Love In A Dystopian Society

The concept of love in our society can be seen through the combination of a biological and evolutionary perspective. In terms of the biological aspect, the release of different hormones creates an emotional connection and satisfies sexual pleasure, and through the evolutionary view, it provides a way through which individuals can maintain security and pave way for the structure of a family to raise children. In dystopian novels, however, writers take the normative images of values integral to our society, such as the concept of intimacy, and tear them apart, implementing controversial views of important beliefs and exploring the positive and negative outcomes to determine whether the value is truly one that is beneficial. I argue that although …show more content…
In 1984, the Party condemns any form of love that is not love towards the leader, Big Brother. The institutionalized application of marriage has shifted from a focus of love and care for another to and shifted towards being a contributing society member through childbearing and raiding a family. The act of sex is referred to as the “duty to the party,” eradicating the desire, pleasure, and intimacy that comes with the act. In fact, the main character Winston signified a "feeling of positive dread when the appointed day came around," in which he would be intimate with his wife because it was an act of love towards the Party as it was solely to procreate, without feelings prevailing between the individuals themselves. When there exist such strict rules on individuals through the regime of a totalitarian government that suggests even the element of desire is thought crime, the ability to build mature relationships with complex feelings of adoration and compassionate for others is impeded. Rules restricting individuals’ freedoms limit the extent to which they can experience certain feelings and learn from them to improve the quality of their relationships (Steward 27). The rules promote a controlled set of societal norms individuals follow closely. From a post-humanistic view, the social circumstances and environment prevalent in dystopia shape the brain and behavior …show more content…
Lust dominates love, with a notion that “everyone belongs to everyone.” People are free to follow their desires at any given time with an enhanced importance in society for instant gratification. Self-control is not an element commonly practiced. Due to this, long-lasting sexual relationships are not able to be fostered and endure. When John the Savage, one of the very few outsiders of their world who has not undergone hypnopaedic conditioning, is examined by the public, the first thing everyone “want[s] to know is what it’s like to make love to a Savage,” exposing the notion that their thoughts and their world revolves around lust and desire. Because love is seen to trigger thoughts related to the place of the relationship in the future, while lust is related to present fulfilments, it is certain that Lenina primarily acts through motives of lust (Forster). Therefore, this value important to individuals in society prevents the growth of developed feelings like love what she feels in Brave New World is not genuine love, and because of the predominant presence of lust, there is no room to explore