Contents
CHAPTER—XIII
Overview
Lenina, desperate and guided by conditioning, tries to seduce John, but John’s ideals of chastity and marriage clash violently with her advances. He erupts, denouncing her and striking her, while Shakespeare’s words fuel his fury. A call about Linda’s critical illness pulls John away to the hospital, and Lenina escapes.
Summary
At the Hatchery, Henry Foster notices Lenina’s distress and prescribes medical surrogates, but Lenina, preoccupied with John, rebuffs him. Her distraction leads to a missed injection that will doom a future administrator, underscoring her turmoil. In the changing room, Fanny urges Lenina to act decisively and even to override John’s reluctance, advising soma to steel her nerves.
Expecting Helmholtz, John opens his door to find Lenina, buoyed by half a gramme of soma, seeking resolution. John kneels, declares reverent admiration, and speaks of proving himself worthy through noble deeds, invoking Malpais marriage customs and Shakespeare. Lenina, frustrated by his ideals and obscurities, presses for a simple answer: does he like her?
When John finally admits he loves her, Lenina initiates physical intimacy, undressing and urging him onward with seductive slogans. John, torn by desire and conscience, recoils, quotes Shakespeare against lust, and then, in mounting fury, seizes her wrists and denounces her as a “whore.” His rage culminates in a slap that drives Lenina to flee into the bathroom and lock the door.
Pacing and reciting Shakespeare’s invectives, John battles his attraction and disgust while Lenina, shaken and injured, negotiates for her clothes through the door. The standoff is broken by a telephone call: John learns Linda is gravely ill and has been taken to the Park Lane Hospital.
John rushes out to Linda, leaving Lenina to cautiously emerge and escape the flat. The encounter cements the cultural and moral rupture between them and propels John toward his mother’s looming crisis.
Who Appears
- John (the Savage)Confesses love but refuses premarital sex; erupts in moral fury, insults and strikes Lenina; rushes to Linda’s hospital.
- Lenina CrowneObsessed with John; follows Fanny’s advice, uses soma for courage; attempts seduction; is rejected, slapped, and hides before escaping.
- Fanny CrowneAdvises Lenina to act decisively and take soma, urging her to pursue John regardless of his reluctance.
- Henry FosterNotices Lenina’s distress, suggests medical surrogates; his scene underscores Lenina’s distraction.
- LindaOffstage but pivotal; her sudden critical illness summons John to the Park Lane Hospital.