Why did Curley's Wife marry Curley? John Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men"

In 's
novel , Curley's wife is an important character
because she drives the plot forward and is at the center of theof the novel. Despite her
importance to the novel, readers learn very little about her. She is known only as
"Curley's wife."

To find the answer
to the question of why she marries Curley, readers must look in chapter five. Prior to that
chapter, hints are dropped that Curley's wife may have a wandering eye. Some of the men call her
a "tart" and say they've seen her sneaking glances at the men. Curley's wife
findsalone in the barn, and she is lonely. She begins talking to Lennie, pouring out her heart.
She explains that it was her dream to be an actress. She was even "discovered" by a
man who worked in pictures, but her mother wouldn't allow it. Because her mother restricted her
from pursuing her dream, she decided to escape from her any way she could. That is the reason
she gives for why she married Curley. In the quote below, she is telling Lennie about the letter
the man who worked in pictures promised her. 

"I
never got that letter," she said. "I always thought my ol' lady stole it. Well, I
wasn't gonna stay no place where I couldn't get nowhere or make something of myself, an' where
they stole your letters, I ast her if she stole it, too, an' she says no. So I married Curley.
Met him out to the Riverside Dance Palace that same night."

From this quote, readers can see she married Curley impulsively, out of spite for her
mother and to escape from her mother's authority.