Towards the end of chapter three, Curley bursts into the bunkhouse looking for his wife. When the men tell Curley that they haven't seen his wife, he inquires about Slim's whereabouts before running out of the bunkhouse to look for him. It is evident that Curley is upset because he is under the impression that his wife may be fooling around with Slim. Curley is a suspicious, insecure man, who does not trust his wife. The fact that she is continually flirting with the workers and is the only female on the ranch heightens Curley's insecurities. When Slim returns to the bunkhouse with Curley close behind him, he is irritated with Curley, who is apologetic. Carlson proceeds to ridicule Curley for being scared of Slim, and Curley goes on to pick a fight with Lennie, which turns out to be a terrible idea.
Curley bursts into the bunkhouse looking for his wife. He can't find her and that makes him even angrier than he already is. He know what she's like; he knows her reputation, and he's very insecure about his relationship with her. He always imagines that she's cheating on him, so when he barges his way into the bunkhouse and she's not there, his suspicions get out of hand. Worse still, there's no sign of Slim, either. Curley fears the worst and heads off angrily to the barn, expecting to find his wife alone with Slim.
But Curley doesn't find anything suspicious going on in the barn. In any case, he's no match for Slim, but his blood's still up when he returns to the bunkhouse. He wants to give someone a good hiding. Carlson and Candy taunt Curley over his cowardice; he feels his manhood being impugned and desperately needs to prove his masculine credentials. So he unwisely picks a fight with Lennie, ending up with a crushed hand for his trouble. Curley is reduced to a broken, whimpering mess, his already fractured sense of manhood further compromised.
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