George Orwell’s novel 1984 describes
a trip into the countryside by Julia and Winston, where they have their first fully
sexual encounter. As Julia heads toward this meeting, she might be having various
thoughts and feelings, including the
following:
- at least a bit of fear, since she
knows that the Party tries to monitor both thoughts and activities; disobedient behavior
can be severely punished - a sense of triumph, since Julia
has succeeded in the past in deceiving the Party and must assume that she will be able
to succeed again - contempt for the Party, since such
contempt must be one reason that she is willing to take such
risks - strong sexual desire, since such desire must be
another reason that she is willing to take such risks - a
strong desire for autonomy and freedom, since such desire is yet another reason that she
is willing to take such risks - curiosity about what kind
of man Winston will prove to be - calculation, since Julia
knows that she must pre-plan the important details of this meeting if it is to come off
safely - a satisfied sense of hypocrisy since, on the way
to the meeting, Julia must pretend to be what she is not; she must be a consummate
actress, and she in fact takes pride and pleasure in her acting skills and in her
ability to deceive the people she regards with
contempt - confidence in her ability to improvise and deal
with unexpected, unanticipated challenges. At one point, for instance, the narrator
notes that
sometimes there were patrols hanging about the
railway stations, who examined the papers of any Party member they found there and asked
awkward questions.
Presumably
Julia feels confident in her ability to improvise answers to such questions, and she may
even take some pleasure in deceiving the Party’s
minions.
- a feeling of power, since she has done
this sort of thing before, whereas Winston has not. She is experienced; he is a novice.
When she first meets him in the countryside, she comes up behind him without him even
noticing her presence. She puts her hand on his shoulder as if she is in control, and
she immediately signals to him silently about how he should and should not behave. Julia
is obviously a strong, self-confident, adventurous woman; in some respects she is the
true “hero” of the novel. She knows how to move, both figuratively and literally (“she
dodged the boggy pits as if by habit” – surely a phrase with some symbolic
significance). - consciousness of her sexual appeal.
Although she is not an exceptionally beautiful woman, she knows that Winston is likely
to desire passionate sex with any woman, since such sex is frowned
upon by the Party. Julia, then, is powerful in many different ways, and she knows it.
Good luck with your project! It sounds
fascinating!
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