Crome Yellow: Fleeing the Constants of Existence S. R. Kercenna College

Crome Yellow is Aldous Huxley’s first novel, published in 1921. Many critics suggest that the story with its characters is a satirized image of the Bloomsbury group drawn by Huxley himself. Regardless of the factual evidence concerning this view point, there is much more to Crome Yellow than a satirical reproduction of the author’s own experience among some of his literary acquaintances. The book, in fact, is one of the deepest Huxley has ever written, for it ponders upon matters of the highest importance such as the givens of existence and the fear with which they are met by human consciousness.

Death, freedom, isolation, and meaninglessness are the four ultimate existential concerns; they are constant and unchangeable. Upon an encounter with them, the individual experiences an inner crisis known as the existential dynamic conflict. The latter is often too taxing for human consciousness. Therefore, it is usually avoided and fled by means of various defense mechanisms. The party assembled in ‘Crome’ provides the perfect illustration for such a psychological process. Almost every single character in the book attempts to evade one or more of these concerns with the aid of different methods.

Death can be said to be the most...