In the novel “Animal Farm”, there lies a sweet show pony named Mollie, decorated in ribbons, and eating sugar, until the rebellion occurs, and she becomes selfish, self serving and downright lazy. At the beginning she is just a little vain and self serving, until her luxuries have been stripped away from her, due to the rebellion and she runs away, seeking comfort. She never wanted the rebellion, as she was better off. She’s not committed to the rebellion, she never really was, to begin with.
From the beginning, Mollie has been shallow. During the first meeting, with Old Major, she was curious about her ribbons and sugar, and when she asked, she was ridiculed for “being devoted to slavery”. This was the beginning of Mollie’s uncertainty about the revolution. She wasn’t used to not having sugar, or having ribbons in her hair, and a seed of doubt was planted in her head. This is in stark contrast to the first meeting of book, with Old Major. Mollie is seen mincing daintily in, waving her long white mane around, and chewing sugar. It becomes clear that the ribbons and sugar have been a part of her ever since she came to the farm. The realization that she would be stripped of these privileges made her doubt the rebellion from the start. This was the beginning of her arc. Her character can be compared to the high class bourgeois, who were unsure about the rebellion if it meant their luxuries would be taken away. This is even more proof that she was never really committed to the rebellion, or Old Major. All she was concerned for were her own personal needs.
Furthermore, after the removal of Mr Jones, more things grew the seed of doubt growing in Mollie’s head. All her ribbons were set on fire, she was barred from getting to eat sugar, and worse still, having to do field work. She couldn’t live like a carthorse, so she found ways to navigate around the restrictions. Mollie disappeared when it was time for work and only returned for meals, she stole ribbons from the master bedroom in the house, and never showed a shred of sympathy for her fellow animals. Then, the battle begun. While her friends were fighting bravely for their freedom, Mollie was cowering in her stall, totally unaware of her friend’s sacrifices. This shows Mollie has made up her mind about the revolution. She obviously doesn’t want to be a part of it, not even for her fellow animals. You see her act selfishly through the entire novel, and before it might’ve just been a petty grudge, but now, now Mollie wants nothing to do with the liberation of Manor Farm.
The next step in Mollie’s character arc begins in Chapter 5, where rumors have been spread about her interactions with the humans. This is further backed up by Mollie’s “mysterious pains” prevented her from working, and her hidden stash of sugar ribbons. It’s clear now to everyone in the farm, Mollie doesn’t plan to stay for much longer. After this accusation, Mollie confirms their suspicions, and leaves, finishing her character arc. From the beginning of the novel you see her selfish nature shine through the show pony exterior, revealing something not quite as pretty. You see Mollie’s obvious correlation with bourgeois, who fled to Germany after the Russian revolution began, clearly not committed to freedom. The similarities don’t stop there, however. Before the revolution had even begun, there were doubts about there privileges being taken. Then there was abandoning allies in times of need and stress, and finally, discarding it all together. Mollie’s arc ends in the same way, betrayal.
Mollie is an interesting character, for her character arc isn’t so much about her changes, but the reveal of her true self. From the beginning she seems perfectly normal, a little self serving, but mainly a good person. The Battle of the Cowshed is a turning point for how the animals feel about her. George Orwell did a good job on slowly revealing Mollie’s true nature, and relating her to the stuck-up, wealthy bourgeois who flaked out during the Russian Revolution for selfish reasons. Mollie didn’t as so much change, but her ditsy show pony facade fade.