Juana, in Steinbeck's The Pearl, is Kino's wife. She is the one that sees clearly from the beginning. While she wants to support her husband, with the pearl she cannot. While he's sleeping she takes the pearl intending to throw it back into the ocean because she understands that it will bring only heartache to their family. The social reality that the pearl represents is that of colonization and a move from simple values and family content to that of a life that is bounded by financial worth and material goods. Juana innately understands that this is not a worthy trade and seeks to preserve their way of life and their happiness.
