Chapter 14

John rushes to the hospital to see his dying mother. Though he is struck by grief, he is nonetheless amazed by the hospital’s modern amenities. The nurse is perturbed by his concern and wonder; she informs him that Linda has no chance of survival.

John sits by his mother’s bedside, as she watches television and fades in and out of consciousness. She opens her eyes and smiles at her son when he calls out her name; John reminisces his childhood with Linda—her youth, her beautiful singing voice, the rhymes she’d taught him, and the many stories she’d told him of the beautiful, civilized world. He notes that the civilized world of his mother’s stories is different from the real London he now lives in.

Linda falls asleep, and John’s attention is diverted by two eight-year-olds, twins in fact, who are presently causing a ruckus. They stare at Linda and her unusual form (she is fat, old, and wrinkled unlike anyone they have ever seen). John is outraged by the children and hits one of them for making fun of Linda.

The nurse is horrified by John’s intervention in the children’s “death conditioning.” She sees that John might be prone to more outbursts and promptly leads the children away.

Linda is now unable to recognize John, who is further enraged when she mumbles the name of an ex-lover. John screams at Linda who awakens and eventually recognizes her son. In her confusion, she is unable to understand why John would interrupt her romantic liaison with a lover. Linda dies, gasping for breath, with the last words, “everyone belongs to every…one.”

While John mourns his mother’s death, the nurse is bemused and concerned that his crying will adversely impact the “death conditioning” of the visiting children. Instead of reprimanding John, she diverts the children’s attention with pastries.

John quietly leaves the building.

Analysis

Linda’s death feels like desertion to John; he feels lost and alone in a world he still hasn’t come to terms with.

Linda’s death adds to John’s woes, who was already shaken by Lenina’s actions. He tries to remember happy moments with his mother in Malpais, but is only reminded of the violence his mother had to endure for being “civilized” and “different.”

As John mourns his mother’s death, he is also upset by the “death conditioning” of young children at the hospital. The children are being taught to treat death as an inevitable and insignificant aspect of life.