrates John Steinbeck and his book Of Mice and Men and makes a profound analysis of the character——Curleys wife. It also discusses the disillusionment of her dreams， the reflection of the living actuality of women and some possible causes to the long-existed sexism in America.

Key words： sexism； American dreams； Curleys wife

Ⅰ.Introduction to John Steinbeck and Of Mice and Men

John Ernst Steinbeck， Jr. （February 27， 1902 – December 20， 1968） was an American writer. He is widely known for the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Grapes of Wrath （1939）， East of Eden （1952） and the novella Of Mice and Men （1937）. As the author of twenty-seven books， including sixteen novels， six non-fiction books， and five collections of short stories， Steinbeck received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962.

Of Mice and Men is a novel written by John Steinbeck. Published in 1937， it tells the tragic story of George Milton and Lennie Small， two displaced migrant ranch workers， who move from place to place in search of new job opportunities during the Great Depression in California， USA. The title is taken from Robert Burns' poem "To a Mouse"， which read： "The best laid schemes o' mice an' men / Gang aft agley." （The best laid schemes of mice and men / Often go awry.） Required reading in many schools， Of Mice and Men has been a frequent target of censors for vulgarity and what some consider offensive and racist language； consequently， it appears on the American Library Association's list of the Most Challenged Books of 21st Century.

Ⅱ. A Probe into Curles Wife

Curleys wife， a young， pretty woman， who was mistrusted by her husband. The other characters referred to her only as "Curley's wife". This lack of personal definition underscored this character's purpose in the story： Steinbeck explained that she is "not a person， she's a symbol. She has no function， except to be a foil – and a danger to Lennie." Steinbecks deliberate giving no name to this character and his seemingly indifferent saying” She has no function， except to be a foil” indicated his deep compassion toward women. Just like Curleys wife， women in the 1930s suffered a lot from the sexual discrimination. When she was young， she was robbed of her dream being a famous actress， and when she grew older， she was robbed of the right of choosing her own husband. At home， she was governed by her relatives and after she got married she was governed by her husband. All her life， she could do things at her own will. On the farm where there wasnt any other female， she was quite lonely. After her failure of trying to speak to Lennie， she could not but to cru out，” Whats the matter with me？ Aint I got a right to talk to nobody？ Whatta they think I am， anyways？ Youre a nice guy. I dont know why I cant talk to you. I aint doin no harm to you.”（chapter 5） Its nothing but a cry-out for liberty and equality. Women like Curleys wife got their own dreams： they dreamed one day they could have their own careers， such as an actress for Curleys wife； they dreamed one day they could gain their equal right to speak； they dreamed one day they could obtain independence which was assumed to be granted from God equally to everyone； they dreamed one day they could get their own identity and choose their husbands all by themselves.

Ⅲ.The Disillusionment of American Dreams and the Living Actuality of Women in America

Curleys wife was the representative of women suffering discrimination in the 1930s in America. As has been stated in the former part， the dream of Curleys wife was forever eliminating the sexual discrimination. In this novel， Steinbeck does more than present the dream； he shows it smashed and disintegrated. With the death of Curleys wife， all of their dreams came to a crash and the disillusionment of her dreams also reflected the living actuality of women at that time. Life for women in the 1920s was not easy. Confronted with overwhelming sexual discrimination， women had no status in society. They lost their identity and held no control of their own destiny. Cruelly but truly， the living actuality of women in the 1930s was miserable， lonely， helpless and desperate.

Ⅳ.Causes of the disillusionment

Its been years since the psychology of sexual discrimination first found its way into American society. In a patriarchal society， women， out of social work， lost the ownership of production materials， thus were subordinate to men in economy. In this way， in mens eyes， women were nothing but mere consumer goods attaching desperately to men. Moreover， the Christian culture also shed its influence on the forming of sexual discrimination. In the Bible， women were considered as the root of all evils， as described in The Genesis，” The original fall of men was all due to Eves disastrous choice to eat the apple and its Eve that men were expelled out of the Eden. Besides， its also stated that women were appendage of men. The reason why God created women just because that man（Adam） was lonely. Thus， God created Eve out of one of Adams ribs（p52）.

Life during the 1930s in America was difficult enough， and the long-existed bias women made it even worse. Women were granted no identity；they desperately struggled to find some way out， yet， as suggested in Steinbecks Of Mice and Women. Only if the overall situation has been improved， otherwise its impossible for them to achieve their American dreams， let alone to eventually eliminate the racial and sexual discrimination.

Ⅴ.Conclusion

From Of Mice and Men， one can easily perceive womens dreams in America in the 1930s： the dream of pursuing their own dreams at will held by women， represented by Curleys wife. She cries for independence， she longs for pursing her dream as any man does and she desires to express herself freely. However， all of those dreams are thwarted and shattered with Lennies manslaughter of Curleys wife. By repeatedly delineating George and Lennies dream for the land， Steinbeck aims to tell readers that American Dreams can no longer be achieved just through ones own persevere striving. In Of Mice and Men， Steinbeck applies the structure of Eden to express his personal view about American Dreams： just like Adam and Eve who have been expelled from the Eden， once those people from the bottom of the society are driven out of paradise， they are sent into exile for good. And in such a society where the law of the jungle pervades， the once prosperous American Dreams are hard to be attained.

Works cited：

[1]Steinbeck， John. Of Mice and Men[M]. China： Penguin Classics，2000.

[2]Wang，Linhua.The American Dream： Possessed by Many， Attained by Few--Analysis of the American Dreams in John Steinbecks Of Mice and Men[M].24.

[3]歐陽潔.女性與社會權力系統[M].沈陽：遼寧畫報出版社，2000.

[4]張抗私.性別歧視的歷史文化背景考析[J].2004（4）：48-50.