The Golden One's character, like that of Equality 7-2521, illustrates an important principle regarding the author's theory of human nature: independent persons form values of their own. The Golden One does not passively accept the beliefs of society. For example, she is not an egalitarian who believes there are no distinctions to be made among persons and that each is the equal of all. She does not love her brothers and sisters equally. Like her lover, she commits the "sin" of preference — and does so proudly. She recognizes that distinct persons are not equal in an absolute sense, and she loves Equality 7-2521 because his genius and proud independence cause him to stand out from the crowd. Because she thinks for herself, she values for herself, she decides by her own thinking what she will consider important or of significant worth. She chooses Equality 7-2521 for her own reasons and in defiance of social regulations. She chooses to pursue him into the forest for those same reasons, despite knowing that such a decision represents a literal point of no return: she will not be re-admitted into society and believes there is a good chance she will die in the forest. An independent thinker is a valuer, not a follower.
Her independence of evaluation is responsible for the vitality of her emotional life in contrast to the desiccated existences of her peers. Because other members of society mindlessly conform, they have no passions of their own. They value nothing in the way that Equality 7-2521 values scientific research and the Golden One, or in the way that she values him. They love nothing so much that they are willing to creep around in a dank dark tunnel to perform experiments — or flee alone into a dangerous forest to seek the person they desire. Nothing means that much to the other members of society because they have surrendered their minds to the state. Persons who do not think for themselves cannot value for themselves, and they end up with stunted emotional lives. The other members of this society are emotionless drones because their lives are empty. They have chosen to blindly follow the state, to seek no personal values, and consequently, to experience no great passion. The Golden One repudiates such a course of action emphatically. She knows what she wants and goes after it. Society's beliefs are insufficient to shake her confidence in her own judgment, and this is what makes her a heroine.
