Chapter 6

Summary

Lenina is irritated by Bernard’s desire for privacy. She thinks he is eccentric. When she requests that they go to the busy, crowded entertainment centers, Bernard wants a quiet evening alone.  She suggests that perhaps they should go to the North Pole for their holiday, but Bernard reminds her that it is an honor to be able to go to the Savage Reservation.  He is one of the few Alpha +’s permitted to visit the reservation.

After they have been on their date, they take soma and go to bed together, but Bernard is dissatisfied with the ease in which their relationship is consummated.

The D.H.C. tells Bernard that many years ago, he went to the Savage Reservation. He warns him about being eccentric, and there is a hint that Bernard may be exiled. The D.H.C. also goes on to say that when he visited the Savage Reservation, he lost his girlfriend in a storm. Bernard is quite flattered that he has suddenly become so important, and boasts to Helmholtz about his possible banishment.

Lenina and Bernard take the rocket for the American Savage Reservation where they will meet those that live out with the Utopian society, because they are not worth converting to the new order. 

Bernard realizes that he has left his Eau de Cologne tap running, and it will cost him a fortune, so he ‘phones Helmholtz who tells him that the D.H.C. plans to exile him to Iceland when he returns. To console himself, Bernard takes a large dose of soma.

Interpretation

At last we have a chapter that advances the plot whilst Bernard’s struggle and rebellion come to a climax in his conversation with the D.H.C. He has a mixture of both fear regarding the consequences of his actions, and also flattery, in that the state feels it necessary to consider exiling him.  He is frightened of being a martyr, but excited at the prospect of being considered a rebel.

The reader wonders at this stage what is in store for Bernard – whether it is good, or bad.

The reader also wonders at why the D.H.C. is so careless in losing his girlfriend in the Savage Reservation. 

The reader might deduce that Huxley is perhaps a loner, for he clearly objects to people being attracted to organized entertainment, and acting like a pack of animals.  He shows us that the Utopians are encouraged to take part in the same sports, which have complex rules.  They are not encouraged to seek independent activities. In this Brave New World, everyone is part of a big team and independent thinking is against the doctrine of the state. Also in this society, the bulk of the citizens are expected to think and be like infants.

When Bernard and Lenina arrive at the reservation, the warden takes delight in embarrassing Lenina by using “dirty” words like “born” and “pregnancy”, etc.