Cannery Row

by

John Steinbeck

Mrs. Malloy Character Analysis

Sam Malloy’s wife, who—along with Sam—moves into an empty boiler in the “vacant lot” near Lee Chong’s grocery store. Although Mrs. Malloy is happy with this situation at first, she soon becomes tired of living in the boiler. As such, she tries to improve her situation by decorating the place, becoming especially upset when Sam doesn’t want to give her money to buy window curtains, despite the fact that the boiler doesn’t have any windows. Eventually, Sam relents, and the Malloys buy a set of lace curtains.
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Mrs. Malloy Character Timeline in Cannery Row

The timeline below shows where the character Mrs. Malloy appears in Cannery Row. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 8
Loneliness, Melancholy, and Happiness Theme Icon
...within, and Sam Malloy starts renting empty nearby pipes to other homeless people. Soon, though, Mrs. Malloy tires of the boiler. When Holman’s Department Store has a sale, she asks Sam for... (full context)