Act I
In Fahrenheit 451 there are two Major female characters portrayed. Mildrid Montag and Clarrise McClellan. They are depicted as the two opposite sides of womanhood. Clarise as the ideal woman, smart, but subservient, young, beautiful, and prioritizing the men around her. While Mildrid is middle-aged, and perfectly encompasses the caricature of the Nagging wife.
Clarrise McClellan is the first of the two Major female characters to be introduced in Fahrenheit 451. She is young, curious, and happily engages with Montag without complaint while still defying the system. While she is portrayed as a ray of sunshine in Montag’s life, it is revealed that she is terrified of the situation she is trapped in, stating, "I'm afraid of children my own age. They kill each other. Did it
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The one thing that connects Clarrise and Mildrid is their suffering, and the voyeuristic pleasure Ray Bradbury and the reader find in it. Bradbury favors Clarise, and her suffering mirrors these feelings.
Clarise’s suffering is shown through a romanticized lens. She suffers quietly through her fear and uses it to help Montag wake up and realize the society lives in. She dies tragically young and lives on in Montag’s memory as his savior.
Mildrid’s misery is the opposite, rather than her suffering undeserved and out of her control. Bradbury despises Mildrid and finds enjoyment in her suffering. Viewing her suffering as a justified consequence. A fitting ending for a stupid, nagging, and selfish woman.
Every action Mildrid takes is intended to make the reader hate her. Her distress is viewed as deserved. If she had been smarter, if she had listened to and supported Montag, she would not be in such distressing situations. Ray Bradbury and the reader take pleasure in her anguish, glad to see such a vile woman be crushed.
Act