9780099518471

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ALDOUS HUXLEY

Aldous Huxley was born on 26 July 1894 near Godalming, Surrey. He began writing poetry and short stories in his early twenties, but it was his first novel, Crome Yellow (1921), which established his literary reputation. This was swiftly followed by Antic Hay (1923), Those Barren Leaves (1925) and Point Counter Point (1928) – bright, brilliant satires of contemporary society. For most of the 1920s Huxley lived in Italy but in the 1930s he moved to Sanary, near Toulon.

In the years leading up to the Second World War, Huxley’s work took on a more sombre tone in response to the confusion of a society which he felt to be spinning dangerously out of control. His great novels of ideas, including his most famous work Brave New World (published in 1932, this warned against the dehumanising aspects of scientific and material ‘progress’) and the pacifist novel Eyeless in Gaza (1936) were accompanied by a series of wise and brilliant essays, collected in volume form under titles such as Music at Night (1931) and Ends and Means (1937).

In 1937, at the height of his fame, Huxley left Europe to live in California, working for a time as a screenwriter in Hollywood. As the West braced itself for war, Huxley came increasingly to believe that the key to solving the world’s problems lay in changing the individual through mystical enlightenment. The exploration of the inner life through mysticism and hallucinogenic drugs was to dominate his work for the rest of his life. His beliefs found expression in both fiction (Time Must Have a Stop, 1944 and Island, 1962) and non-fiction (The Perennial Philosophy, 1945, Grey Eminence, 1941 and the famous account of his first mescalin experience, The Doors of Perception, 1954).

Huxley died in California on 22 November 1963.

also by aldous huxley

Novels

Crome Yellow

Antic Hay

Those Barren Leaves

Point Counter Point

Eyeless in Gaza

After Many a Summer

Time Must Have a Stop

Ape and Essence

The Genius and the Goddess Island

s hort s tories

Limbo

Mortal Coils

Little Mexican

Two or Three Graces

Brief Candles

The Gioconda Smile (Collected Short Stories)

b iography

Grey Eminence

The Devils of Loudun

t ravel

Along the Road

Jesting

Pilate

Beyond the Mexique Bay

p oetry & d rama

The Burning Wheel

Jonah

The Defeat of Youth Leda

Verses and a Comedy

e ssays & b elles l ettres

On the Margin

Proper Studies Do What You Will

Music at Night

Texts and Pretexts

The Olive Tree

Ends and Means

The Art of Seeing

The Perennial Philosophy

Science, Liberty and Peace

Themes and Variations

The Doors of Perception

Adonis and the Alphabet

Heaven and Hell

Brave New World Revisited

Literature and Science

The Human Situation

Moksha

For Childre N

The Crows of Pearblossom

ALDOUS HUXLEY BRAVE NEW WORLD

W ith i N trodu C tio N s by Margaret

Atwood and David Bradshaw

Vintage Classics is part of the Penguin Random House group of companies whose addresses can be found at global.penguinrandomhouse.com

This edition published in Vintage Classics in 2024 First published in Great Britain by Chatto & Windus in 1932

Copyright © Mrs Laura Huxley 1932

Margaret Atwood’s introduction © 2007 O.W. Toad Ltd. Published by arrangement with Random House Canada, a division of Random House of Canada Limited.

David Bradshaw’s introduction © David Bradshaw 1994 Biographical introduction © David Bradshaw 1994

Aldous Huxley has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this Work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 penguin.co.uk/vintage-classics

Printed and bound in Great Britain by Clays Ltd, Elcograf S.p.A.

The authorised representative in the EEA is Penguin Random House Ireland, Morrison Chambers, 32 Nassau Street, Dublin d02 yh68

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

isbN 9780099518471

Penguin Random House is committed to a sustainable future for our business, our readers and our planet. This book is made from Forest Stewardship Council® certified paper.

I NTRODUCTIONBYMARGARETATWOOD

‘Obravenewworld,thathassuchpeoplein’t!’ –Miranda,inShakespeare’splay TheTempest,on firstsightingtheshipwreckedcourtiers

INTHELATTERHALF ofthetwentiethcentury,two visionarybookscasttheirshadowsoverourfutures.Onewas GeorgeOrwell’s 1949 novel, NineteenEighty-Four,withits horrificvisionofabrutal,mind-controllingtotalitarianstate –abookthatgaveusBigBrother,andthoughtcrimeand Newspeakandthememoryholeandthetorturepalacecalled theMinistryofLove,andthediscouragingspectacleofaboot grindingintothehumanfaceforever.

TheotherwasAldousHuxley’s BraveNewWorld (1932), whichproposedadifferentandsofterformoftotalitarianism–oneofconformityachievedthroughengineered,bottle-grown babiesandhypnoticpersuasionratherthanthroughbrutality; ofboundlessconsumptionthatkeepsthewheelsofproduction turningandofofficiallyenforcedpromiscuitythatdoesaway withsexualfrustration;ofapre-ordainedcastesystemranging fromahighlyintelligentmanagerialclasstoasubgroupofdimwittedserfsprogrammedtolovetheirmenialwork;andof soma,adrugthatconfersinstantblisswithnosideeffects.

Whichtemplatewouldwin,wewondered?DuringtheCold War, NineteenEighty-Four seemedtohavetheedge.But whentheBerlinWallfellin 1989,punditsproclaimedtheend ofhistory,shoppingreignedtriumphant,andtherewas alreadylotsofquasi-soma percolatingthroughsociety.True, promiscuityhadtakenahitfromAIDS,butonbalancewe seemedtobeinforatrivial,giggly,drug-enhancedSpend-ORama: BraveNewWorld waswinningtherace.

Thatpicturechanged,too,withtheattackonNewYork City’sTwinTowersin 2001.Thoughtcrimeandtheboot grindingintothehumanfacecouldnotbegotridofsoeasily, afterall.TheMinistryofLoveisbackwithus,itappears, thoughit’snolongerlimitedtothelandsbehindtheformer IronCurtain:theWesthasitsownversionsnow.

Ontheotherhand, BraveNewWorld hasn’tgoneaway. Shoppingmallsstretchasfarasthebulldozercansee.Onthe wilderfringesofthegeneticengineeringcommunity,thereare truebelieversprattlingoftheGen-richandtheGen-poor–Huxley’sAlphasandEpsilons–andbusilyengagingin schemesforgeneticenhancementand–togo BraveNew World onebetter–forimmortality.

Woulditbepossibleforbothofthesefutures–thehardand thesoft–toexistatthesametime,inthesameplace?And whatwouldthat belike?

Surelyit’stimetolookagainat BraveNewWorld andto examineitsargumentsforandagainstthetotallyplanned societyitdescribes,inwhich‘everybodyishappynow’.What sortofhappinessisonoffer,andwhatisthepricewemight paytoachieveit?

Ifirstread BraveNewWorld intheearly 1950s,whenIwas fourteen.Itmadeadeepimpressiononme,thoughIdidn’t fullyunderstandsomeofwhatIwasreading.It’satributeto

Huxley’swritingskillsthatalthoughIdidn’tknowwhat knickerswere,orcamisoles–nordidIknowthatzippers, whentheyfirstappeared,hadbeendenouncedfrompulpitsas luresoftheDevilbecausetheymadeclothessoeasytotake off–Inonethelesshadavividpictureof‘zippicamiknicks’, thatfemaleundergarmentwithasinglezipperdownthefront thatcouldbeshuckedsoveryeasily:‘Zip!Therounded pinknessfellapartlikeaneatlydividedapple.Awriggleofthe arms,aliftingfirstoftherightfoot,thentheleft:the zippicamiknickswerelyinglifelessandasthoughdeflatedon thefloor.’

Imyselfwaslivingintheeraof‘elasticizedpantygirdles’ thatcouldnotbegotoutof,orindeedinto,withoutanepic struggle,sothiswasheadystuffindeed.

ThegirlsheddingthezippicamiknicksisLeninaCrowne,a blue-eyedbeautybothstrangelyinnocentandalluringly voluptuous–or‘pneumatic’,ashermanymaleadmirerscall her.Leninadoesn’tseewhysheshouldn’thavesexwith anyoneshelikeswhenevertheoccasionoffers,astodosois merelypolitebehaviourandnottodosoisselfish.Theman she’stryingtoseducebysheddingherundergarmentisJohn ‘theSavage’,who’sbeenraisedfaroutsidethe‘civilized’pale onadietofShakespeare’schastity/whorespeeches,andZuni cults,andself-flagellation,andwhobelievesinreligionand romance,andinsufferingtobeworthyofone’sbeloved,and whoidolizesLeninauntilshedoffsherzippicamiknicksin suchacasualandshamelessfashion.

Neverweretwosetsofdesiringgenitaliasothoroughlyat odds.AndtherebyhangsHuxley’stale.

BraveNewWorld iseitheraperfect-worldutopiaoritsnasty opposite,adystopia,dependingonyourpointofview:its inhabitantsarebeautiful,secure,andfreefromdiseasesand

worries,thoughinawayweliketothinkwewouldfind unacceptable.‘Utopia’issometimessaidtomean‘noplace’, fromtheGreek‘OTopia’;butothersderiveitfrom‘eu’,asin ‘eugenics’,inwhichcaseitwouldmean‘healthyplace’or ‘goodplace’.SirThomasMore,inhisownsixteenth-century Utopia,mayhavebeenpunning:utopiaisthegoodplacethat doesn’texist.

Asaliteraryconstruct, BraveNewWorld thushasalong listofliteraryancestors.Plato’s Republic andtheBible’sBook ofRevelationsandthemythofAtlantisarethegreat-greatgrandparentsoftheform;nearerintimeareSirThomas More’s Utopia,andthelandofthetalking-horse,totally rationalHouyhnhnmsinJonathanSwift’s Gulliver’sTravels, andH.G.Wells’s TheTimeMachine,inwhichthebrainless, pretty‘upperclasses’playinthesunshineduringtheday,and theugly‘lowerclasses’runtheundergroundmachineryand emergeatnighttoeatthesocialbutterflies.

Inthenineteenthcentury–whenimprovementsinsewage systems,medicine,communicationtechnologies,and transportationwereopeningnewdoorseveryyear–many earnestutopiaswerethrownupbytheprevailingmoodof optimism,withWilliamMorris’s NewsfromNowhere and EdwardBellamy’s LookingBackward foremostamongthem.

Insofarastheyarecriticalofsocietyasitpresentlyexists butneverthelesstakeadimviewoftheprospectsofthe humanrace,utopiasmayvergeonsatire,asdoSwift’sand More’sandWells’s;butinsofarastheyendorsetheviewthat humanityisperfectible,orcanatleastbevastlyimproved, theywillresembleidealizingromances,asdoBellamy’sand Morris’s.TheFirstWorldWarmarkedtheendofthe romantic-idealisticutopiandreaminliterature,justasseveral real-lifeutopianplanswereabouttobelaunchedwith disastrouseffects.TheCommunistregimeinRussiaandthe NazitakeoverofGermanybothbeganasutopianvisions.

Butasmostliteraryutopiashadalreadydiscovered, perfectibilitybreaksontherockofdissent.Whatdoyoudo withpeoplewhodon’tendorseyourviewsorfitinwithyour plans?NathanielHawthorne,himselfadisillusionedgraduate ofthereal-lifeBrookFarmutopianscheme,pointedoutthat thePuritanfoundersofNewEngland–whointendedtobuild theNewJerusalem–begantheirconstructioneffortswitha prisonandagibbet.Forcedre-education,exile,andexecution aretheusualchoicesonoffer,inutopias,foranywhooppose thepowersthatbe.It’sratsintheeyesforyou–asin Nineteen Eighty-Four –ifyouwon’tloveBigBrother.(BraveNew World hasitsowngentlerpunishments:fornon-conformists, it’sexiletoIceland,whereMan’sFinalEndcanbediscussed amonglike-mindedintellects,withoutpestering‘normal’ people–inasortofuniversity,asitwere.)

UtopiasanddystopiasfromPlato’s Republic onhavehad tocoverthesamebasicgroundthatrealsocietiesdo.Allmust answerthesamequestions:Wheredopeoplelive,whatdo theyeat,whatdotheywear,whatdotheydoaboutsexand child-rearing?Whohasthepower,whodoesthework,how docitizensrelatetonature,andhowdoestheeconomy function?RomanticutopiassuchasMorris’s Newsfrom Nowhere andW.H.Hudson’s ACrystalAge presentaPreRaphaelitepicture,withtheinhabitantsgoinginforflowing robes,naturalsettingsinabodesthatsoundlikeEnglish countryhouseswithextrastainedglass,andlotsofartsand crafts.Everythingwouldbefine,we’retold,ifwecouldonly doawaywithindustrialismandgetbackintunewithNature, anddealwithoverpopulation.(Hudsonsolvesthislast problembysimplyeliminatingsex,exceptforoneunhappy couplepercountryhousewhoaredoomedtoprocreate.)

ButwhenHuxleywaswriting BraveNewWorld atthe beginningofthe 1930s,hewas,inhisownwords,an‘amused, Pyrrhonicaesthete’,amemberofthatgroupofbrightyoung

upstartsthatswirledaroundtheBloomsburyGroupand delightedinattackinganythingVictorianorEdwardian.So BraveNewWorld tossesouttheflowingrobes,thecrafts,and thetree-hugging.Itsarchitectureisfuturistic–electrically lightedtowersandsoftlyglowingpinkglass–andeverything initscityscapeisrelentlesslyunnaturalandjustasrelentlessly industrialized.Viscoseandacetateandimitationleatherareits fabricsofchoice;apartmentbuildings,completewithartificial musicandtapsthatflowwithperfume,areitsdwellings; transportationisbyprivate helicopter.Babiesarenolonger born,they’regrowninhatcheries,theirbottlesmovingalong assemblylines,invarioustypesandbatchesaccordingtothe needsof‘thehive’,andfedon‘externalsecretion’ratherthan ‘milk’.Theword‘mother’–sothoroughlyworshippedbythe Victorians–hasbecomeashockingobscenity;and indiscriminatesex,whichwasashockingobscenityforthe Victorians,isnowderigueur.

‘Hepattedmeonthebehindthisafternoon,’saidLenina. ‘There,yousee!’Fannywastriumphant.‘Thatshowswhat hestandsfor.Thestrictestconventionality.’

Manyof BraveNewWorld’s nervousjokesturnonthese kindsofinversions–morestartlingtoitsfirstaudience, perhaps,thantous,butstillwryenough.Victorianthrift turnstotheobligationtospend,Victoriantill-death-do-uspartmonogamyhasbeenreplacedwith‘everyonebelongsto everyoneelse’,Victorianreligiosityhasbeenchannelledinto theworshipofaninventeddeity–‘OurFord’,namedafterthe Americancar-czarHenryFord,godoftheassemblyline–via communalorgies.Eventhe‘OurFord’chantof‘orgy-porgy’ isaninversionofthefamiliarnurseryrhyme,inwhichkissing thegirlsmakesthemcry.Now,it’sifyourefusetokissthem – as ‘the Savage’ does – that the tears will flow.

Sexisoften centrestageinutopiasanddystopias–whocan dowhat,withwhichsetofgenitalorgans,andwithwhom,

beingoneofhumanity’smainpreoccupations.Becausesex andprocreationhavebeenseparatedandwomennolonger givebirth–theveryideaisyuck-makingtothem–sexhas becomearecreation.Littlenakedchildrencarryon‘erotic play’intheshrubberies,soastogetahandinearly.Some womenaresterile–‘freemartins’–andperfectlynicegirls, thoughalittlewhiskery.Theotherspractise‘Malthusiandrill’ –aformofbirthcontrol–andtake‘pregnancysurrogate’ hormonetreatmentsiftheyfeelbroody,andsportsweetlittle faux-leatherfashionistacartridgebeltscrammedwith contraceptives.IftheyslipupontheirMalthusiandrill, there’salwaysthelovelypink-glassAbortionCentre.Huxley wrotebeforethePill,butitsadventbroughthisimagined sexualfree-for-allafewstepscloser.(Whataboutgays?Does ‘everyonebelongstoeveryoneelse’reallymeaneveryone?We aren’ttold.)

Ofcourse,Huxleyhimselfstillhadonefootinthe nineteenthcentury:hecouldnothavedreamedhisupsidedownmoralityunlesshehimselfalsofounditthreatening.At thetimehewaswriting BraveNewWorld,hewasstillin shockfromavisittotheUnitedStates,wherehewas particularlyfrightenedbymassconsumerismanditsgroup mentalityanditsvulgarities.

Iusetheword‘dreamed’advisedly,because BraveNew World –gulpeddownwhole–achievesaneffectnotunlikea controlledhallucination.Allissurface;thereisnodepth.As youmightexpectfromanauthorwithimpairedeyesight,the visualsensepredominates:coloursareintense,lightand darknessvividlydescribed.Soundisnextinimportance, especiallyduringgroupceremoniesandorgies,andthe viewingof‘Feelies’–moviesinwhichyoufeelthesensations ofthoseonscreen,‘TheGorillas’Wedding’and‘Sperm Whale’sLove-Life’beingsampletitles.Scentsarethird–perfumewaftseverywhere,andisdabbedhereandthere;one

ofthemostpoignantencountersbetweenJohntheSavageand thelovelyLeninaistheoneinwhichheburieshis worshippingfaceinherdivinelyscentedundergarmentswhile sheherselfisinnocentlysleeping,zonkedoutonastrongdose of soma,partlybecauseshecan’tstandtheawfulreal-life smellsofthe‘reservation’wherethenewworldhasnotbeen implemented.

Manyutopiasanddystopiasemphasizefood(deliciousor awful;or,inthecaseofSwift’sHouyhnhnms,oats),butin BraveNewWorld themenusarenotpresented.Leninaand herlay-of-the-month,Henry,eat‘anexcellentmeal’,butwe aren’ttoldwhatitis.(Beefwouldbemyguess,inviewofthe hugebarnsfull ofcowsthatprovidetheexternalsecretions.)

Despitethedollopsofsex-on-demand,thebodiesin Brave NewWorld areoddlydisembodied,whichservestounderscoreoneofHuxley’spoints:inaworldinwhicheverything isavailable,nothinghasanymeaning.

Meaninghasinfactbeeneliminated,asfaraspossible.All booksexceptworksoftechnologyhavebeenbanned– pace RayBradbury’s 1953 novel Fahrenheit 451;museum-goers havebeenslaughtered, pace HenryFord’s‘Historyisbunk.’ AsforGod,heispresent‘asanabsence;asthoughheweren’t thereatall’–except,ofcourse,forthedeeplyreligiousJohn theSavage,whohasbeenraisedonaZuni‘reservation’offlimitstonormalBraveNewWorlders.There,archaiclife carrieson,repletewith‘meaning’ofthemostintensekinds. Johnistheonlycharacterinthebookwhohasarealbody, butheknowsitthroughpain,notthroughpleasure.‘Nothing costsenoughhere,’hesaysoftheperfumednewworldwhere he’sbeenbroughtasan‘experiment’.

The‘comfort’offeredbyMustaphaMond–oneoftheten ‘Controllers’ofthisworldandadirectdescendantofPlato’s Guardians–isnotenoughforJohn.Hewantstheoldworld back–dirt,diseases,freewill,fear,anguish,blood,sweat,

tears,andall.Hebelieveshehasasoul,andlikemanyan earlytwentieth-centuryliterarypossessorofsuchathing–suchasthemissionaryinSomersetMaugham’s 1921 story, ‘MissThompson’,whohangshimselfaftersinningwitha prostitute–Johnismadetopaythepriceforthisbelief.

Intheforewordto BraveNewWorld writtenin 1946,after thehorrorsoftheSecondWorldWarandHitler’sFinal Solution,Huxleycriticizeshimselfforhavingprovidedonly twochoicesinhis 1932 utopia/dystopia–an‘insanelifein Utopia’or‘thelifeofaprimitiveinanIndianvillage,more humaninsomerespects,butinothershardlylessqueerand abnormal’.(Hedoes,infact,provideathirdsortoflife–that oftheintellectualcommunityofmisfitsonIceland–butpoor JohntheSavageisn’tallowedtogothere,andhewouldn’t havelikeditanyway,astherearenopublicflagellations available.)TheHuxleyof 1946 comesupwithanothersortof utopia,oneinwhich‘sanity’ispossible.Bythis,Huxleymeans akindof‘HighUtilitarianism’dedicatedtoa‘consciousand rational’pursuitofman’s‘FinalEnd’,whichisakindofunion withtheimmanent‘TaoorLogos,thetranscendentGodhead orBrahmin’.NowonderHuxleysubsequentlygotheavilyinto themescalinandwrote TheDoorsofPerception,thus inspiringagenerationof 1960shopheadsandpopmusicians toseekGodinalteredbrainchemistry.Hisinterestin soma,it appears,didn’tspringoutofnowhere.

Meanwhile,thoseofusstillpotteringalongontheearthly plane–andthusstillabletoreadbooks–areleftwith Brave NewWorld.Howdoesitstandup,seventy-fiveyearslater? Andhowclosehavewecome,inreallife,tothesocietyof vapidconsumers,idlepleasure-seekers,inner-spacetrippers, andprogrammedconformiststhatitpresents?

Theanswertothefirstquestion,forme,isthatitstandsup verywell.It’sstillasvibrant,fresh,andsomehowshockingas itwaswhenI,forone,firstreadit.

Theanswertothesecondquestion,DearReader,restswith you.Lookinthemirror:doyouseeLeninaCrownelooking backatyou,ordoyouseeJohntheSavage?Ifyou’reahuman being,you’llbeseeingsomethingofboth,becausewe’ve alwayswantedthingsbothways.Wewishtobeasthecarelessgods,lyingaroundonOlympus,eternallybeautiful, havingsexandbeingentertainedbytheanguishofothers. Andatthesametimewewanttobethoseanguishedothers, becausewebelieve,withJohn,thatlifehasmeaningbeyond theplayofthesenses,andthatimmediategratificationwill neverbeenough.

ItwasHuxley’sgeniustopresentustoourselvesinallour ambiguity.Aloneamongtheanimals,wesufferfromthe futureperfecttense.RovertheDogcannotimagineafuture worldofdogsinwhichallfleaswillhavebeeneliminatedand doghoodwillfinallyhaveachieveditsfullgloriouspotential. Butthankstotheiruniquelystructuredlanguages,human beingscanimaginesuchenhancedstatesforthemselves, thoughtheycanalsoquestiontheirowngrandiose constructions.It’sthesedouble-sidedimaginativeabilities thatproducemasterpiecesofspeculationsuchas BraveNew World. Toquote TheTempest,sourceofHuxley’stitle:‘Weare suchstuff/Asdreamsaremadeon.’Hemightwellhave added:andnightmares.

MargaretAtwood, 2007

I NTRODUCTIONBYDAVIDBRADSHAW

FIRSTPUBLISHEDIN 1932, BraveNewWorld issetin‘this yearofstability,A.F. 632’–thatis, 632 yearsaftertheadvent oftheAmericancarmagnateHenryFord(1863–1947), whosehighlysuccessfulModelT(1908–1927)wasthefirst automobiletobemanufacturedbypurelymass-production methods,suchasconveyor-beltassemblyandspecialised labour.FordisthepresidingdeityoftheWorldState,aglobal castesystemsetupafterthedoublecatastropheoftheNine Years’WarandthegreatEconomicCollapse,andhis industrialphilosophydominateseveryaspectoflifewithinit.

ThestabilityoftheWorldStateismaintainedthrougha combinationofbiologicalengineeringandexhaustiveconditioning.Its 2,000 millionstandardisedcitizens,sharingonly 10,000 surnames,havenotbeenborn,but‘hatched’tofill theirpredestinedsocialroles.Theyarenomorethancellsin thebodypolitic.Ininfancythevirtuesofpassiveobedience, materialconsumptionandmindlesspromiscuityareinculcateduponthembymeansofhypnopaediaorsleep-teaching. InlaterlifethecitizensoftheWorldStatearegivenfree handoutsof soma,thegovernment-approveddope,andflock toCommunitySingsandSolidarityServices(whichroutinely culminateinanorgy)designedtoinstilmoredeeplythevalues

of‘COMMUNITY, IDENTITY, STABILITY’,theWorldState’s motto.Everyaspectoflifehasbeenreducedtothelevelof socialutilityandevencorpsesareexploitedasahandysource ofphosphorus.

EachoftheWorldState’stenzonesisrunbyaResident WorldController.‘Hisfordship’MustaphaMond,the ControlleroftheWesternEuropeanzonecentredonLondon, headsahierarchical,factory-likeconcern,withamassof Epsilon-MinusSemi-Moronsbredformeniallabouratthe baseandwithcastesofincreasingabilityrankedabovethem. ImmediatelybelowMondareacasteofAlpha-Plusintellectuals.BernardMarxandHelmholtzWatsonaremembers ofthiselite,butbothhavedevelopedsubversivetendencies, takingdelightinsuchdeviantpleasuresasbeingaloneand abstainingfromsex.Theyknowonlytoowellthatitis‘their dutytobeinfantile’,andthat‘whentheindividualfeels,the communityreels’andbotharefatedtobeexiledononeofthe islandswhichserveasasylumsforAlpha-Plusmisfits.

Theonlyotherhumanbeingspermittedtoexistbeyondthe paleofWorldStatearetheinhabitantsofthevariousSavage Reservations.Segregatedbyelectrifiedfencesfromthe Fordianhellwhichsurroundsthem,thesavagesstillget married,makelove,givebirthanddieasofold.Itiswhile visitingtheReservationinNewMexicothatBernardMarx meetsasavagenamedJohn,whomhebringsbacktoLondon. Johnisatfirstenrapturedbythenewworldwhichsurrounds himandislionisedbyfashionableLondon,buthesoon becomesdisillusionedbytheWorldState,anditisfrom John’sperspectivethatthefull,totalitarianhorrorofA.F. 632 isaffirmed.

BraveNewWorld haslongbeeninstalled,alongwith Zamyatin’s We (1920–21),Koestler’s DarknessatNoon (1940) andOrwell’s NineteenEighty-Four (1949),asoneofthe principaldystopianoranti-utopiannovelsofthetwentieth xviii

century.Itstitleisnowapervasivemediacatchphrase, automaticallyinvokedinconnectionwithanydevelopment viewedasultra-modern,ineffablyzanyorinvolvingapotential threattohumanliberty.WhenHuxleywrotethenovel,however,hehadotherthingsonhismindbesidesthe‘nightmarish’ future,andaknowledgeoftheprecisecircumstancesofits conceptionandcompositioncanhelpustoexplainthe ambivalencewhichsomanyreadershavesensedin BraveNew World.

WritingtohisbrotherJulianinAugust 1918,Aldous HuxleypredictedthatoneofthemostdeplorableconsequencesoftheFirstWorldWarwouldbe‘theinevitable accelerationofAmericanworlddomination’.Manyother intellectualsfeltthesame,andthe 1920switnessedarevival ofthevogueforcondemningAmericaepitomisedinthe previouscenturybyFannyTrollope’s DomesticMannersof theAmericans,Dickens’scontemptuous AmericanNotes and AlexisdeTocqueville’s DemocracyinAmerica.This resurgentconcernwiththegrotesquerieofAmericahelpsus tounderstandwhyHuxleywasalmostthrilledtofindthe UnitedStateseverybitasvulgarandasfreakishashehad anticipatedwhenhefirstvisitedthecountryin 1926.The finalsectionof JestingPilate,publishedlaterthatyear, containsagleefulexecrationofthegimcrackmovies,blankfaced‘pneumatic’flappers,‘barbarous’jazzandunrelenting pepwhichHuxleyhadencounteredinLosAngeles(‘theCity ofDreadfulJoy’)andwhichmadehimsogloomyaboutthe prospectsforEuropeancivilisation.‘Iwishyouhadseen California,’hewroteatthetimetoanotherrecentvisitorto America.‘Materially,thenearestapproachtoUtopiayetseen onourplanet.’Huxleyreiteratedhisdolefulprophecythat ‘thefutureofAmericaisthefutureoftheworld’onanumber ofoccasionsinthe 1920s,anditisclearthattheWorldState, withitshugeskyscrapers,dollareconomy,cultofyouth,

‘feelies’(tactiledescendantsofHollywood’stalkies),sexhormonechewing-gum,ubiquitouszippers(identifiedby HuxleyasAmerica’snational‘crest’)andwailingsexophones,wasfirstconceivedasasatireontheglobaldiffusion oftheAmericanwayoflife.HuxleyhaddiscoveredHenry Ford’s MyLifeandWork intheship’slibraryduringhis voyagetotheUnitedStates,andeverythinghecameacross afterhehaddisembarkedatSanFranciscoseemedperfectlyin tunewithFordianprinciples.

InJune 1931 Huxleyinformedacorrespondentthathewas organisingasecondtriptoAmerica,‘justtoknowtheworst, asonemustdofromtimetotime,Ithink’.InMayhehadtold anotherthathewaswriting‘anovelaboutthefuture–onthe horroroftheWellsianUtopiaandarevoltagainstit’.Ona numberofoccasionsHuxleyhadscoffedatH.G.Wells’s Men LikeGods (1923),withitsrosyportrayalofautopiapeopled exclusivelyby‘active,sanguine,inventive,receptiveand good-tempered’citizens,andhisuseoftheterm‘Wellsian’ hereencompassesallthoseaspectsoftheprogressiveoutlook whichhefoundmostrebarbativeorpreposterous.ButHuxley wascertainlynotthe‘greatestanti-Wellsianofthemall’,as AnthonyBurgessoncetaggedhim.Onthecontrary,withthe exceptionof MenLikeGods,Huxleyhadagreatdealin commonwithWellsinthe 1920sandearly 1930s,inparticular,arobustcontemptforparliamentarydemocracyanda convictionthatmasssocietymustbereorganisedasa hierarchyofmentalqualitycontrolledbyanelitecasteof experts.Huxley’soriginalpurposeinwriting BraveNew World maywellhavebeentosatirise MenLikeGods andthe fantastic,‘Californian’worlditdepicted,butevenashebegan towritethenovel,Huxley’surgetoparodyafictionalfuture becameembroiledwithhishorrifiedengrossmentintheurgent non-fictionalproblemsofthepresent.

TheWallStreetCrashofOctober 1929 triggeredaglobal

depressionwhichhadsevererepercussionsforthoseareasof Britainwhichdependedexclusivelyonthestapleindustries. Unemploymentroserapidlyintheseregionsduringthenext twoyears,andbytheearlymonthsof 1931,withthe country’seconomicproblemsgrowingdailymoreacuteand Parliamentincreasinglyexposedasanineffectualbystander, Britainappearedtobeonthebrinkofchaos.ManycommentatorspredictedthatthewholeofEuropewasheadingfor completeeconomiccollapseandbloodyunrest.Civilisation itselfseemeddoomed.

HuxleyvisitedtheDurhamcoalfieldandwitnessedthe miseryofmassunemploymentforhimself.Hewasalso presentduringakeyCommonsdebateontheeconomicand politicalsituationandwasprofoundlyunimpressedbythe posturingheobservedandthe‘twaddling’heheard.As thecrisesdeepenedduringthesummerof 1931,sotoodid Huxley’spessimism.TherunonsterlinginAugust,theformationofBritain’sfirstNationalGovernmenttodealwiththe emergency,andtheabandonmentofthegoldstandardin September,marking‘thewatershedofEnglishhistorybetween the‘wars’(inA.J.P.Taylor’swords),promptedHuxleyto postponehissecondvisittotheUnited Statesindefinitely. Shortlyafterwardshereachedthenadirofhisdespairwith conventionalpoliticsandargued,likemanyofhiscontemporaries,thatthetimehadcometorenounceparliamentary democracyandtosubmittorule‘bymenwhowillcompelus todoandsufferwhatarationalforesightdemands’.He envisagedpropagandabeingusedasalegitimatetoolofstate controlandrepeatedlycalledfortheimplementationofa nationalplan,similartothatwhichhadrecentlybeensetin motionintheSovietUnion.In 1928,whenthefirstFiveYear PlanwasinauguratedinRussia,Huxleyhadwritten,‘Tothe Bolshevistidealist,UtopiaisindistinguishablefromaFord factory’,buttheeventsof 1931 persuadedhimtoadopta

differentperspective.LikeMustaphaMond,Huxleyasserted atthetimehewaswriting BraveNewWorld thatstability wasthe‘primalandtheultimateneed’ifcivilisationwasto survivethepresentcrisis.MondisnamedafterSirAlfredMond (1868–1930),firstChairmanofImperialChemicalIndustries Ltd,whosevastplantatBillinghamnearMiddlesbrough Huxleyvisitedjustbeforehestartedwriting BraveNew World.HuxleyhailedBillinghamasa‘triumphantembodiment’oftheprinciplesofplanning,an‘ordereduniverse...in themidstofthelargerworldofplanlessincoherence’.Itis temptingtospeculatethat,inhismagisterialdominationofthe Savage,MustaphaMondpersonifiesthat‘strongandintelligentcentralauthority’whomHuxleyhadsummonedinJuly 1931 toimposereason,orderandstabilityonBritain.Mond’s ‘deep,resonantvoice’isnotedbyHuxleyonthreeoccasions. Moreover,heobservesthatitvibrates‘thrillingly’,andthat Mond’sfacebetraysnothingmorethreateningthan‘goodhumouredintelligence’duringhisinterviewswiththeSavage, BernardMarxandHelmholtzWatsoninChaptersXVIand XVII.Forallitshideousness,thehierarchical,aseptic,colourcodedworldofA.F. 632 isnotaeonsawayfromthescientific utopiaHuxleywaspromotingelsewherebefore,duringand afterhewrote BraveNewWorld in 1931.

Twoweekspriortothepublicationof BraveNewWorld, inatalkbroadcastonB.B.C.RadioinJanuary 1932,Huxley discussedthepossibleuseofeugenicsasaninstrumentof politicalcontrolandexpressedhisreadinesstosanction eugenicistmeasurestoarrestthe‘rapiddeterioration...of thewholeWestEuropeanstock’.Huxley’sinterestin eugenics,orthestatemanipulationofthebiologicalmake-up ofsociety,hadfirstsurfacedin ProperStudies (1927)and eugenicistnostrumswereadvocatedbyintellectualsofall politicalhuesintheinter-warperiod.Bokanovsky’sProcess, Podsnap’sTechnique,Neo-PavlovianConditioningand

Hypnopaediaarethewhimsicalequivalentsofthetechniques which,overtheairwaves,Huxleysuggestedmightsoonbe appliedtoBritain’spoliticalproblems.Asheputit,‘Itmay bethatcircumstanceswillcompelthehumanisttoresort toscientificpropaganda,justastheymaycompeltheliberalto resorttodictatorship.Anyformoforderisbetterthanchaos.’

InthesamewaythatH.G.Wells’s TheTimeMachine (1895) wasinspiredlessbyaprospectofthedistantfuture thanaVictorianfearoftheabyssanditspullulatingswarms, soHuxley’smorbidfascinationwiththeeconomicmuddle, politicalinertiaandsocialunrestwhichshapednationallifein 1931,andthepanaceasputforwardtosolvethecrisis,lies justbeneaththesurfaceof BraveNewWorld.Forinstance, whentheDirectorofHatcheriesandConditioninginforms hisstudentsthatthelowercastesareconditionedtowantto gointothecountry‘ateveryavailableopportunity’,and engageinsportswhich,bylaw,‘entailtheuseofelaborate apparatus.Sothattheyconsumemanufacturedarticlesas wellastransport’,andwhenwelearnthatitisaxiomaticin theWorldStatethat‘Endingisbetterthanmending’,Huxley issatirisingthetheorythattheproblemswhichconfronted Britainwerecausedbyunder-consumption,aviewheascribed totheeconomistJ.M.Keynesandwithwhichhestrongly disagreed.Keynesalsobelievedthatunemploymentcould bereducedandtheeconomyrevivedthroughasystematic programmeofpublicworks.TheObstacleGolfcourseat StokePoges,theforestsofCentrifugalBumble-puppytowers massedinthewesternsuburbsofLondon,andthedoublerow ofEscalatorFivesCourtswhich‘linedthemainroadfrom NottingHilltoWillesden’arebizarremanifestationsofthe Keynesianinitiativeswhichwereexcitingsomuchdebateat thetimethenovelwaswritten.

Anawarenessoftheprecisebackgroundto BraveNew World innowayinvalidatesthenovel’sdystopiancredentials.

Itcanbereadjustastellinglyasaprojectionofthetotalitarian dangersinherentinthecorporatestate,asitcanbetakenasa satireontheAmericanbogey.Aswehaveseen, BraveNew World canevenbeinterpretedasHuxley’sobliqueand despairingendorsementofscientificplanning.Alltextsare autonomous; BraveNewWorld itself,thevariousnon-fictional writingswhichHuxleyproducedatthesametimeashisnovel, andhisretrospectiveaccountsofwhyhewroteitandwhatit means,caneitherbeattendedtoinunisonorlefttospeakfor themselves.Butwhateverinterpretationthereaderfavours,it seemsmorethanlikelythatthecompositionof BraveNew World provedsoproblematicforHuxleybetweenApriland August 1931 becausehewasunsureinhisownmindwhether hewaswritingasatire,aprophecyorablueprint.Whena journalistaskedhimin 1935 whetherhisultimatesympathies werewith‘thesavage’saspirationsorwiththeidealof conditionedstability’,Huxleyisreportedtohavereplied,‘With neither,butIbelievesomemeanbetweenthetwoisboth desirableandpossibleandmustbeourobjective.’Significantly, aletterwhichHuxleywrotetohisfatherinlateAugust 1931 announcingthecompletionofa‘comic,oratleastsatirical, novelabouttheFuture’concludedwithhimdeclaringthathe felt‘moreandmorecertainthatunlesstherestoftheworld adoptssomethingonthelinesoftheFiveYearPlan,itwillbreak down’.Inhis 1946 Forewordto BraveNewWorld Huxley makesnoreferencetotheappealwhichplanningandeugenics heldforhimatthetimehewrotethenovel.Hitlerandthe‘Final Solution’hadmadeallsuchideasunthinkableandbythen Huxleyhadlongsinceforsakenthem.Instead,theForeword and BraveNewWorldRevisted (1958)emphasisethenovel’s propheticawarenessofthe‘nightmarish’futurewhichthe hegemonyofSovietCommunismseemedtoportend.

Oneofthegreatstrengthsof BraveNewWorld isthatitis hardtodissect,itresistscategoricalinterpretation.For

instanceinanarticlepublishedinMay 1931,D.H.Lawrence describedhowNewMexicochangedhim‘forever’by liberatinghimfromthe‘greateraofmaterialandmechanical development’.Huxley’sSavageReservationappearstoowe muchtothisessay, ThePlumedSerpent (1926),and Mornings inMexico (1927).IntheseworksLawrencecontinuallydraws adistinctionbetweentheaboriginalAmericans,whohadheld ontothe‘animistic’soulofman,andthedemocraticcitizens oftheFord-infestedUnitedStates. BraveNewWorld seemsto employthesamedistinction,andHuxleyevenusesoneof Lawrence’sfavouritewords,‘obsidian’,todescribethe wrinkledfaceofaPuebloIndian.Lawrencediedin 1930,and Huxleybroughtoutaneditionofthelettersofhisfriendand fellownovelistin 1932.Inpreparingit,Huxleywouldhave comeacrossfurthervividevidenceofwhatNewMexico meantforLawrence.Inpart, BraveNewWorld certainlycan beconstruedasanothertributetoLawrence,but,aswithso manyaspectsofthenovel,thesituationisnotquiteasuncomplicatedasitseems.Huxleywasnot,infact,sympatheticto Lawrence’s‘regressive’celebrationofprimitivecultures,and whentheSavageflingshimselfagainst‘aclumpofhoary juniperbushes’inthelastchapterofthenovel,theincident seemsmorea send-upofBirkin’snakedgambolintheprickly undergrowthin WomeninLove thanamomentofallusive homagetoLawrence.Similarly,asa‘verystoutblonde’, LindabearsmorethanapassingresemblancetoFrieda Lawrence,whospenttherestofherlifeinNewMexicoafter herhusband’sdeath,andwithwhomHuxleyhadgrown distinctlyirritatedwhileassemblingLawrence’sletters.

ThosewhowouldreadtheSavageReservationasthehuman, warts-and-allantithesisoftheinhumanWorldState,mustalso recognisethatJohnandLinda’sostracismamidsttheracial prejudiceofMalpais(‘Theydislikedmeformycomplexion,’ JohntellsBernardandLeninawhentheyfirstmeetattheritual