Brave New World Characters: Bernard, Lenina, John and the Rest
The main characters of Brave New World are Bernard Marx, an Alpha who feels out of place; Lenina Crowne, a popular, conventional worker; John the Savage, a young man raised outside the World State; and Mustapha Mond, one of the ten World Controllers who run the world.
Around them are John's mother Linda, the writer Helmholtz Watson and the officials of the London Hatchery.
| Character | Who they are |
|---|---|
| Bernard Marx | Alpha psychologist who feels like an outsider |
| Lenina Crowne | Hatchery worker, popular and conventional |
| John the Savage | Son of Linda and the Director, raised on a Reservation |
| Linda | John's mother, lost on the Reservation years ago |
| Helmholtz Watson | Brilliant writer who wants more than slogans |
| Mustapha Mond | World Controller for Western Europe |
| The Director (Thomas) | Head of the London Hatchery, John's father |
| Henry Foster | Lenina's steady, conventional lover |
| Fanny Crowne | Lenina's friend |
Who is Bernard Marx?
Bernard is an Alpha Plus specialist in sleep-teaching, but he is shorter and slighter than an Alpha should be, and rumors say alcohol got into his blood substitute as an embryo. Feeling inferior, he resents the system and wants time alone. When he brings John to London and becomes famous, he enjoys the attention and drops his criticisms. When the fame fades and he is caught up in John's riot, he is sent to an island for misfits.
↑ Back to the topWho is Lenina Crowne?
Lenina works at the Hatchery and is admired by many men. She is cheerful and fully conditioned, sleeping with many partners as society expects and taking soma whenever she feels uncomfortable. Her one small rebellion is seeing Henry Foster for months without others. She is attracted to John but cannot understand his romantic ideals, and their clash ends in violence.
↑ Back to the topWho is John the Savage?
John was born on the Savage Reservation in New Mexico to Linda, a World State woman left behind there. Rejected by the villagers, he learned about love, honor and grief from an old volume of Shakespeare. In London he becomes a curiosity, is repelled by the World State and argues with Mustapha Mond for the right to be unhappy. He withdraws to a lighthouse to live alone, and the novel ends with his despair and death.
↑ Back to the topWho are Linda, Helmholtz and Mustapha Mond?
Linda was a Beta who got lost on the Reservation while pregnant with the Director's child. Years of hardship have aged her, and in London she escapes into soma until she dies. Helmholtz Watson is a handsome, gifted lecturer and writer of slogans who feels his talent is wasted; he becomes John's true friend and chooses exile on a cold, stormy island where he can write. Mustapha Mond is one of the ten World Controllers. Once a brilliant scientist himself, he chose to serve stability over truth, and his debate with John is the philosophical heart of the book.
↑ Back to the topWho is the Director?
The Director of Hatcheries and Conditioning, whose first name is Thomas, leads the tour that opens the novel. He threatens to exile Bernard, but Bernard brings back Linda and John, revealing in public that the Director is a father, a shameful thing in the World State. Humiliated, the Director resigns.
↑ Back to the topMore about Brave New World
This guide discusses the whole plot, including the ending.