Julia's Pragmatic Revolt and Broken Love

Character fate flow for Julia, the young rebel who believes she can beat the Party by cunning and joy.

increasingBearing stren­gth in each eventdecreasing

The Scarlet Sash

The Scarlet Sash The Appearance Julia is a bold-looking girl of twenty-seven with thick dark hair, freckles and a scarlet sash round her waist. She works in the Fiction Department and seems the perfect Party girl. The Hatred Winston dislikes her at first, imagining her as a fanatical spy. He even fantasizes about killing her. The Mask Julia's appearance is a performance. She wears the sash to hide her true self, and her quick sidelong glances are those of a hunter, not a sentinel.

The Love Note

The Love Note The Stumble Julia stumbles in the corridor and slips a note into Winston's hand. It says 'I love you.' He is stunned, first by fear, then by the wild hope that the Brotherhood is real. The Strategy Julia's approach is direct and practical. She has chosen Winston because he looks like a man who does not belong, and she knows how to spot dissent. The Risk She is risking her life, but she does it with the same athletic ease with which she moves. She does not think in terms of tragedy; she thinks in terms of chances.

The Rebel from the Waist Down

The Rebel from the Waist Down The Pragmatic Cynic Julia is not interested in the Brotherhood, doublethink, or the mutability of the past. She believes the Party is invincible and that the only sane course is to break the rules and stay alive. The Sacraments She brings black-market coffee, chocolate and cosmetics to the hidden room. Her body is her instrument of rebellion, and she gives herself to Winston without false shame. The Limitation Winston calls her 'a rebel from the waist downwards.' She cannot understand his need for abstract truth, but she understands how to survive.

The Arrest and the Broken Face

The Arrest and the Broken Face The Last Glimpse Julia is knocked to the floor and carried out of the hidden room like a sack. Winston sees her face upside down, yellow and contorted, with a smear of rouge still on each cheek. The Interrogation In the Ministry of Love, Julia is tortured and quickly converted. O'Brien later tells Winston that she betrayed him 'immediately, unreservedly,' a textbook case. The Loss Julia's rebellion is extinguished, and her body is reshaped by the Party. The stubborn, laughing girl is burned out of her.

The Cold Meeting

The Cold Meeting The Scarred Woman Winston meets Julia in the park on a bitter March day. She has a scar across her forehead and her body has thickened and stiffened. She looks at him with contempt and dislike. The Double Betrayal She says, 'I betrayed you.' He says, 'I betrayed you.' They both know that each one said the other's name in Room 101, and that the love is dead. The Separation Julia walks away, and Winston does not follow. The girl who once held the secret of staying alive is now just another hollow survivor.

early in the story, in the Records Department

mid-April 1984

May and June 1984

August 1984

near the ending, in the park