In Fahrenheit 451, Montag’s wife Mildred embodies all of the qualities of an ideal citizen in a dystopic society.
First off, she values the technology she is provided with by the government. Mildred’s obsession with the three TV walls in her ‘parlor’ is exactly what Fahrenheit 451’s government aims to ingrain in its citizens. In fact, her whole life revolves around virtual reality – so much so that the TV characters she interacts with are deemed “cousins” and “aunts” to conflate their importance to that of a proper family.
In that process, Mildred starts to forget her real family, as seen when she can not remember when and how she met her husband, Montag. When Montag points out how absurd it is to not be able to recount simple memories, Mildred merely replies with, “It doesn’t matter” (Bradbury 40). This characterizes Mildred as complacent, since she prefers to continue her ordinary life instead of questioning her circumstances. In a system where conformity is rewarded, Mildred is therefore a model citizen.
Additionally, Mildred has been indoctrinated to the extent that she believes that the system she lives in maximises her happiness. When Montag tells her that he is not happy, she replies with a beatific smile and says that she is happy and “proud of it” (Bradbury 62). Therefore, Mildred has evidently fallen into the government’s trap, as she is convinced of her well-being (despite regularly overdosing on sleeping pills to escape reality).