Julia

"Almost as swiftly as he had imagined it, she had torn her clothes off, and when she flung them aside it was with that same magnificent gesture by which a whole civilization seemed to be annihilated."

- Book 2 Chapter 2

Julia is a major character in George Orwell's 1984. She is the love interest of Winston Smith and a mechanic at the Ministry of Truth.

Both Julia and Winston attempt to rebel against the Party with their forbidden romance and planning to join the Brotherhood that would stop the Party government, but it all ends up going wrong.

Description
Julia is a citizen in Oceania who is also a hater to the Party, and a survivalist to the government's totalitarian regime. She also had a desire to have sexual interactions with other Party men and had even slept with them a couple of times. She is an expert on the Party and uses sex as her weapon against it. While sex is illegal in Oceania, Julia loves it since it may have offered her satisfaction and her own way of rebellion.

She fell in love with Winston so she can rebel with him, and even though they may soon be caught, they know that they will be hailed as heroes for their bravery. But from the moment they had their quiet moments together where they made love outside of the city and in their rented room, they were still being monitored by the tele screens. In fact, both Julia and Winston were always watched their entire lives and even their secret affair cannot keep them safe. They were unaware of the Party's actions on them, and how it damaged their effectiveness after betraying each other.

Julia's romance had even committed the biggest offence in Oceania: falling in love which is prohibited. When she finds herself about to be betrayed, she could see that love is weak and that everyone else in her society value themselves more than those they love. After she is a changed person, she can no longer love as she is now one of the many Oceania citizens who are loyal followers to Big Brother and prohibit sexual romance.

Early Life
Julia was born around the year 1958. She grew up in Oceania ruled by Big Brother, and may had been like some children in her youth who look up to the Party and use their guidelines to spy and turn on the adults.

At age 8, her grandfather was vaporized for reasons unknown. When she was 16 years old, she had her first sexual affair with one of the Party members, which was a 60-year old who later committed suicide to avoid arrest. Overtime, she slept and had sex with dozens of Party men, although it is uncertain exactly how many affairs she had. Julia believes that when she uses sex, it is her rebellion against the Party. At some point, Julia joined the Junior Anti-Sex League where it encourages celibacy for both sexes, and got a job as a mechanic at the Fiction Department in the Ministry of Truth.

Meeting Winston Smith
In April 1984, Julia goes through her day at the Fiction Department, and catches the eye of a frail middle-aged man named Winston Smith, who suspects her as being a threat and part of the Thought Police. Julia participates in the Two-Minute Hate where Party members watch a propaganda video criticizing former Party member Emmanuel Goldstein, where she was first spotted by Winston and had fantasies of raping and killing her. She later appears in Winston's dream where she stands before him with her clothes off.

Julia was then seen by Winston walking down the street he is at but doesn't show him any signs of recognition. 4 days later, she walks pass him down the hall at work when she suddenly falls to the floor. As Winston helps her, she secretly places a note into his hand that says "I love you". She later meets with him again in the canteen and within a week, she sits with him during lunch. In a quick conversation and keeping their faces down, Julia and Winston arrange a meeting place at Victory Square at 19 o'clock, where they believe would be safe in the crowd.

After Julia gets there, a convoy filled with Eurasian prisoners passes by and draws a large crowd. As she and Winston watch the event, shoulder-by-shoulder, she asks him to take the day off on Sunday afternoon and whispers to him directions to the countryside outside of London near a dead tree, where they would meet again at 15 o'clock. The last truck in the convoy goes by, and Julia squeezes Winston's hand. They didn't make contact as they part ways.

Romance with Winston
Julia meets Winston at their designated meeting spot in the bushes outside the city. She introduces herself to him as they kiss and laughs when Winston tells her he thought she was a spy for the Thought Police. She tears off her sash and shares a block of chocolate with him from the black market. She explains she manages to disguise her illegal activities by working with the Junior Anti-Sex League and is attracted to Winston's expression for she thinks he is against the Party.

The couple walk into the countryside and kiss passionately by a tree with a singing thrush. She removes her clothes and reveals to Winston she has slept with dozens of male Party members. The couple have sex until they fall asleep. They return to London in separate routes and arrange a meeting at a crowded market in 4 days.

For the next few weeks, the couple have their daily meetings in the streets of London instead of the clearing. But due to Winston's long working hours and Julia spending a lot of time in the Anti Sex-Junior League, it makes it difficult for them to meet. One night, they have sex inside an abandoned church and Julia says she is 26 years old and living in a hostel with 30 other women. She also works on novel-writing machines in the Fiction Department and while she doesn't enjoy reading, she still likes her job and comfortable working around machinery. She was a troop leader in the Spies and later was chose to work for Pornosec for her chastity, which is the all-female section in the Department where pornography is produced for the proles. Overall, she doesn't believe the Brotherhood exists and simply hates the Party, even enjoying outwitting them without being caught.

She understands more about the Party's ban on sex better than Winston does and explains that depriving citizens of sex creates hysteria, which the Party turns into hatred towards their enemies and a more passionate worship to Big Brother. Winston talks about nearly pushing his wife off a cliff since he is afraid they will be caught and killed. Julia tells him to stop thinking about death, for she only believes in rebelling privately. She starts planning for their next meeting.

Winston rents a room upstairs in Mr. Charrington's second-hand shop and Julia purchases coffee, tea, bread, milk, sugar and jam from the black market before she arrives at the rented room. The couple listen to the Red Prole woman singing and Julia applies makeup and perfume. They make love and fall asleep in a double bed, then they awaken to find a rat in their room. She throws her shoe at it and then plugs up the rat's hole with a piece of cloth. They stare at the picture of the St. Clement's Church on the wall and finds a glass paperweight, which represents being connected to the past. They sing a nursery rhyme of the St. Clement's Church, with her providing the next two lines to the song. Before leaving, Julia says she will take the picture down and clean it behind it on another day.

The city prepares for Hate Week while enduring a heat wave. Julia takes in the event by making atrocity pamphlets while in June, she continues to meet Winston daily in their private room. Winston tells her about his feelings towards a man called O'Brien who he thinks is an enemy to the Brotherhood. She finds it ridiculous at the fact that the Party is unstoppable and that the war with Eurasia and enemies like Emmanuel Goldstein are just inventions made by the Party to maintain order. She also thinks that their love life is their only secret disobedience against the Party, but still agrees that O'Brien could be a Brotherhood member.

Julia was with Winston when he wakes up crying and tells her about a dream he had of his mother as well as talking about his difficult early childhood, when his mother and sister had suddenly vanished after he ran away. He even says that the proles are not human. Julia is wide awake when she is told by him she must stop seeing him so she can survive. They should even abandon their room to avoid the risk of being caught but can't bring themselves to do it. But they agree they won't stop loving each other and even if they are captured by the Party, their forced confessions won't change their feelings.

Meeting O'Brien
Julia and Winston go to O'Brien's luxurious apartment after Winston received an invitation from him. They are shocked when O'Brien turns off the tele screen and Winston declares he and Julia are enemies to the Party. O'Brien serves the couple some wine, which they never had before.

O'Brien explains to the couple that the Brotherhood exists and Emmanuel Goldstein is alive. He then asks them a series of unsettling questions to which the couple replied 'yes' to all of them. He promises to Winston he will give him a book of details on how to defeat their regime and they will be full-time members to the Brotherhood. They raise a glass for a toast to the past and Julia leaves.

After all the workers are given time off from Hate Week, Julia appears in their room while Winston is reading the book given to him by O'Brien. She is relieved to see he has the copy but doesn't seem interested in reading it herself. She flings into Winston's arms while they listen to the Red-Arm Prole Woman sing and Winston reads to her the first chapter of the book, which explains the origins of the slogan, "Ignorance is Strength". She listens with him but falls asleep later on.

Arrest, Torture and Defeat
When Julia wakes up, she wonders why the stove went out since she is sure it was full with oil before going to sleep, and she cannot make coffee. Their room is cold, and as Winston listens to the Red-Arm Prole woman sing again, the couple believe that the woman could be seen as a sign of peace to the future. They both say, "We Are The Dead," but suddenly, they hear a voice say "''You Are The Dead". ''They were ordered not to move as a stampede gathers outside the house and the voice speaks the last two lines of the St. Clement's Church Nursery Rhyme. "Here comes a candle to light your bed/Here comes a chopper to chop off your head!" The picture of the church falls off and a tele screen has been hidden behind it the whole time.

At that moment, the window shatters and black-uniformed Thoughtpolice burst into the room, shattering the paperweight. Julia is punched in the chest, and as she lays on the floor gasping for air, she is roughly dragged away by the Thoughtpolice. She is then taken to a separate room at the Ministry of Love, where she is brainwashed and tortured until her spirit breaks and finally betrays Winston.

After being released, Julia runs into Winston on a cold March day. She is now thickened and stiffened and Winston finds it repulsive on having sex with her. They both admit that they have betrayed each other and pretend to meet again, despite them no longer having interest in seeing each other, and Julia leaves him.

Personality/Appearance
Julia is a 26-year-old woman who is typically free-spirited and lively when it comes for her behaviour towards the party. She enjoys sex and sleeping with dozens of men, as it