Lack Of Intimacy In Brave New World, By Aldous Huxley

625 Words3 Pages

Aldous Huxley’s novel “Brave New World”, presents a dystopian society where sex and pleasure are the primary source of entertainment. The society is structured in a way that promiscuity is encouraged and intimacy is looked on disapprovingly. In this world, sex is seen as a commodity and the lack of personal connection/intimacy is used as a means of control by the ruling class. It is this strange setting that makes us wonder what Huxley was trying to tell us with his book. Could it be that hypersexualization and the loss of intimacy with each other in our culture could lead us to a world where everyone is hopelessly isolated and completely subjugated by the ruling class? One of the key themes in “Brave New World” is a lack of intimacy with each other. The characters in the novel have no sense of personal connection with each other, and their relationships are purely based on physical pleasure. This lack of intimacy is reflected in the way sex is portrayed in the novel. Sex is seen as a recreational activity, something that can be done without any emotional attachment. This is portrayed in the character Lenina, who is portrayed as promiscuous and happy to engage in sexual activity with multiple partners. …show more content…

Sex is used as a way to pacify the population and its citizens are encouraged to engage in sexual activities as a way to alleviate stress and anxiety. We see most of this in the character of Brenard, and Lenina. Throughout the story, Bernard is encouraged to fit in with society and have sex with multiple partners to reduce his stress (his reluctant participation in an orgy). We can see the same pressure to be non-monogamous in Lenina's character, she is pressured to be with a variety of men when she starts to stray from the norm of being in a relationship with henry