Post #2

Journal Entry #2 - The relationship between Montag and Mildred
I'm still not sure if this post counts as a post from the 'beginning' of the novel. I'm still confused.

Even though I'm full aware that we're on topic of Fahrenheit 451, not Macbeth, I must make a brief reference to Macbeth and his wife. Bare with me.

Macbeth and Lady Macbeth were an odd couple (which is an understatement) They were together, became evil, drifted apart, and soon they both died. We know the story.

But is it fair to compare Guy Montag and his wife to the tragic couple mentioned above? I'll come back to the comparison later.

When I was first introduced to Mildred, she was not conscious; apparently she had overdosed on sleeping pills and had almost killed himself. This made Montag to call the paramedics, until two rather awkward men used a strange machinery (described by Montag as the Snake) to replace Mildred's poisoned blood with fresh blood. Such thought disturbed Montag. However, when Montag questioned Mildred of such acts, Mildred denied everything; she did not remember a thing. Then she resumed to watch her programming on her beloved parlor of three walls - which she calls her 'family.'

The question is: does Montag love his wife?

During the nights, Montag finds Mildred listening to a radio lodged in her ears - Seashell. This also disturbs Montag, because he makes yet another animal reference in calling the radio a praying mantis. So one night, he asks Mildred if she remembers where and when they had met for the first time. To Montag's dismay, Mildred does not remember. She doesn't even seem bothered by the fact that she doesn't know. This puts Montag into a state into misery, as he feels ever so distant from Mildred. The quote, "And he remembered thinking then that if she [Mildred] died, he was certain he wouldn't cry. For it would be the dying of of an unknown, a street face, a newspaper image, and it was suddenly so very wrong that he had begun to cry , not at death but at the thought of not crying at death..." (Montag, page 44) describes how Montag feels saddened by the distant relationship he shares with his wife. He would not cry if Mildred dies, and is saddened by his non existent care for her.


The barrier between Montag and his wife is the technology of entertainment used by Mildred: the first example is the Seashell - the radio plugged into her ear. She listens to distant voices rather than hold a conversation with her husband. (which is not uncommon in this society) Another example is the three walls of programming Mildred watches. "Well, wasn't there a wall between him and Mildred, when you came down to it? Literally not just one wall but, so far, three! And expensive, too!" (Montag, page 44) describes the three walls of programming that Mildred always absorbs herself into. Everyday she seems eager to get to her programming, and she gets so absorbed she doesn't even remember which program she's watching!

"I had a nice evening," she said, in the bathroom.
"What doing?"
"The parlor."
"What was on?"
"Programs."
"What programs?"
"Some of the best ever."
"Who?"
"Oh, you know, the bunch."
"Yes, the bunch, the bunch, the bunch..."
(Montag & Mildred, page 49)

This doesn't sound like a spirited conversation between a couple.

It is also fair to say that a loving couple should care for one another, which in this case, is non existent. Especially when Montag tells his wife that he is not happy, Mildred suggests him to take a hundred miles per hour ride with the car - which is not what Montag wants. Also, when Montag tells her that he has been thinking a lot lately and is not happy, Mildred simply replies by telling that she's happy and proud of it. This point and the idea that Montag will not cry if his wife dies added results in a speculation that they do not love each other.

Also, another example is when Mildred finally realizes that her husband is hiding books in the air vents. Mildred does not want to cooperate, and does not seem to understand Montag's reasoning when he describes the house and the woman he had to burn the previous night. Of course, Mildred, absorbed so much into the society's custom and meaning of happiness, does not understand the thinking of Montag. After all, she had never met Clarisse, and does not see what she's missing out on.

Montag, when he stands before the bedroom where Mildred lies with her Seashell, explains the room as not empty but indeed empty. This means that Mildred is actually there, so the room is technically not empty. However, she is so distant and absorbed into the radio that her mind is elsewhere.

So let's make a comparison: just like Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, Montag and Mildred (that's a lot of M's) are very distant with one another. The barrier is evident everywhere - radio, the walls... Also, both couples do not cooperate with one another; it is true that Macbeth and LM were a team once, but we know that they acted independent later on. This is the case with Montag and Mildred, as Mildred is not willing to cooperate or even listen properly to Montag. For example, when Montag feels sick she doesn't even want to turn off the three walls to listen to him. So the separation is evident; care and love for one another cannot be established with certain barriers.

In conclusion, Mildred seems unaware of the distance between her husband and herself; she is too absorbed by the technology. She is left disconnected to other people, just like what the society expects everyone to be. A contrasting character against Mildred would be Clarisse - Clarisse seems more mature as she sounds deeper and more thoughtful. On the other hand, nothing really crosses Mildred's mind except what is planted there by the media. (Which is censorship, fully intended by the government)

Let's finish this off with another reference to Clarisse, because we realize that the seventeen year old girl had died after a car crash (How sad, as she was very against driving a hundred miles per hour) When Montag finds Clarisse standing in the rain, she is holding a dandelion. She claims that if rubbed under the chin the pollen will rub off. Clarisse seems to be in love, as pollen rubs off her chin. But when test on Montag, nothing happens. Montag is embarrassed.

"What a shame", she said, "You're not in love with anyone."
"Yes I am!"
"It doesn't show."
"I am, very much in love!" He tried to conjure up a face to fit the words, but there was no face. "I am!"
(Montag and Clarisse, page 22)

Later Montag makes an excuse that it did not work because Clarisse had already used up the dandelion. Clarisse agrees and let's it go. But the above quote explains that Montag tried to make a sincere expression when claiming he is, in fact, in love, it did not work because he is not in love!. He cannot make a sincere face because he knows he's lying!

So dandelion proved it. The answer is many evidences prove that Montag and his wife are not in love. Case closed.