B5    The new gods in BNW: Ford and Freud

by Sophia & Jenny

Short Biography of Sigmund Freud

 Sigismund Schlomo Freud, later: Sigmund Freud

• 6^th of May 1856 in Freiburg, Moravia (the Czech Republic)
• † 23^rd of September 1939 in London

Father: Jakob Freud, textile dealer

Mother: Amalia Nathansohn

• 1859  Family settles in Vienna because the economic crises ruined Jakob’s business

After a successful secondary education, Sigmund Freud starts his medicine study at Vienna University in 1873.

• 1876  Freud joins Ernst Brücke’s physiological laboratory, (he becomes involved in researches into the  central nervous system)

• 1881  Doctor of Medicine
• 1884  Investigation of the cocaine effect, (he himself was a cocaine user)
• 1886  Private consultancy in Vienna, (specialization in nervous disorders)
• 1890  Freud examines the sexual lives of his patients; this lays the foundation of Psychoanalysis

• mid 1890’s  Freud’s self-analysis, most important book: 'The Interpretation of Dreams' (1899)

• 1897  Freud discovers the theory of the “Oedipus Complex”

• 1936  Freud works on the questions of  origin und nature of religion

The Oedipus Complex

(It is based on the Greek legend of Oedipus who unknowingly kills his father and marries his mother) 

Mother                                                         Father                  Mother                                                     Father

                                     Son                                                                                             Son

Freud’s function as a God in the novel “Brave New World”

By his activities in the field of psychoanalysis, Freud discovered “appalling dangers of family life.” (page34, line12) Additionally, Freud was the first psychologist to bring to worldwide attention the theory of the control of human behaviour  by means of sexual instincts. Sexuality plays an important role in the ‘Ford-Society’. Everybody has always to be able to satisfy his or her physical requirements, especially their sexual instincts. In the Brave New World sexuality is given special emphasis, whereas emotions and family life are absolutely disregarded. Thus the people neither have to go through dissatisfactions nor do they have to suffer from lovesickness.

Later in the novel, Huxley makes use of Freud’s theory of the Oedipus Complex by representing the relationship between Savage (John), his mother Linda and her lover Popé.

The oedipal triangle applied to the relationship of the reservation inhabitants Savage, Linda and Popé 

                          Linda                                                                    Popé

                                                                Savage

The role of “Ford” in Brave New World

-      “Ford” replaces the word “God” in our religion (Rhyme: “Ford” – “Lord”)

-       Ford is worshipped by the people in BNW (p.98 “people who have never heard of Ford are uncivilized”) and they celebrate him (p.101 “Ford’s Day Celebration”)

-      instead of making a cross over the heart as in our religion a “T” on the stomach is used in BNW; it is a reference to the Ford Model T, which was the beginning of the mass production (p.47 “All crosses had their tops cut and became T’s.”, p.134 “here the Director made the sign of the T”)

-      Citizens in BNW substitute the name of Ford, wherever people in our world would say “Lord” (p.93 “And at last, thank Ford, ...”)

-      Connection with the assembly line and the mass production: in BNW there is mass production of human beings

-      Connection with Ford’s breakthrough in industrial production: Cars are produced in great amounts and in BNW human beings can be multiplied and the identical set of people is created

-      Solidarity Services are the new form of religious services. It is like a church service in our religion. People come together, sing and pray to Ford. There is a president who has got the role of a priest and a cup of soma is passed around like the bread we receive in the service.

-      Everything that has to do with god is forbidden, only Ford is important (p.211 “A whole collection of pornographic books. God in the safe and Ford on the shelves.”

-      A.F. 632  (632 years After Ford) the people in BNW count their time with the help of Ford. Ford gave his name to the new era, whereas Christ had been used to delineate the proceeding era (AD Anno Domini = “in the year of our Lord”) (p.46 “The introduction of our Ford’s first T-Model....chosen as the opening date of the new era”)

-      People in BNW revere the Sunday as the “Ford’s Day”, which shows again that they praise him

-      The stone crosses Edward I placed in 1291 are replaced by a Fordian “T”; now there is the Charing-T Tower

-      “The Fordian Science Monitor” is a parody of the American Newspaper The Christian Science Monitor