There are varying degree of sex-crimes in the dystopia of
1984. Winston's consulting with the prostitute in Part I chapter 6
is not as risky as meeting secretly with Julia in the
woods.
Consorting with prostitutes was forbidden, of
course, but it was one of those rules that you could occasionally nerve yourself to
break. It was dangerous, but it was not a life-and-death matter. To be caught with a
prostitute might mean five years in a forced-labour camp: not more, if you had committed
no other offence.
The
prostitute is a Prole and not so much of a threat as Julia, an Outer Party member and
organizer in the Junior Anti-sex League.
In terms of
Chiaroscuro (contrast of light/dark), the encounter with the
prostitute is set in a slum which is dark and dank. Winston is afraid to turn on the
lights. When he does, he discovers nightmarishly that the prostitute is less than he
expected:
When
I saw her in the light she was quite an old woman, fifty years old at least. But I went
ahead and did it just the
same.
In the Golden Country,
or The Place Where There is No Darkness, Winston and Julia meet in a Garden of Eden
setting. There are no cameras, no bombs, no Secret Police. It is an idyllic
setting.
As well, Julia is young and lithe, not a wrinkled
hag. There is no Oedipal guilt when Winston lies with her. The natural light on Julia
symbolizes a freedom Winston has never experienced. The woods, though dark shelter,
offer a welcoming surrounding devoid of technology and fear.
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