Strange intimacy : spirituality and intersubjective relations in Orwell's 1984

Réka Törzsök

doi:10.5817/BSE2024-2-10

Strange intimacy : spirituality and intersubjective relations in Orwell's 1984

Vol.50,No.2(2024)

Réka Törzsök

https://doi.org/10.5817/BSE2024-2-10

Stable URL (handle):
http://hdl.handle.net/11222.digilib/digilib.82134

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Abstract

This essay deals with the spiritual dimension of George Orwell's 1984 (1949), focusing on a frequently overlooked aspect: the dynamics of the two central relationships of the protagonist, Winston Smith. Through an analysis of these relationships using the lens of Bataillean eroticism and Christian eschatology, I explore how the "strange intimacy" between Winston and O'Brien takes narrative precedence over the more conventional, unambiguously romantic affair with Julia. I also examine how the erotic undertones and the eschatological dimension of the two relationships can provide a new perspective on some of the fundamental issues of the novel, particularly its portrayal of the dichotomy between body and mind. In the focus of the analysis is the Ministry of Love torture sequence, in which the homoerotic Winston–O'Brien relationship is elevated to a spiritual level, creating an alternative, sacred temporality that prevails over the more traditional, physically driven relationship between Winston and Julia, which unfolds within ordinary historical temporality.

Keywords:
Orwell; 1984; Bataille; eroticism; eschatology; spirituality; intersubjectivity; queer

Pages:
207–227

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