Blinded by "Love" (1984)

The relationship between Winston and Julia is a focal point, aside from the total mind control, of 1984. These two are character foils. Their relationship is fascinating because they bring out each others unique traits. We realize that Julia is wiser and knows how to keep the fact that she hates Big Brother a secret. Winston is constantly scared he will be arrested for a “thought crime”. As I was reading I thought she might be smarter than Winston, but as the story went on, I realized I was wrong. His curiosity, although what did him in, was his best quality as a main character. Julia seemed to be oblivious to anything happening around her if it didn’t affect her achieving satisfying levels of pleasure. Winston shows us that all Julia cares about is breaking the party’s sexual rules. He doesn’t seem to mind. Julia brings out more of Winston’s curiosity and makes him wonder how she could be so un-fazed by Big Brother and hate him so much at the same time. Winston even calls her “only a rebel from the waist downward.” Julia thinks that he is too analytical and shouldn’t care about the reasoning behind their lives as long as they are getting away with breaking the rules. Their whole romance seemed forced to me. It seemed that Winston was just using Julia as a way to forget how miserable he was with his life alone. Julia seemed like a head case the entire story, starting from when she slipped Winston a note saying “I love you” before they ever even met. I wondered how she knew he could be trusted at all. She didn’t have any bad intentions but I don’t think what they really had was love. They simply found in each other what they longed for their whole lives: a companion. Their relationship was based on vulnerability and the need to feel needed and cared for. I’m glad the book included their story because it shows that no matter what the circumstances in life are, one can always find comfort in another for one short, sweet moment.