Curley's wife appears in three scenes during the course of John Steinbeck's novella Of Mice and Men. The first two appearances tend to provide foreshadowing for the events which take place in chapter five when Lennie accidentally breaks the girl's neck after she allows him to stroke her hair. In chapter two, she comes to the doorway of the bunkhouse and makes a strong impression on Lennie who can't take his eyes off her and is described as being "fascinated" by her presence. When she leaves he draws a quick rebuke from George who grabs his ear and says,
“Listen to me, you crazy bastard,” he said fiercely. “Don’t you even take a look at that bitch. I don’t care what she says and what she does. I seen ‘em poison before, but I never seen no piece of jail bait worse than her. You leave her be.”
George understands that Lennie could be tempted to do something foolish, just as he had done in Weed with the girl in the red dress. It is only a matter of time before Lennie is caught alone with Curley's wife.
Curley's wife's interest in Lennie is shown in chapter four when she comes into Crooks's room and questions Lennie about the bruises on his face and about what happened to Curley's hand. Again, Lennie is described as being "fascinated." She is obviously impressed by the fact that Lennie was able to get the best of Curley in a fight. His only response is that Curley "got his han’ caught in a machine” and his usual line that someday he will get to "tend rabbits." Curley's wife then playfully responds, “Well, if that’s all you want, I might get a couple rabbits myself.” This open flirtation will continue in the very next chapter as the girl finds Lennie alone in the barn mourning his dead puppy.
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