Character List
Bernard Marx An Alpha-Plus psychologist, rumored to have received alcohol in his blood surrogate, a circumstance that would explain his shortness. Identifying himself as a true individual, Bernard bristles at the social pressures for conformity and longs for the intense, heroic feelings but lacks the ability to be a rebel. He brings John the Savage and Linda back from the Savage Reservation and so makes possible the conflict that informs the last third of the novel.
John the Savage The son born of parents from the brave new world but raised in the Savage Reservation, John represents a challenge to the dystopia. He is the character closest to being the hero of the novel.
Lenina Crowne A technician, attracted by Bernard, in love with John. A conventional young woman who is drawn unconsciously toward danger, she represents ideal beauty for John.
Linda John's mother. An upper-caste Londoner, she commits the ultimate social sin by bearing a child. She is deeply ashamed and longs for escape, finding it in peyote, mescal, sex, and soma.
Mustapha Mond The World Controller, intellectually and politically powerful. He offers a historical view of the brave new world at the beginning of the novel and later debates John and Helmholtz on society's values. Mond sentences Bernard and Helmholtz to be banished to the Falkland Islands and determines that John must stay in London.
Helmholtz Watson Bernard's friend, later a friend of John. An Emotional Engineer, he longs to become a poet. He represents a more courageous and intellectual character than Bernard.
The D.H.C. The Director of Hatcheries and Conditioning, called "Tomakin" by Linda. He occupies an important position in the brave new world but loses it when Linda announces that he is the father of their son, John.
Henry Foster An Alpha who is seeing Lenina Crowne. He is a typically conventional Londoner.
Fanny Crowne Lenina's friend. Fanny represents the conventional views of the brave new world. She encourages Lenina to pursue John sexually if he will not take the lead.
Popé Linda's lover in Malpais. Popé's involvement with Linda inspires John's deep revulsion for sex.
Mitsima An old Indian man in Malpais who begins to teach John to mold clay and presides in the marriage ceremony John witnesses. He represents the beginning and end of John's involvement in the traditional life of Malpais.