STABILITY THROUGH SUBJUGATION: A READER-RESPONSE APPROACH TO HUXLEY’S BRAVE NEW WORLD

Published in 1932, Huxley’s Brave New World presents a dystopian society where eugenics, genetic engineering and conditioning are utilised to enforce social stability to the detriment of individuality, emotional depth and authentic human relationships. Using Reader-Response theory, this paper examines how readers focus on the emotional tensions arising from the suppression of suffering, engineered health, and the manipulation of sexuality and family structures. The analysis centres on two critical themes, such as biological control and engineered stability, and emotional regulation with the erasure of human connections. The analysis has revealed that characters such as Bernard Marx have experienced alienation and longing for authentic connection, while John the Savage struggles to resist societal control. These characters’ positions have concretely demonstrated the cost of engineered conformity on humans, casting light on the need for emotional and moral autonomy.