Surprising Art in Classic Sci-Fi
Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World is built around four classic archetypes of man’s spiritual condition
Brave New World may have been published in 1932, but it remains solid reading with two barrels full of important philosophy and questions for politicians and youngsters alike. It has surprising breadth and appeal, remaining at #601 on Amazon despite its age, and is top 30 in several categories. The expectation of interesting thoughts and thrilling stories from science fiction is present, but I was shocked to find such beauty and compulsion behind the characters’ viewpoints of their orderly society in my reading.
While I cannot speak to Huxley’s process, I appreciate using archetypes to analyze characters after Carl Jung’s methods. Archetypes are images, manifestations of a picture in our shared collective consciousness, a proposed psychic connection between all mankind. Some good examples are the villain Scarecrow from DC Comics, who is presented as the embodiment of Halloween night terrors, and the simple titles of “father” or “mother.” Whether you believe in Jung’s proposals or not, the lens of archetypes can help you understand literature and stories from a new angle. Villain and hero, master and slave, king and farmer, priest and witch, archetypes all. Nowadays we speak of them in terms of tropes, but Jung would say they are something more.
In reading Brave New World, I came to a great confrontation with a sense of mystery. The civilized world is perfectly ordered, a place of drug-induced pleasantness and plenty where the worst injury can be treated and the most hurtful word undone with a half-gram tablet. The protagonists, makers of trouble each in their own way, are dragged before the properly-named World Controller for judgment and I looked at the four characters in shock: This was an assembly of classic archetypes of human spiritual development.
The first character is the politician, utterly pathetic in form and bearing. A scraper, a soul made of changable mush without hope beyond others’ offerings. He is presented as a sort of nihilist, hopeless against one face turned towards him and forever whipped by the opinions of others and the momentary turns of fate instead of any guiding principles.
The second character is an artist, beautiful and well-liked. He seeks beauty in all things and carries himself virtuously no matter what is done to or against him. He is a spiritual optimist, a sincere seeker of some far-off light he knows is there. He chooses hardship instead of ease, hoping that the difficulty will inspire him to greater heights of art and generosity of spirit.
The third character is a child, young and unconditioned. He has the fierce emotions of a youngster and is presented as a savage, dashing objects and manners alike in his mad dash towards what he views as the good of all. He is a moral extremist, as totalitarian in mandating freedom for all as the society he bucks against though in a different fashion.
The fourth character is a governor, sold on the system’s strengths in spite of knowing all its weaknesses. He is an ethical pragmatist, considering the ends valuable enough to justify any means. He is calm, and also the key player in the scene. Through his generosity, the greatest trepidation and delight of the book comes about as the scene unfolds to its readers.
Huxley manages to set up incredible and vehemently opposing viewpoints, but without direct conflict. No simple bullet or sword is enough to solve the problem faced by mankind herein. We are treated to a wonderful scene where all four, from different social stations and with differing amounts of power, are all presented as powerless in the face of the crushing system which has developed — a chilling interior to such a happy veneer on which society thrives in a stable, pleasant existence.
The book asks questions that haunt every heart: What does a perfect life look like, what would you pay to get it, and who would you trample on your path to bring it about? If you are honest enough, you will see immense value in confronting them and immense pleasure in such a wordsmith’s artful turns of phrase and lovely descriptions. Stretch yourself with pleasure, and give it a read.
