Lenina Crowne is one of the main female characters in Aldous Huxley’s dystopian novel Brave New World. She is part of the World State society that has embraced principles like conformity and consumption. Lenina works at the Central London Hatching and Conditioning Centre where she helps condition infants through hypnopaedia or sleep-teaching. She is promiscuous and highly influenced by the values of her society. This has led some readers to view Lenina as what would be described today as a “beta” female. Let’s analyze Lenina’s character traits and actions to see if this “beta” label fits her.
What is a “beta” female?
In modern slang terminology, the word “beta” is sometimes used to describe a certain type of male who is viewed as weak, submissive, and lacking typical masculine qualities. By extension, a “beta” female refers to a woman who exhibits similar traits – passive, conformist, lacking strong initiative. Unlike an “alpha” female who is independent, competitive, and dominant, a “beta” female is the opposite – shy, agreeable, and eager to please others. She relies on others’ opinions and validation. So a “beta” female essentially embodies traditionally feminine stereotypes taken to an exaggerated degree.
Lenina’s Occupation
Lenina works at the Central London Hatchery and Conditioning Centre where human embryos and infants are artificially gestated and prenatally conditioned. Through eugenic selection and advanced biochemical techniques, the World State breeds people into designated castes. Lenina helps oversee the conditioning process which involves technologically implanting certain values and associations into the infants’ developing minds. This includes things like associating books with illness, flowers with sexual play, and instilling patriotism to the World State regime.
Lenina never questions her role in this highly manipulative process that robs individuals of autonomy and free will. She just goes along with the system. This conformity and lack of independence could be considered “beta”. However, Lenina is not shy about using the technology and acting as an agent of the system. She seems to embrace her position. So in this occupation-related sense, she does not fully fit the stereotypical “beta” mold of meek submission. She enthusiastically facilitates the system’s control over others.
Lenina’s Leisure Activities
When not working, Lenina enjoys participating in the shallow leisure activities encouraged by her society. This includes activities like attending mass orgies called “feelies” where people engage in anonymous promiscuous sex. Emotional connections and relationships are discouraged in the World State, so Lenina objectifies sex and views it as a social amusement, often engaging in it with multiple partners.
Lenina also enjoys hypnotic trances induced by the drug soma which helps people escape from anxiety, pain, and dissatisfaction. Use of soma is controlled and mandated by the government. Like most citizens, Lenina embraces the drug as a means of keeping everyone placated and adhering to social norms.
These socially conformist and hedonistic leisure pursuits could be seen as “beta” in the sense that Lenina just goes along unquestioningly with what she is told to enjoy and value. However, in her actual relishing of promiscuity and drug use, she does not come across as meek or submissive. Still, since these are system-sanctioned activities, they reflect Lenina always relying on external cues to shape her behavior rather than having agency herself.
Lenina’s Relationships
Lenina’s relationships reflect the shallowness of her society’s enforced values. She has many superficial sexual encounters but makes no deep romantic connections. Her closest thing to a steady partner is Henry Foster with whom she engages in conventional bonding activities like attending feelies together. But there is no genuine devotion between them.
Lenina appears to pine after John, the “Savage” from the Reservation who rejects her sexual advances. But this seems more like infatuation with the unfamiliar rather than genuine affection. Lenina struggles to understand John’s desire for emotional intimacy and monogamy.
Because Lenina drifts from partner to partner without attachment, she could be considered “beta” in this interpersonal sense – not assertive in romantically getting what she wants. However, her promiscuity also contains an element of defiant rebellion against John’s rejection. So she does not simply submit meekly to others’ wishes or lack thereof. Still, her relationships characterize her as someone who conforms to external expectations, whether it be the general promiscuity of society or John’s ideal of abstinence. She alters her behavior to “fit in” rather than act on personal desires.
Lenina’s Personality and Values
In addition to her occupation, leisure activities, and relationships, Lenina’s general personality and values reflect the “beta” characteristics of passivity, conformism, and lack of initiative. She is comfortable and complacent in her role as a cog in society’s wheel. She adheres obediently to norms like caste hierarchy, promiscuity, and soma use. Lenina rarely questions authority or expresses individual opinions counter to the World State’s norms. And she is dependent on external validation, comfortably floating wherever the tides of social expectation carry her.
However, it is unclear whether these “beta” traits reflect Lenina’s innate personality or just the result of her societal conditioning. She has been sleep-taught from infancy to conform to communal standards and conditioned via operant reinforcement to enjoy shallow pleasures. So unlike protagonists like John or Bernard Marx who still retain some personal autonomy, Lenina represents someone wholly molded by external forces. In that sense, whether she is truly a “beta” by nature is debatable. Her lack of agency may simply reflect her complete indoctrination by society’s ideals rather than her own inherent personality.
Counterarguments
There are also ways in which Lenina demonstrates personality traits and behaviors that seem decidedly un-beta. For instance, she shows some defiance of social norms when interacting with the Savage by aggressively pursuing John despite his refusals. She also adapts quickly to unorthodox situations like joining an orgy at the Reservation, again indicating flexibility and initiative rather than just blind conformity.
Lenina also exhibits confidence in her sexuality and work roles, embracing her duties without apparent insecurity or self-doubt. She applies makeup skillfully, wears provocative clothing, and controls her interactions with men – sometimes being the sexual aggressor. These behaviors show dominant personality traits more typical of an “alpha” female.
Lastly, Lenina maintains the same promiscuous behaviors across situations – both in the “civilized” World State and on the Reservation. This demonstrates a strong sense of self and personal identity that does not waver according to circumstances. So in some ways, Lenina shows an assertiveness and certainty that contradict the stereotype of a passive, unsure “beta” female.
Conclusion
Lenina Crowne embodies some stereotypical “beta” female characteristics like conformity, passivity, and reliance on external validation. Her occupation, leisure pursuits, shallow relationships, and general personality traits reveal someone who obediently follows social norms without personal initiative or agency. However, Lenina also sometimes shows confidence, defiance, and willingness to adapt that seem more “alpha”. Ultimately, Lenina reflects how complete indoctrination into an oppressive system can override innate personality and produce conformity. Her “beta” tendencies may result more from her conditioning than her authentic self. With her individuality erased, Lenina acts how she’s been programmed – as a placated, objectified creature of society. But glimmers of deeper complexity occasionally peek through her acquiescence.
