The dictionary defines loneliness as the state of being unfrequented by human beings; as, the loneliness of a road. One of the major themes portrayed in the book Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, is undoubtedly the theme of loneliness. This topic is deeply dealt with throughout the entire book as is represented in the lives of several characters exposed in this story. However there is not just one kind of loneliness, but different types represented throughout the entire novel. The first is the kind of loneliness felt when a person does not possess any friends; and the second is the kind of loneliness that a person feels when they are treated like a neglected outcast just because they are different.
During the story, the first kind of loneliness discussed can be found by looking at the character of Curley's wife. Curley's wife has been lonely ever she was an adolescent girl. No matter what she does, she can not induce people to be friends with her.
When Curley's wife finds Lennie embracing the dead puppy, she begins telling Lennie how her mother "stole" her letters washing away her dreams of being a star because she was "on"y fifteen" (Steinbeck 88). Curley's wife had an impressively strenuous childhood and no friends to share her feelings with and make up for the toughness that her life was. Her mom would completely disregard any possibilities for her to make a friend and would almost disallow Curley's wife from leaving her house.
Also, when Curley's wife is confiding in Lennie, she tells him that he can "break" Curley's "other han"" (Steinbeck 86). Curley's wife was in fact so lonely that she marries Curley albeit she does not love him. She is so distressed in trying to find a person to be with that she decides to spend the rest of her life with the first guy that she goes and meets in a bar.
Curley's wife is always "standing" outside the guy's room "looking in" while being heavily made up" and wearing provocative clothing (Steinbeck 31).