Friday, July 8, 2011

Some people never change: Static Character Lenina

"Lenina Crowne? Oh, she's a splendid girl. Wonderfully pneumatic. I'm surprised you haven't had her." Henry Foster Pg. 44
Throughout the book if there is one character that remains fairly constant, its Lenina. She is constantly courted and had by several men which she enjoys and some would say even thrives on. She is all about going places, doing activities, wearing nice clothes, and taking lots of soma. And though it seems she may have changed when John the savage comes into the picture she still can't let go of her old ways even when he confesses his love for her. During the scene when Lenina confronts John at Bernard's apartment, she is only interested in having a physical relationship with him and is incapable of expressing her feelings in another way. It appears that she is nothing more than a shallow ditz sometimes but in reality that is exactly how Huxley has portrayed her. She is the epitome of all this society stands for. Even if it seems crazy to a reader today this is precisely how a normal person would act in this world. He has created this character as a beautiful temptress of a great number of the main characters who is hindered by the fact that she can't surpass her conditioning. She does actually experience some inner conflict when she seriously likes these men, and you can tell a part of her  does wish for the feelings that come with romance. She can't find a way to express these sentiments, though, because she has been so conditioned to do otherwise. Huxley effectively uses Lenina to represent both the people of this future and the natural human struggles they still go through due to their upbringing.

1 comment:

  1. I saw Lenina as a static character too. She is the perfect example of a well-conditioned woman. Like you say, nothing can let her get past her conditioning to express her true feelings.

    ReplyDelete