Why does Winston believe that chastity is a symbol of political orthodoxy in 1984?

How does the change in the singing prole woman’s situation foreshadow what happens to Winston and Julia in 1984?
July 28, 2022
Compare and contrast the ways that Winston and Julia respond to the Party’s oppressive policies in 1984.
July 29, 2022

Why does Winston believe that chastity is a symbol of political orthodoxy in 1984?

Why does Winston believe that chastity is a symbol of political orthodoxy in 1984?

In Book 2, Chapter 3, Winston decides that there is a “direct, intimate connection between chastity and political orthodoxy.” He asks how the fear, hatred, and absurd willingness to believe untruths could be kept at a frantic pitch unless the Party restricted or eliminated the powerful basic instinct of sexual pleasure. The Party thinks sex is dangerous because, if people were allowed to have it, they would not be tense and repressed enough to want to hate the “enemy.” Sexual tension leads to more enthusiastic demonstrations of Party loyalty. Unable to release pent-up emotions through personal relationships, people channel their frustration and longing toward the ideals of good and evil the Party presents them. Political orthodoxy prevents people from connecting on an intimate level, and the group dynamic of fear and hatred is fueled by this basic lack of human connection.