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Fiction

Notes has not suited him, but they have no respect for him. Lenina’s relationship to Bernard is
different: she sees him merely as a strange, interesting fellow with whom she can take a break
from her relationship with Henry Foster. She is happy to use him for her own social gain, but
she doesn’t have the emotional investment in him that she does in John.

Helmholtz Watson

Helmholtz Watson is not as fully developed as some of the other characters, acting instead as
a foil for Bernard and John. For Bernard, Helmholtz is everything Bernard wishes he could be:
strong, intelligent, and attractive. As such a figure of strength, Helmholtz is very comfortable
in his caste. Unlike Bernard, he is well liked and respected. Though he and Bernard share a
dislike of the World State, Helmholtz condemns it for radically different reasons. Bernard
dislikes the State because he is too weak to fit the social position he has been assigned;
Helmholtz because he is too strong. Helmholtz can see and feel how the shallow culture in
which he lives is stifling him.
Helmholtz is also a foil for John, but in a different way. Helmholtz and John are very similar
in spirit; both love poetry, and both are intelligent and critical of the World State. But there
is an enormous cultural gap between them. Even when Helmholtz sees the genius in Shakespeare’s
poetry, he cannot help but laugh at the mention of mothers, fathers, and marriage—concepts
that are vulgar and ridiculous in the World State. The conversations between Helmholtz and
John illustrate that even the most reflective and intelligent World State member is defined by
the culture in which he has been raised.

Mustapha Mond

Mustapha Mond is the most powerful and intelligent proponent of the World State. Early in
the novel, it is his voice that explains the history of the World State and the philosophy upon
which it is based. Later in the novel it is his debate with John that lays out the fundamental
difference in values between World State society and the kind of society represented in Shakespeare’s
plays.
Mustapha Mond is a paradoxical figure. He reads Shakespeare and the Bible and he used to
be an independent-minded scientist, but he also censors new ideas and controls a totalitarian
state. For Mond, humankind’s ultimate goals are stability and happiness, as opposed to emotions,
human relations, and individual expression. By combining a firm commitment to the values
of the World State with a nuanced understanding of its history and function, Mustapha Mond
presents a formidable opponent for John, Bernard, and Helmholtz.

20.3 Major Themes

Commodification

Huxley views commodified society as a detriment to human creativity. In the novel, society
modifies human behavior so that people will seek to consume goods and services as much as
possible. This modification in turn means that everyone who makes such goods or provides
such services will be able to stay employed. Thus, the society’s economy will remain stable.
However, such reliance upon commodification also blunts any attempt at original thought.
Consumption becomes so important to the society that all of a person’s energy and reason is
put into activities of work and play that consume goods that in turn keep the economy running.

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