In the fifth chapter, her loneliness leads her into the barn, where she engages Lennie in conversation. It has been clearly foreshadowed that nothing good can happen in this encounter. In fact, Curley’s wife is the instrument causing the tragic ending of the book. In a flirtatious manner, she asks Lennie to stroke her soft hair. When she feels his powerful hands that do not know how to be gentle, she panics, screams for help