Hey all you people from the school I go to. The relationship was bad in the beginning of the book. Maybe when they first got married they had something but Mildred then went into a mindless stupor. She was in her own world the entire time. She never really shgowed that she actually appreciated Montag. I don't even know how they were married for 10 years.

All of the people posting here are all saying that both Montag and Mildred had no love for the other. However, this is not correct. Montag showed some obvious signs that he cared for Mildred. The part in the book where Montag takes the books from the vent/grill, he talks to Mildred about their love. Also, if Montag never truly loved Mildred, why would he involve her in this ordeal? What I mean by this is that if he didn�t care for Mildred at all, why he would bring her into this dangerous ordeal. What would be the purpose of it? Think about it. If Montag didn�t involve Mildred in it, and somebody found out, their house would still burn and Mildred would lose everything also. Therefore, the argument that Montag cared for Mildred's innocence can not be used since she would be as guilty as him for the possession of the books even if she knew nothing of it. Why then would Montag involve Mildred? There must be some reason behind it because by involving her, Montag would just be putting himself into more danger. Therefore, I see no point in telling Mildred about these books unless he showed some affection for her. Perhaps, Montag believed (as he said in the book) that he could help both of them by reading the books. At the end of the book, the city is bombed and every one in it dies. However, before the bombs drop, Montag begins screaming �Mildred run get out there�. This shows that he obviously had some feelings for her. However, I definitely agree with all of you about Mildred not loving Montag.

In the society they inhabit, love itself is an anachronism. Television and radio were not used simply to dull the mind, but also the emotions. Love is too powerful a force; very dangerous to governments, as demonstrated by the marching grandmothers of Argentina.

And no matter what anyone else tells you, love is the only theme in literature. I'd like to make an "incendiary" pun, but this is all starting to depress me.

Montag needed to love someone or something, and these repressed feelings were triggered by his chance meeting with the young girl.

My 2 cents, DZ

I believe that Mildred and Montag were far from a loving relationship throughout the entire novel. The reader was first aware of their struggling relationship when Mildred could't even recall the first time they had met. Clearly, any couple that was really in love would be able to recall this preciouse detail. Also,Mildred and Montag lacked the intimacy of a loving couple. Not only did they sleep in separate beds, they had a major lack of communication. Mildred spent too much time listening to her seashell radio and watching the "Family" to ever listen to Montags problems. Montag did show some compasion for Mildred when he called the "handymen" health workers after Mildred overdosed on pills, but their lack of communication showed the next morning when Mildred wouldn't even admit to the overdose, let alone talk about it. Finally, the depth of Montag and Mildreds relationship was finally evident to the reader when Clarisse rubed the dandalion on Montags chin. When nothing rubbed off, it was symbolic of how there was no love between Mildred and Montag. Even though Montag attemted to talk to Mildred about books, and why they were important, she refused to listen to him and eventually called in the alarm on her own husband, rather than working out the problem. This final straw was what proved there was no love between Mildred and Montag.

I believe that Montag nor Mildred were in love with each other. This couple did not have any major examples in the novel where love was shown. Although they have been married ten years, they sleep in two seperate beds. Also, when Montag asks Mildred where they first met and Mildred could not recall where that was shows their lack of intimacy and love for one another. Montag and Mildred barely communicated, again showing that they were not really in love. Bradbury even showed symbolically in the novel when Clarisse asked if Montag was in love and told him to rub the dandelion to see if he was in love with anyone. Nothing rubbed off, symbolically showing the reader that there was no real realationship between Montag and Mildred.

I believe that Mildred and Montag were not meant for each other. They never did things together and never really seamed happy. I would think the Montag would be better off with clarisse! At the end Mildred dies and it seems as if he cares but then again he doesn't so he gets very confused about it. If I was Montag I would not be happy with the relationship.

I think that Montag and Mildred were on and off with their relationship throughout the book. They did show signs of a loving relationship when Beatty goes over to their house to talk to Montag about books and Mildred finds a book underneath his pillow. If Mildred had no love for Montag, she would have told Beatty. But there were plenty of signs why they didnt have a loving relationship. First, they slept in seperate beds. This is very odd for a couple who is supposed to love each other do this. Also, when Montag tries to talk to Mildred about books, she ignores him and continues to watch the television. All in all, there were points in the book when Mildred and Montag showed signs of their love for each other but most of the time they didnt show that true love that you are supposed to have when you are married.

I think the most important thing to remember in the assessment of Montag and Mildred's relationship is their society and how certain social issues were supposed to be handled. Because there were so many women that did not have children in the book, I hardly find that significant to Montag or Mildred. Also, no comments were made from friends or neighbors about separate beds or their interaction in general. So taken in context, their relationship was probably as close at is was going to get. However, there are many other factors that do contribute to their relations. One of those is the time when Beatty comes to the house, Mildred feels the book under the pillow, and does not reveal its presence. Yes, you can argue that she was defending Montag to keep him from losing his job, but I think it has more to do with the fact that she was interested in saving herself. As is evident at the end of the book when she leaves after burning her own house down, Mildred is very cowardly and finds that she is the only one worth keeping safe. She seems willing to sacrifice a lot for her three parlor walls (material possessions in general). So when the emotional and mental context of Mildred and Montag is figured in, I find that their relationship was as strong or as constant as it could be, however bad that may be.

One line in the story really caught my attention pertaining to this matter... after Mildred's stomach is pumped, on page 16, "If only someone else's flesh and brain and memory. If only thesy could have taken her mind along to the dry cleaner's and emptied the pockets..." Does this line mean that he wishes that Mildred were actually a completely different person and that he doesn't have any love for her at all? Or does this mean that he loves her so much that he sees how sad and disconnected she really is in this world and believes she would be happier out of their society?... almost as if she were an elderly person on the verge of death and if they can't overcome pain and anguish and experience happiness anymore, where's the point in staying alive.

I think that Mildred and Montag have a really odd relationship. Just how they interact around each other it seem they never have a normal conversation, or Mildred never really seems interested in Montag. Also I thought it was wierd that they dont sleep in the same bed and she is always just watching T.V. And i think it gets Montag sad when Clarrise tells him that he is not in love. Another thing i would like to talk about is how Mildred told on Montag for the books then just left him. I felt really sad for Montag because now he has no wife and he just burned his house down. so to conclude i think Montag and Mildred have a pretty messed up relationship

Montag and Mildred do have a very strange relationship. I do not believe that Montag and Mildred love each other even though they are husband and wife. Although Montag and Mildred may not love each other, I think that they respect each others personal ideas. I believe that Montag and Mildred do not love each other, but they do respect each other.
I do not believe that Montag and Mildred love each other by the way they talk to each other throughout the novel. For example, on page 52, Montag is talking about how everyone needs to be really bothered once in a while. At first Mildred does not want to talk with him. She then talks about this topic not out of love but out of respect. Many times in this book Montag and Milder have rather odd conversations that do not seem typical of a loving couple. They talk to each other as if they were two regular people engaging in any particular topic of conversation.
Also, I think that the two characters are not really happy together. Once Montag meets Clarisse she helps him to realize he is not happy. A normal person would have been happy if he or she loved their spouse. Montag realizes that there are more important things than his wife. For example, Montag chooses the pursuit of knowledge over Mildred. I believe that this act shows that Montag does not love Mildred.
From Mildred�s point of view it does not seem as though she loves Montag. She is happier in the Parlor watching television instead of being with Montag. I believe that thes two characters do not love each other because it always seems like they would rather be doing something else rather than be with each other.

I think that this whole question depends on one's definition of love. People may have a similar definition of love, yet they feel one thing means love while another thing doesn't mean love. I feel that Mildred and Montag did love each other during the whole novel it's just they didn't know how to show their love for each other. Montag feels that he loves Mildred at the beginning, but then on page 22, Clarisse rubs a dandelion under Montag's chin to show that he's not in love. Montag then thinks about whether or not he's in love with Mildred and he thinks that he isn't when in actuality I believe he is. I believe that Montag really does love Mildred because of the way he cares for her at the end of the novel when he knows that she has died. One can say that he cares for everyone else: Clarisse and Faber, that he had a relationship with, but with Mildred its different. With Mildred he didn't understand what was between them all the time, yet in his heart he knew that he could never leave her and he wanted to always be with her. A sign of this is when she doesn't pay attention to him, yet he doesn't want to get a divorce when it is such a common thing that happens in the society that they live in. Also, Mildred doesn't say anything to Beatty when he comes over and she knows that there is a book under Montag's pillow. Even though she calls the fire department on Montag I feel that she assumed that Montag could get away without being harmed and she didn't know the extent of his plans.

I don't think that montag and mildred are in love. It doesn't really seent that they really love eachother. but in a way they atleast cared for eachother so that has to mean something.but she is soo obsesed with that t.v. if i were him I would thorw the t.v away so she is not soo glued to it and having it as her like and for mildred she can hid all the books that montag gets!!

By the way the society was depicted, it seemed almost nobody had a very loving relationship. Look at the way the mother talked about the production, care, and feeding of children and ask not only whether that's normal, but judging by the reactions of the other women there--is this entire society in a desirable state?

If you ask me i think that Montag did care for his wife but i dont think that he was inlove with her. I think this because Mildred would have never tried to kill her self if she loved Montag and also because Montag started to question there marriage and he also started to have feelings for someone else. So i would define Montags and his wifes relationship not very good.