any virtue to exist
anywhere. I want everyone to be corrupt to the bones.'
'Well then, I ought to suit you, dear. I'm corrupt to the bones.'
'You like doing this? I don't mean simply me: I mean the thing in
itself?'
'I adore it.'
That was above all what he wanted to hear. Not merely the love of one
person but the animal instinct, the simple undifferentiated desi that
was the force that would tear the Party to pieces. He pressed her down upon
the grass, among the fallen bluebells. This time there was no difficulty.
Presently the rising and falling of their breasts slowed to normal speed,
and in a sort of pleasant helplessness they fell apart. The sun seemed to
have grown hotter. They were both sleepy. He reached out for the discarded
overalls and pulled them partly over her. Almost immediately they fell
asleep and slept for about half an hour.
Winston woke first. He sat up and watched the freckled face, still
peacefully asleep, pillowed on the palm of her hand. Except for her mouth,
you could not call her beautiful. There was a line or two round the eyes,
if you looked closely. The short dark hair was extraordinarily thick and
soft. It occurred to him that he still did not know her surname or where
she lived.
The young, strong body, now helpless in sleep, awoke in him a pitying,
protecting feeling. But the mindless tenderness that he had felt under the
hazel tree, while the thrush was singing, had not quite come back. He
pulled the overalls aside and studied her smooth white flank. In the old
days, he thought, a man looked at a girl's body and saw that it was
desirable, and that was the end of the story. But you could not have pure
love or pure lust nowadays. No emotion