Fahrenheit 451 Blog 9

Mildred Montag is a minor character in Fahrenheit 451. As the wife of Guy Montag, the main character in this novel, the reader would expect to know her intimately, but this is not the case.  Mildred is the opposite of Guy; she loves conformity and has to be in the normal of society.  Her relationship with Guy is not much more than living in the same house.  They sleep in different beds, never have meaningful conversations, and never demonstrate love of each other.  Television has filled this void in Mildred’s heart.  “Mildred is deeply unhappy. She’s severely bothered by the fact that her life is empty and filled with hours of mindless television. But in this world, it's Mildred’s job to be happy. Remember when she insists to her husband that she’s satisfied with their life? “I’m proud of it,” she says. She’s done her duty by convincing herself she’s happy. Since Mildred is the poster child for the average citizen in this future world, we start to wonder if maybe everyone isn’t a desperate suicide case with a shiny smiling veneer.” (Shmoop 1).  Mildred knows that she is missing something, but continues to keep coving it up.  Her fears of nonconformity lead her to turning Guy over to the firemen.  She betrayed her own husband because that is what her society expected of her.  “Her betrayal of Montag is far more severe than Beatty’s, since she is, after all, his wife. Bradbury portrays Mildred as a shell of a human being, devoid of any sincere emotional, intellectual, or spiritual substance. Her only attachment is to the “family” in the soap opera she watches.” (Sparknotes 1).  In the beginning of the book Mildred attempts suicide.  Guy never finds out if she did this on purpose or simply forgot she took thirty sleeping pills.  It is apparent that Mildred was deeply disturbed by something in her life.  She was caught in a world of fantasy and there was no escaping. 

Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1967. Print.

 

"Fahrenheit 451." Shmoop. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Aug. 2012. <http://www.shmoop.com/fahrenheit-451/>.