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wingedbeastChapter six spends some time focusing on how the world treats Bernard and how Bernard treats both the world and himself. And, in this chapter, I find myself getting defensive both of Bernard and of what it seems that Huxley may be attempting to criticize.
To the way the world treats Bernard Marx.
Lenina, who still professes to like Bernard somewhat on a superficial level, (and she doesn't really know him, so a superficial level is initially all she has to go one) still views him as odd. She views him as so odd as to merit giving consideration to going, with Benito Hoover (who's a little hairy for her tastes) to a North Pole resort. She doesn't like the North Pole resort, not enough to do and not enough emenities for her taste.
She still wants to go with Bernard Marx because she hasn't been to either America or the Savage Reservations. These are new things for her. And, again, I will say that this is all she has to go on with Bernard Marx, at least at this point. He's nice enough, treats her with a kind of deference that makes her feel good, and he's offering this rare opportunity.
But, still he's odd. Fanny still has her explanation that someone thought he was a Gamma and accidentally put alcohol in his blood-surrogate. I still have my own theory (one that explains Bernard Marx's physical differences) that he was originally a Gamma that, for whatever reason, got filed in with the Alpha-Pluses. Henry Foster has his explanation.
Well, that's an update from "harmless" anyway.
The point is that, much like Hemlholtz, the society at large seems to feel the need to have an explanation for Bernard Marx, a nice safe explanation. It's important that nothing about the off-putting qualities of Bernard Marx be attributable to, say, how he's been treated. Remember that, in Chapter 3, Henry Foster had fun teasing Bernard.
The notion that a lifetime of that kind of treatment doesn't naturally lend to a person completely at ease with the society that abuses them would mean that the society is, itself, the problem. That's not something anybody's going to consider. And, to an extent, I don't think Huxley fully considers that, himself.
The notion that a lifetime of that kind of treatment doesn't naturally lend to someone who likes society would mean that Henry Foster is as much a part of whatever problem of Bernard as Bernard himself. That's not something Henry Foster is going to consider.
And, most importantly, the notion that some deviation of attitude and inclination is essential for the stability of a society is not going to be accepted. The society just isn't set up to even consider such a thing.
Bernard and Lenina's first date, for instance, will lead to the Director of the Center giving Bernard a stern talking-to about not being suitably infantile during leisure hours.
Bernard's idea of an ideal date involves being adult, not giving into their desires, and instead walking around, alone, having a conversation. This is something Lenina's just not set up to understand. She thinks of "alone" as meaning "having sex". And, with the effort of being alone and undistracted...
Note the desperation. She needed that radio on, rather than the thought of silently beholding a landscape of waves, clouds, a moon glowing through the clouds, etc. She wasn't comfortable with the potential of silence.
Because of that, because the society is uncomfortable with silent contemplation, it's uncomfortable with him and, therefore, needs to explain him away.
This is to say that some of his contempt for society is... right. At the very least, it's his right. You're not required to like your abuser.
And, Bernard is contemptuous of the society around him. At a few points throughout this chapter, he responds to bits of common wisdom with a recitation of the number of repetitions involved and the ages during which one undergoes this conditioning. This is contemptuous in small degree.
I suppose I should take issue with the fact that Lenina is caught in the line of fire of his contempt. After all, to whatever degree Bernard is a victim of this society, Lenina is an unknowing victim of this society. Bernard seeks for other ways to be happy and Lenina is too afraid to even acknowledge the concept. But, well, those little bits of hypnopaedic wisdom do need to be combatted.
All the efforts to take his anger and turn it off with a bit of soma do need to be combatted. Which is to say that, during the following, I'm on his side.
None of what I've presented really puts Bernard in a bad light. That's going to happen in just a little bit. Following this date, as stated earlier, the Director will give Bernard a talking-to about his off-hours behavior.
That's a fair amount of weight, both in wording and the power behind it.
And, of course Bernard loves it. It validates everything about him.
Imagine, for a moment, that you live in a world that demands that you have a place, that you act a certain way, live a certain way, believe a certain way, and is intimidated by the fact that you... aren't into sports. Seriously imagine that your society is afraid of you because you actually have the uncomfortable conversations about politics.
When I think about it, I don't even mind that Bernard over-inflates himself in retelling. You might, too. It's a human instinct.
And, neither am I all that put-out when, given confirmation that the threat is real, Bernard gets nigh-immediately crushed by insecurity.
Now, there are elements that make Bernard look bad. He's rude to Lenina's friends. In fact, he's not compatible with Lenina in the first place. And, some of his contempt for the society at large is... well... contemptuous.
There is an ideal balance to be had and Bernard isn't making it. But, Bernard doesn't have influences to train him in achieving that balance. His society and everybody around him, with the exception of Helmholtz Watson who doesn't really respect him, all demand that he only have one highly unbalanced option that... isn't really an option.
It's starting to dawn on me how much Huxley intends for us to dislike Bernard Marx. And, that's a balancing act on Huxley's part. Give us reason to pitty Bernard Marx, while at the same time giving reason not to like him. This is, I believe, an intended line. I remember the end.
But, for all of that, I can't help but think that Huxley's giving too much effort into making sure that we don't like Bernard, that we see him as weak and puffed up even as we see him being put upon by the whole world. And, we'll be expected to like Helmholtz Watson.
As much as I see myself in Bernard Marx, I can't hate him so much. And, as much as the effort seems to tell us, without showing us, reasons not to like Bernard, I instinctively reject that effort. For one thing, it is filled with violations of the "show, don't tell" rule. For another, what perfection are we expecting in these conditions?
Perhaps this is a failing of my reading and my over-empathizing. Feel free to tell me otherwise from your reading. But, I have a feeling that a lot of my view on this will be defensive of Bernard Marx.
Oh, and by the way, I think him not getting sent to Iceland is an unnoticed tragedy for Bernard Marx. If Iceland is the place where the behavioral cases, like Bernard, go, then that simply means that the people who don't fit in go to Iceland. That means that Iceland, for all that it's more isolated from the wider world, would include people who aren't all like Bernard, but has enough people like Bernard that the society there is more accepting of him.
In the sex-mandating purity-culture of England in this Fordly world, Iceland might be a stretch of land where you can be what doesn't need to fit in and still be allowed to fit in. Brave New World's "Island of Misfit Toys" if you will. Bernard doesn't know it, so he fears it and fights it and... well, at the end, I think I'll still hope for the best for him.
To the way the world treats Bernard Marx.
Lenina, who still professes to like Bernard somewhat on a superficial level, (and she doesn't really know him, so a superficial level is initially all she has to go one) still views him as odd. She views him as so odd as to merit giving consideration to going, with Benito Hoover (who's a little hairy for her tastes) to a North Pole resort. She doesn't like the North Pole resort, not enough to do and not enough emenities for her taste.
She still wants to go with Bernard Marx because she hasn't been to either America or the Savage Reservations. These are new things for her. And, again, I will say that this is all she has to go on with Bernard Marx, at least at this point. He's nice enough, treats her with a kind of deference that makes her feel good, and he's offering this rare opportunity.
But, still he's odd. Fanny still has her explanation that someone thought he was a Gamma and accidentally put alcohol in his blood-surrogate. I still have my own theory (one that explains Bernard Marx's physical differences) that he was originally a Gamma that, for whatever reason, got filed in with the Alpha-Pluses. Henry Foster has his explanation.
"You can't teach a rhinoceros tricks," he had explained in his brief and vigorous style. "Some men are almost rhinoceroses; they don't respond properly to conditioning. Poor Devils! Bernard's one of them. Lucklily for him, he's pretty good at his job. Otherwise the Director would never have kept him. However," he added consolingly, "I think he's pretty harmless."
Well, that's an update from "harmless" anyway.
The point is that, much like Hemlholtz, the society at large seems to feel the need to have an explanation for Bernard Marx, a nice safe explanation. It's important that nothing about the off-putting qualities of Bernard Marx be attributable to, say, how he's been treated. Remember that, in Chapter 3, Henry Foster had fun teasing Bernard.
The notion that a lifetime of that kind of treatment doesn't naturally lend to a person completely at ease with the society that abuses them would mean that the society is, itself, the problem. That's not something anybody's going to consider. And, to an extent, I don't think Huxley fully considers that, himself.
The notion that a lifetime of that kind of treatment doesn't naturally lend to someone who likes society would mean that Henry Foster is as much a part of whatever problem of Bernard as Bernard himself. That's not something Henry Foster is going to consider.
And, most importantly, the notion that some deviation of attitude and inclination is essential for the stability of a society is not going to be accepted. The society just isn't set up to even consider such a thing.
Bernard and Lenina's first date, for instance, will lead to the Director of the Center giving Bernard a stern talking-to about not being suitably infantile during leisure hours.
Bernard's idea of an ideal date involves being adult, not giving into their desires, and instead walking around, alone, having a conversation. This is something Lenina's just not set up to understand. She thinks of "alone" as meaning "having sex". And, with the effort of being alone and undistracted...
On their way back across the Channel, Bernard insisted on stopping his propeller and hovering on his helicopter screws within a hundred feet of the waves. The weather had taken a change for the worse; a south-westerly wind had sprung up, the sky was cloudy.
"Look," he commanded.
"But it's horrible," said Lenina, shrinking back from the window. She was appalled by the rushing emptiness of the night, by the black foam-flecked water heaving beneath them, by the pale face of the moon, so haggard and distracted among the hastening clouds. "Let's turn on the radio. Quick!" She reached for the dialing knob and the dashboard and turned it at random.
Note the desperation. She needed that radio on, rather than the thought of silently beholding a landscape of waves, clouds, a moon glowing through the clouds, etc. She wasn't comfortable with the potential of silence.
Because of that, because the society is uncomfortable with silent contemplation, it's uncomfortable with him and, therefore, needs to explain him away.
This is to say that some of his contempt for society is... right. At the very least, it's his right. You're not required to like your abuser.
And, Bernard is contemptuous of the society around him. At a few points throughout this chapter, he responds to bits of common wisdom with a recitation of the number of repetitions involved and the ages during which one undergoes this conditioning. This is contemptuous in small degree.
I suppose I should take issue with the fact that Lenina is caught in the line of fire of his contempt. After all, to whatever degree Bernard is a victim of this society, Lenina is an unknowing victim of this society. Bernard seeks for other ways to be happy and Lenina is too afraid to even acknowledge the concept. But, well, those little bits of hypnopaedic wisdom do need to be combatted.
All the efforts to take his anger and turn it off with a bit of soma do need to be combatted. Which is to say that, during the following, I'm on his side.
"Yes, I know," said Bernard derisively. "'Even Epsilons are useful'! So am I. And I damned well wish I weren't!"
Lenina was shocked by his blasphemy. "Bernard!" She protested in a voice of amazed distress. "How can you?"
In a different key, "How can I?" he repeated meditatively. "No, the real problem is: Ho is it that I can't, or rather-because, after all, I know quite well why I can't-what would it be like if I could, if I were free-not enslaved by my conditioning."
None of what I've presented really puts Bernard in a bad light. That's going to happen in just a little bit. Following this date, as stated earlier, the Director will give Bernard a talking-to about his off-hours behavior.
"And I should like to take this opportunity, Mr. Marx," he went on, "of saying that I'm not at all pleased with the reports I receive of your behaviour outside working hours. You may say that this is not my business. But it is. I have the good name of the Centre to think of. My workers must be above suspicion, particularly those of the highest castes. Alphas are so conditioned that they do not have to be infantile in their emotional behaviour. But that is all the more reason for their making a special effort to conform. It is their duty to be infantile, even against their inclination. And so, Mr. Marx, I give you fair warning." The Director's voice vibrated with an indignation that had now become wholly righteous and impersonal-was the expression of the disapproval of Society itself. "If ever I hear again of any lapse from a proper standard of infantile decorum, I shall ask for your transference to a Sub-Centre-preferably to Iceland. Good morning."
That's a fair amount of weight, both in wording and the power behind it.
And, of course Bernard loves it. It validates everything about him.
Imagine, for a moment, that you live in a world that demands that you have a place, that you act a certain way, live a certain way, believe a certain way, and is intimidated by the fact that you... aren't into sports. Seriously imagine that your society is afraid of you because you actually have the uncomfortable conversations about politics.
When I think about it, I don't even mind that Bernard over-inflates himself in retelling. You might, too. It's a human instinct.
And, neither am I all that put-out when, given confirmation that the threat is real, Bernard gets nigh-immediately crushed by insecurity.
Now, there are elements that make Bernard look bad. He's rude to Lenina's friends. In fact, he's not compatible with Lenina in the first place. And, some of his contempt for the society at large is... well... contemptuous.
There is an ideal balance to be had and Bernard isn't making it. But, Bernard doesn't have influences to train him in achieving that balance. His society and everybody around him, with the exception of Helmholtz Watson who doesn't really respect him, all demand that he only have one highly unbalanced option that... isn't really an option.
It's starting to dawn on me how much Huxley intends for us to dislike Bernard Marx. And, that's a balancing act on Huxley's part. Give us reason to pitty Bernard Marx, while at the same time giving reason not to like him. This is, I believe, an intended line. I remember the end.
But, for all of that, I can't help but think that Huxley's giving too much effort into making sure that we don't like Bernard, that we see him as weak and puffed up even as we see him being put upon by the whole world. And, we'll be expected to like Helmholtz Watson.
As much as I see myself in Bernard Marx, I can't hate him so much. And, as much as the effort seems to tell us, without showing us, reasons not to like Bernard, I instinctively reject that effort. For one thing, it is filled with violations of the "show, don't tell" rule. For another, what perfection are we expecting in these conditions?
Perhaps this is a failing of my reading and my over-empathizing. Feel free to tell me otherwise from your reading. But, I have a feeling that a lot of my view on this will be defensive of Bernard Marx.
Oh, and by the way, I think him not getting sent to Iceland is an unnoticed tragedy for Bernard Marx. If Iceland is the place where the behavioral cases, like Bernard, go, then that simply means that the people who don't fit in go to Iceland. That means that Iceland, for all that it's more isolated from the wider world, would include people who aren't all like Bernard, but has enough people like Bernard that the society there is more accepting of him.
In the sex-mandating purity-culture of England in this Fordly world, Iceland might be a stretch of land where you can be what doesn't need to fit in and still be allowed to fit in. Brave New World's "Island of Misfit Toys" if you will. Bernard doesn't know it, so he fears it and fights it and... well, at the end, I think I'll still hope for the best for him.
no subject
Date: 2017-10-09 08:36 pm (UTC)Of course, Demolition Man is a satire of "What happens if you drop a Charles Manson expy into the world of Brave New World?"
no subject
Date: 2017-10-09 11:12 pm (UTC)Brave New World parodies the world falling into shallowness and distraction, when that was a part of how the world worked the whole way.
Demolition Man is very much a conservative comedian's understanding of liberal and PC culture.
Seed of Bismuth
Re: Seed of Bismuth
Date: 2017-10-10 11:24 pm (UTC)