Marionettes, Inc. Themes

In Ray Bradbury’s “Marionettes, Inc.,” thirty-five-year-old Braling buys a “marionette” (a lifelike android, not a traditional puppet with strings) to temporarily distract his controlling wife, Mrs. Braling, so that he can have a little time away from her. Although the ultra-realistic marionette seems like a creative fix for Braling’s troubled marriage (and later, for that of his good friend Smith), things soon go terribly wrong. Although the story illustrates that technology can provide…

In “Marionettes, Inc.,” two friends, Braling and Smith, are unhappy with their respective marriages and decide that marionettes—extraordinarily lifelike androids—will solve their marital problems. With the marionettes standing in for them once in a while, both men think that they will get a much needed break from their wives, and their wives will never suspect a thing. Braling’s wife is too controlling (and would never agree to give her husband a little space), while…

In “Marionettes, Inc.,” the protagonist, Braling, illegally buys a lifelike android (called a marionette) so that he can have a temporary escape from his overbearing, controlling wife, Mrs. Braling. By setting up the marionette (Braling Two) in his place, Braling thinks he will be free to travel for a month without his wife even knowing. Braling’s good friend Smith has a similar problem with his own wife, Nettie, though she…