Answer:
When Curley's wife came up to them to ask about the whereabouts of her husband, she was met with a derogatory and even accusing manner. The men blamed her for always being out of the house.
This shows the expected way she was supposed to behave and also blamed for the 'disappearance' of Curley. Her opinion doesn't seem to matter to anyone, and everyone seems to believe that she will be happy as long as she stays at home.
Her conversation and getting 'interest' in Lennie in this chapter foreshadows her fate for whatever comes in close contact with Lennie seems to die. Moreover, her 'overarching' need to interfere in the matters of the ranch life, her need to be in the company of these men all lead up to the problems that will come in the next scenes.
Explanation:
John Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men" revolves around the lives of two men looking for work after the Great Depression. The lives of migrant workers and the conditions that prevail during those times, even though the story occurs within a short time of just 4 days.
In Chapter 4, Curley's wife interrupted the conversation of the men while they were in Crooks' room in the stables. Responding to her question of where Curley might have been, the men replied in a demeaning, derogatory way, which is suggestive of how 'flirty' and 'a bad woman' she was.
By judging the way even the ranch hands think of her, Curley's wife seems to live a life of discomfort, judgment, and controlled by the men around her. When Crooks' advised her to stay in her house, she replied <em>"Think I like to stick in that house afla time?"</em> This shows her pent-up feelings of what is expected of her and what she really feels.
But at the same time, this scene where she gets too involved in the matters of the men, even despising her own husband to the ranch hands forebodes the tragedy that will befall her. She also 'flirts' with Lennie, which clearly foreshadows her fate, as Lennie seems to 'kill/hurt' whoever/ whatever comes near to him.
