Brave New World (Chapters 13-End)

"The world is stable now. People are happy; they get what they want, and they never want what they can't get. They're well off; they're safe; they're never ill; they're not afraid of death; they're blissfully ignorant of passion and old age; they're plagued with no mothers and fathers; they've got no wives; or children, or lovers to feel strongly about, they're so conditioned that they practically can't help behaving as they ought to behave." (198-199)


In this passage, Mustapha Mond is talking to John and he tries to explain why a play like Othello would not be understood and appreciated in their society. He explains that today's society is completely different from Shakespeare's society; therefore people would not be able to understand the issues of this tragedy. Mustapha Mond praises the society he lives in, which he describes as a stable society where everybody is happy.

Here, the author explains where the absolute happiness of this brave new world comes from. Envy and jealousy don’t exist: people are conditioned to be happy with nothing more than what they already have. Natural aspects and characteristics of human life have been erased: no more diseases, no more old age, but no more passion and no more love. People live on their own; they do not have any kind of intimate relationship with anyone. It seems like instability and unhappiness come from these relationships that you have with others: you envy the things that others have and you need these things to feel happy, you have a broken heart when your lover leaves you, you are sad when someone you love is ill or dying. This is a praise for individuality. But it should not be taken at face value. Indeed, the author mentioned that these people are “conditioned” to feel like this: it shows that this is not a natural behavior; it is imposed on them without their noticing. The concept of free will and freedom are completely shattered. Is this happiness real or only an illusion? Can you be happy without being free to do, to feel and to think whatever you want?