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Unit 18: Aldous Huxley—Brave New World: Detailed Study of Text-I

Analysis Notes
Much of this chapter deals with emotional suppression. Bernard experiences emotions such as
longing, embarrassment, tension, and disappointment while Lenina suppresses all emotions
before they can surface. She uses soma to avoid situations that would normally incur anger
or boredom. Interestingly, Bernard continually becomes angry with Lenina in spite of his love
for her. He appears to treat her very badly, almost condescendingly, but this behavior only
demonstrates his frustration with an emotionless society. Huxley demonstrates the complexity
of a society that attempts to manipulate the emotions of its citizens. On the one hand, Bernard’s
range of emotions causes him disappointment and anger, but on the other hand, his emotions
of love and longing for a better life suggest his future enlightenment.
Bernard’s behavior only makes sense if the reader understands that Bernard is in love with
Lenina. However, his love comes from who he perceives her to be, not on who she really is.
Bernard therefore tries to force Lenina to conform to his perception of her. In addition, he is
desperate to have her return his love. In a society devoid of commitment and monogamy, the
only way for Bernard to get her to fall in love with him is to force her to experience emotions.
As a result, his anger and behavior derives from his attempts to have Lenina to overcome her
conditioning and become emotional.
Each character’s use of soma revolves around inhibiting their emotions. Bernard takes soma
when he sleeps with Lenina on the first date, to smother his emotional revulsion and embarrassment
at having sex so soon, and when he finds out he must move to Iceland. Lenina uses soma
much more frequently than Bernard but for the same reason: she wishes to suppress her
emotions. Soma therefore acts not only as a narcotic to control the masses, but also as a means
for individuals to avoid emotional conflict.
The Director’s story expresses emotions of fear and love. Since society expressly forbids this,
he realizes that he should not have told Bernard about his experience. Thus, the Director’s
anger towards Bernard arises from his fear that Bernard might use that information against
him. The Director arranges to transfer Bernard to Iceland out of fear that Bernard might tell
someone else the story. Huxley characterizes emotions as a force for both social control and
social freedom. Society represses emotions to discourage rebellion against authority and threats
against the world order. Bernard’s emotional rebellion adds to the rising tension of the storyline.

18.1.3 Chapters 7–9

Chapter 7
Summary

The Indian guide leads Bernard and Lenina into the reservation, where the smells and the
sight of poverty, disease, and old age immediately assault them. Since there is no live birth
in the outside society, Lenina finds the scene of a woman nursing a child to be disgusting. She
then discovers that both she and Bernard forgot their soma, so she has to see the village
consciously rather than through the veil of the narcotic. However, Bernard feels a strange
fascination with the scene. Bernard and Lenina watch a ritual dance of sacrifice to the gods
Pookong and Jesus, where a young man slowly proceeds around a pile of snakes in the center
of the Pueblo square. While walking, the young man receives a whipping until he falls and
dies. The other Indians worship a statue of a man on a cross and an eagle.

After the ritual, they meet a blond-haired man with blue eyes. The Savage, whose name is
John, tells them that he is upset that the other Indians will not let him participate in the ritual
because of his skin color. He explains that his mother was like Lenina, a woman from civilized

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