1984

1 Pages 259 Words

The Suppression of Love and Eroticism in 1984
“We are never so helplessly unhappy as when we lose love,” (Sigmund Freud). Throughout life, there are searches of meaning, belonging, and most importantly, love. Being in love with someone and sharing yourself and your life gives an overwhelming sense of completeness. If you live your life without love, compassion, or desire there is not much to look forward too – life would be lonely. In 1984, Big Brother’s manipulative control over the way of life in Oceania suppresses society’s and Winston Smith’s ability to find love and express sexual desire.

Big Brother could not control men and women from developing “loyalties” between one another; however, its undeclared purpose was to completely abolish all the pleasure, meaning, and emotion from the sexual act. The Party made great efforts to psychologically manipulate the people into doing as they say. Many restrictions and regulations made it practically impossible for anyone to even consider going against the Party. First of all, if a couple wanted to get married they would have had to have it approved by an appointed committee. In short, if the committee thought that there was the least bit of physical attraction between the couple, the marriage would be rejected. “Not love so much as eroticism was the enemy, inside marriages as well as outside it,” (Orwell 57). The purpose of marriage was strictly to procreate for the service of Big Brother, not to unite the love of two people, and for children to eventually turn in their .........