Brave New World: Chapter 9

The color-coded bars in this section make it easy to track the themes throughout the work. Each color corresponds to one of the themes explained in the Themes section of this LitChart. For instance, indicates that all five themes apply to that part of the summary.

Summary Analysis Themes

Lenina, exhausted, takes six soma tablets to knock herself out for eighteen hours.

Like most World Staters, Lenina prefers oblivion to experience.

Bernard flies to Santa Fe and contacts Mustapha Mond, who agrees that there would be “scientific interest” in bringing John and Linda back to the World State.

Bernard puts in motion his plan of revenge.

Meanwhile, John goes to see Bernard and Lenina. There’s no answer, and he’s terrified they’ve left without him. He peeks through a window, sees Lenina’s suitcase, and breaks in. He opens the suitcase and smells and kisses the things inside. Then he notices Lenina asleep on the bed. Her beauty inspires him to quote Romeo and Juliet. He wants to touch her, to unzip her clothing, but dares not. Suddenly he hears the humming of a helicopter and rushes from the room in time to meet Bernard at the landing pad.

John, moved by passion and Shakespeare, falls further in love with Lenina, and is tormented on one side by his sexual desire and on the other by his guilt over that desire and his love of honor. All of this angst John feels is what the World State was built to eliminate. This sets up the main conflict of Brave New World: will John give up or hold dear his pain and angst?