American Literature 101
motorhead
Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life
Odd, off-topic question.
This has been on my mind for a very long time. In Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men" what's the meaning of the "gloved Vaseline hand". I read the book long ago and kind of assumed it had some sexual connotation. But I happened to catch part of the movie on TV recently. (a newer remake with Gary Sinise and a John Malkovich). So I GOOGLED "Vaseline hand". There are lots of interpretations. And not all are sexual. So I'm still confused.
This has been on my mind for a very long time. In Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men" what's the meaning of the "gloved Vaseline hand". I read the book long ago and kind of assumed it had some sexual connotation. But I happened to catch part of the movie on TV recently. (a newer remake with Gary Sinise and a John Malkovich). So I GOOGLED "Vaseline hand". There are lots of interpretations. And not all are sexual. So I'm still confused.
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Maybe this is one of those things that is more disturbing because it is not clearly explained.
I've seen the Burgess Meredith and Lone Channey Jr. version, and I've read the book. But I've not seen this Gary Sinise and John Malkovich version.
SJG
Some suggested he was impotent so he was fisting his wife. The "accepted" safe middle school teacher explanation is merely "fondling or caressing her breasts"
Some thought it was not sexual at all. Since he was the son of the ranch owner, it was a show of power - that he didn't have to work.
So he demands that the head mule skinner accept back the puppy have gave Curley's wife.
I think the idea is also that his wife is a "tart". I don't think that is really fair, but she is not happy hanging around the house during the days, out in the middle of nowhere.
Curley does not really have to work. But it is not clear that his father respects him like he does the head mule skinner. Curley said that his father would never let him fire the mule skinner.
Sometimes the son of a rich rancher is sent to college, or even to law school. This is not Curley, but he is not necessarily the equal of the working men either. He is in a tough spot.
I didn't take the gloved hand as a show of power, rather it's that he enjoys his wife, but he is also concerned and protective of her.
I think the story shows that there is tension at all levels of our society. It is there among the ranch hands and in their dream of having a place of their own, but it is also there among the owners.
Personally I don't think Steinbeck is all that good. But he is better than the earlier types of novels by the likes of Henry James, stuff written for middle class women.
People say that Steinbeck is technically competent. I disagree. In Travels with Charley, he gives three different accounts of how much 30 gallons of water weighs. He talks about buying new tires for the 3/4 ton pickup truck with the camper, special tires because it is carrying a heavy load. But he never tells us the tire size, pressure, or load rating. That would have been of interest to someone then, as those trucks were common. I know all about tire sizes, pressures, and load ratings, because I read the info on parked vehicles.
In Grapes of Wrath he is completely off base about how to replace a collapsed piston in an automobile engine. He writes about it, but he does not have a clue what he is taking about.
Steinbeck does though evoke sympathy and identification with common people. In Dubious Battle is about a strike to form a labor union. There is one about people adrift in a lifeboat. He makes the Joad Family very likeable in Grapes of Wrath.
Cannery Row is great. But the sequel, written after the war, in memory of that Doc who ran the biological supply, is sappy and sentimental.
East of Eden should have been good, and he does put out a few good ideas. But that is it. The woman who becomes the Madam of the whore house is inspired by his second wife, a movie actress. She is a frightening character.
If think Steinbeck has some strengths, but overall he is only so so.
Ever read any Henry Miller?
SJG
Candy says that the glove is full of vaseline, and that Curley says that he's keeping the hand soft for his wife. George says that is a dirty thing to tell around. Presumably, Curley is keeping his hand soft for a sex act with his wife. Later in the same chapter, George mentions the glove again, and theorizes that Curley is probably eating raw eggs and ordering patent medicines through mail order, presumably to build his sexual stamina. The overall implication is that Curley's wife is accustomed to frequent and varied intercourse, and that Curley is struggling to meet her demands.
hey @san_jose_guy, which hand do you wear your vaseline glove on?
SJG