Sunday, April 1, 2012
Like Meat
Is it just me, or do women in A Brave New World sound like love crazed objects? Women such as Lenina are described as pneumatic; which is to be of air. That’s making them some sort of inflatable pillow perfect for bed. Plus, they can be seen following men around like Helmholtz pretending to be lovesick puppies. The way the men talk about the women degrade them to food. “I’m surprised you haven’t had her,” Like she’s the specialty of the week. However, does the “every one belongs to everyone,” degrade males as well? Basically, are the two genders dehumanized to the same level or do women bear the brunt of it? If that is so, then why would Huxley degrade them like that?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Maybe Huxley portrayed women in this way to have a later meaning in the novel. But I honestly believe that it was his time period. It's difficult to fight the mentality of the people and era you live in. As we can see, Huxley thoroughly brainstormed the future, but he couldn't get everything right. Women back were not equals, period. You can even see this during the Great Depression when radio comedies were popular like George Burns and Gracie Allen, and Abbott & Costello. Abbott and Costello would switch roles of who was to play the guileless and gullible partner in every show (they were both males). However, Burns and Allen (female) never switched switched- she was always the dumb one. So you see, Huxley was a product of his environment.
ReplyDeletePerhaps the reason why Huxley portrayed women like meat is to further enhance his disgust towards this dystopia. Women in society although not always treated equally, are symbols of motherhood, of safety, of purity, of beauty etc. Huxley portraying women as meat further exemplifies the lack of emotion felt by society since women are commonly attributed with soft feelings of love and tenderness for one another. This meat analogy sadly parallels our society since women and their images are subliminally exploited in the media. Women in music videos and films are commonly dressed in vulgar clothing, or represented as meat that you can go get at the bar for a couple of drinks.
ReplyDelete