I think it's also possible that Lenina decided to dress a bit nicer - after all, she's going out with Henry Foster (to Fanny's dismay). My guess is that this an oversight on Huxley's part (though the outfit is mentioned once later). Two thousand culture fans gassed with dichlorethyl sulphide."Ī green-and-white jockey cap shaded Lenina's eyes her shoes were bright green and highly polished. "Then came the famous British Museum Massacre. Green corduroy shorts and white viscose-woollen stockings turned down below the knee. "Ending is better than mending, ending is better than mending." "Eight hundred Simple Lifers were mowed down by machine guns at Golders Green." Her jacket was made of bottle green acetate cloth with green viscose fur at the cuffs and collar. However, when talking with Fanny while getting dressed (Chapter 3), Lenina is quite clearly wearing green - the color of Gammas! The following excerpt from the conversation between the two is interspersed with a history lesson from Mustapha Mond and the sound of sleep-teaching. It's true that all the major characters in Brave New World are Alphas and Betas, and so we don't know what Gammas, Deltas or Epsilons really think, we should still be able to extrapolate. While many Alphas fit that profile, Lenina's less-imaginative attitude seems to fit a Beta more than an Alpha. She expresses clear disdain at the lower classes, while still docilely going along with the way the World State wants things to go (remember, she uses soma). Lenina's character throughout the book is consistent with that of someone from the upper classes. "And if you were an Epsilon," said Henry, "your conditioning would have made you no less thankful that you weren't a Beta or an Alpha." "I'm glad I'm not an Epsilon," said Lenina, with conviction. Later, when talking with Henry, it's clear that she is not an Epsilon - and likely an Alpha or a Beta: "My word," said Lenina, "I'm glad I'm not a Gamma." In Chapter 4, Lenina expresses her disgust for the Gammas as she passes by Gammas boarding monorails after work:
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