Pneumatic use in Aldous Huxley - Brave New World
 

I am currently reading (half way through) Aldous Huxley's Brave New World and found that pneumatic is used alot as an adjactive desribing women. Namely one of the central characters Lenina. It seem's a rather odd word to use to descirbe someone and i was wondering what charcteristics it's actually trying to show?

Pneumatic means filled with air or to that effect, so i was wondering what Huxley was trying to portray with this charcterisitc?

She seems to get around a bit :p although also she's not really "dumb" or an "airhead" either? I mean, that's how she's been conditioned and all, and also she takes soma a lot of the time...

Anyway, anyone who's read the book or has any insight on this, would be appreciated :D

Ever seen pneumatic equipment working? THe pressure builds and builds and builds as you move in one direction. Then, PFSSSSSSS! It all comes rushing out. Women, in my experience, tend to be like this. Where men tend to blurt things out as soon as they think them, women wait until they can't wait anymore and the result is like a tsunami of words.

From Merriam-Webster Online

Main Entry: pneu·mat·ic
Pronunciation: nu-'ma-tik, nyu-
Function: adjective
Etymology: Latin pneumaticus, from Greek pneumatikos, from pneumat-, pneuma air, breath, spirit, from pnein to breathe -- more at SNEEZE
Date: 1659
1 : of, relating to, or using gas (as air or wind): a : moved or worked by air pressure b (1) : adapted for holding or inflated with compressed air (2) : having air-filled cavities
2 : of or relating to the pneuma : SPIRITUAL
3 : having a well-proportioned feminine figure; especially : having a full bust

There's an element of both aspects to the term. It is mainly used as a description of physical characteristics (mainly plumpness and roundness) but there is also a sexual connotation to it (since pneumatics are usually "bouncy"); it is also a reflection of the airiness (or emptiness) of the society in the novel.

Cool, thanks everyone. I was thinking along those lines, but it seemed like such an odd word to use, to me. Makes a lot more sense now :)