Fahrenheit 451’s Problem with Women

Before I even get into this, I love Fahrenheit 451. It has got to be one of my favorite books and one I can always go back to and enjoy again. And when you have read a story this many times, you notice new things and can create new interpretations.

For anyone unaware, Fahrenheit 451 is a science fiction novel written by Ray Bradbury that was published in 1953. The story follows Guy Montag, a fireman tasked with burning books and the houses that contained them, as he slowly begins to wonder why he never questioned his job before. The society depicted has long since abandoned books for the simpler, fast-paced entertainment of television screens, as books were seen as contradicting and confusing. Throughout the course of the book, Montag is repeatedly exposed to the flaws in his way of life. He transforms from a fireman who participated in the destruction of books to someone who fights to preserve them.

This book has a great message about literacy, censorship, and what we as a society should value. But, within its pages, I amusingly came to realize the similar way each female character is treated.

Stuffed in the Refrigerator

In a 1994 The Green Lantern comic, the protagonist discovers his girlfriend had been killed and stuffed in the refrigerator for him to find. This is thought to be the origin of the writing trope of "fridging" a character.

In its most general form, “fridging” is a writing trope that refers to the injuring/killing of a secondary character for the sole purpose of driving the protagonist’s development forward. This tossing aside of a secondary character allows the protagonist to improve and become stronger.

While the trope in general can happen to any character, it more often than not happens to women. The female love interest tragically dies in the arms of the male protagonist. Her death is now a catalyst for his future victories. I don't even need to list examples of this, there are simply so many.

In the case of Fahrenheit 451, this happens to every major female character. Every female character introduced in this work is dead by the end of the novel. They each fulfill their role as a catalyst, then die, all in the service of pushing Montag further into his story.

Clarisse is a Manic Pixie Dream Girl

What truly gets Montag's story into motion is when he meets Clarisse, a young girl who lives next door to him. It is in his interactions with Clarisse that Montag begins to think differently about the world around him.

The concept of a "manic pixie dream girl" is another writing trope that reduces a female character to a plot device to drive the male protagonist further. The only difference between this and "fridging" is that the manic pixie dream girl does not need to die to serve this purpose. Additionally, manic pixie dream girls have a certain type of personality.

This personality is a pretty good description of Clarisse. Unlike the other students in school, Clarisse asks questions. Rather than engross herself in the fast car rides and wall-to-wall televisions that her peers were engaging in, Clarisse observed and engaged herself in the world around her. She's quirky. She is different. She is not like other girls. That is a manic pixie dream girl.

When she meets Montag for the first time, she asks him questions. About his job, about how he feels, about his happiness. Montag is taken aback by her questioning as he has not thought about anything in this way. It is Clarisse who encourages him to look at the moon, feel the rain, live a little. Despite how uncomfortable Clarisse's questions are making him feel, Montag looks forward to seeing her after his shift as a fireman.

Until one day, he learns she was hit by a car. Clarisse has been shoved into the refrigerator.

Despite being in the book for such a short time, Clarisse has a massive impact on the story. Catapulting Montag into his own personal journey as he defies the book-burning world around him. And that is all she is: a catalyst.

Trapped Within The Greater Narrative

The next character that is treated this way is Montag's wife, Mildred. She is not a manic pixie dream girl like Clarisse is, she is a reflection of the world around her. A reflection of the life Montag was so complicit in before.

This is perhaps best reflected in her introduction where Montag discovers her shortly after she attempts to overdose on sleeping pills. After getting her stomach pumped, she wakes the next day with no memory of her prior attempt, to Montag's horror.

Mildred instead only cares about her "parlor walls" which are floor to ceiling television screens that broadcast entertainment that allows the viewer to be a part of through interactive shows. She is so enveloped into her shows that she cannot even distinguish them from real people.

This is what drives Mildred's actions throughout the narrative. Any attempt Montag makes to reach out to her like Clarisse did to him is rejected. Mildred refuses to believe books can bring anything but pain. Mildred's role in this story is to not only be the embodiment of society's failures but to also show Montag that his path is the correct one.

At the end of it all, Mildred presumably dies when the world around them is engulfed in war. Only Montag is allowed to survive, to experience the world of books that was left behind. Mildred has been shoved into the refrigerator.

Does Fahrenheit 451 Hate Women?

No, probably not.

I don't think this means Fahrenheit 451 is bad. Of course, it is not perfect. But that's what I love about stories. There are so many ways you can interpret them. All of these interpretations, whether good or bad, are valuable.

There is nothing inherently bad about "fridging" a character or having a "manic pixie dream girl". Any trope, used in the right way, can do wonderful things for a story. And I think that is valuable.

So believe what you want about the stories you enjoy. For these are how you enjoy them.