Contents
CHAPTER—XVIII
Overview
After bidding farewell to Helmholtz and Bernard, John is refused permission to join them in exile and withdraws to a lighthouse to live in penitential isolation. Reporters descend, and a sensational film draws crowds.
Confronted by Lenina, John whips her and himself, triggering an orgiastic frenzy. Overwhelmed by shame and despair, he kills himself.
Summary
Helmholtz and Bernard find John purging himself with mustard water. They announce their exile; John reveals Mustapha Mond refused his request to join them, calling him an experiment. Rejecting further manipulation, John vows to leave and live alone.
John chooses an abandoned Surrey lighthouse for austere penance, praying, fasting, and self-mortifying to atone for Linda and resist thoughts of Lenina. His solitude is broken when workers witness his flagellation, drawing reporters. He rebuffs interviews with anger and violence.
Feely cameraman Darwin Bonaparte secretly records John whipping himself and releases The Savage of Surrey. The film’s success brings swarms of sightseers. John, wrestling with grief and desire, tries to drive them away.
Lenina arrives with Henry Foster. Triggered by desire and loathing, John lashes Lenina with his whip, then turns it on himself. The crowd imitates him, breaks into “Orgy-porgy,” and, dosed with soma, collapses into a mass orgy while John eventually falls asleep.
Next evening, larger crowds return. Entering the lighthouse, they find John hanging from the stairwell, slowly turning, his despair culminating in suicide.
Who Appears
- John (the Savage)Seeks purification in a lighthouse; rejects being an experiment; self-flagellates; attacks Lenina; triggered orgy; hangs himself.
- Helmholtz WatsonSays goodbye before exile; supportive to John; departs for the islands.
- Bernard MarxApologizes to John; resigned to exile; leaves for the islands.
- Lenina CrowneVisits John at the lighthouse; is whipped by him amid the crowd.
- Darwin BonaparteFeely photographer who secretly records John’s self-flagellation, releasing The Savage of Surrey.
- Henry FosterArrives with Lenina; flees when John attacks her with the whip.
- Primo MellonHourly Radio reporter; attempts interview and is kicked by John.
- Sightseers and reportersCrowd the lighthouse; demand the whip; mimic John; join in orgy.