In Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, on page 94 of my copy of the book, Curley's wife tells Lennie why George says Lennie shouldn't talk to her:
She said quietly, "He's scared Curley'll get mad. Well, Curley got his arm in a sling--an' if Curley gets tough, you can break his other han'. You didn't put nothing over on me about gettin' it caught in no machine."
She adds a minute or so later:
"I get lonely," she said. "You can talk to people, but I can't talk to nobody but Curley. Else he gets mad. How'd you like not to talk to anybody?"
Curely treats his wife like she is a piece of property, like he owns her. He limits what she can do and who she can talk to--or at least he tries. She is kept on the property and told what to do.
Actually, however, the most important quote and detail that shows Curley's wife is treated with disrespect is the fact that readers have to refer to her as "Curley's wife," since she isn't even named in the novel.
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