When and How to Pair:
Introduce students to this text after reading Section 4, in order to forge a thematic connection between the role of women and their isolation — as seen through Curley’s wife in the novella. The essay offers information on how a woman should be happy by making her husband happy, stifling her own desires, and acting obedient. Have students discuss the motivations for this advice and the consequences, particularly in regards to feelings of loneliness and inferiority. What does Curley prescribe as his wife’s role? Ask students: can the advice to the newly married lady also be applied, at the time of the novella, to people of color, such as Crooks? What is the cause of Crooks’ and Curley’s wife’s loneliness? What happens as a result?