BNW-Linda/Lenina

             In Aldous Huxley's novel, Brave New World, the World State concludes that "no offense is so heinous as unorthodoxy of behaviour" (148). Huxley presents a world that brainwashes individuals to prevent them from defying authority. Moreover, the World State conditions the women of the new world to be compliant individuals, stereotypical of the time in which Huxley writes the novel. He portrays women as incapable of feeling strong emotions and having separate ideas, with the exception of Linda and Lenina. Although both products of the brave new world, Linda and Lenina's actions subconsciously expose a dissatisfaction with the dystopia, thus revealing Huxley's own views on women. .
             Linda's experiences in the Savage Reservation influence her rebellion against the new world's society. After becoming a mother, a ignominy in Brave New World, Linda feels condemned to be a social misfit because of her previous conditioning. She is a conflicted character and is disgusted with herself for having a child, yet feels that "he was a great comfort" (122) to her . By displaying no concern when John shows interest in reading, something that is not encouraged in the brave new world, she begins to break away from the traditional Fordian woman. Linda even allows him to read something she considers "uncivilized" (131) and banned because of its reference to the past. Linda's life in the Savage Reservation ultimately leads to dissatisfaction with her former society. While living in the reservation, she realizes that what she previously thought was a utopia is in fact a dystopia, a place that does not prepare her for reality. When Linda gives John her book for training Beta Embryo-Store workers, she states that "it's the only thing I have- (129). The book symbolizes that everything she learns in the new world is impractical. Linda's seclusion from the society she grew up in and her isolation in the Savage Reservation causes her to question her world.