Katharine's Emotional Sterility

Character fate flow for Winston's wife, a Party-created automaton whose marriage becomes a sterile duty.

increasingBearing stren­gth in each eventdecreasing

The Human Sound-Track

The Human Sound-Track The Portrait Winston thinks of Katharine, his tall, fair-haired wife, whose mind is entirely composed of slogans. He nicknames her 'the human sound-track' because she repeats whatever the Party says. The Marriage The Party approved their marriage because they showed no physical attraction. They lived together for fifteen months without ever becoming intimate in any real sense. The Emptiness Katharine is not evil; she is empty. She cannot think a heretical thought, and that is her only virtue.

The Duty on Schedule

The Duty on Schedule The Nightly Ritual Katharine insists on having sex once a week, calling it 'making a baby' and 'our duty to the Party.' She stiffens at his touch, and he feels that even when she clasps him she is pushing him away. The Horror The coupling is a mechanical performance, a thing without pleasure. Winston grows to dread the appointed day. The Result No child comes, and Katharine finally agrees to stop trying. Soon after, they separate, though the Party does not allow divorce.

The Cliff in Kent

The Cliff in Kent The Lost Hikers Winston tells Julia about the time he and Katharine lost their way on a community hike. They came to an old chalk quarry, completely alone, and he had a sudden impulse to push her over the edge. The Missed Chance He did not do it. The moment passed, and they hurried back to the group. He tells Julia, 'I would have, if I'd been the same person then.' The Weight Katharine has no idea how close she came to death. She is so unperceptive that she cannot even recognize hatred.

The Vanished Wife

The Vanished Wife The Ghost Winston does not know whether Katharine is alive. His memory of her has faded to a distasteful blur, and he feels almost no connection to the woman he once married. The Party's Marriage Their marriage was an example of the Party's attack on human feeling. It succeeded in making sex grotesque and love impossible. The Distance Katharine's fate is to be remembered as a lesson, not as a person. She is a casualty of the Party's war on the human heart.

recalled in Winston's diary, eleven years earlier

during the marriage

an afternoon eleven years before the story

current story, as Winston reflects