Eventually, taking the more experienced Julia’s lead, the two of them meet briefly and clandestinely at random places. They know it would be scandalous to be seen as a couple together, so even their conversations in public happen only in snatches. Nonetheless, they do find time for a full afternoon together in an abandoned church.

Julia, readers find out, is a different kind of rebel. Her rebellion is individualistic, and she is rather pessimistic about defeating the Party. This also explains why she regards private pleasures, especially sexual activity, as veritable acts of rebellion. While Winston is not particularly optimistic about their future together, Julia is keen on living in the moment.

To Winston, there seems to be an “intimate connection between chastity and political orthodoxy.” He believes that the zeal and fierce loyalty displayed by the Party members are a result of their policed and repressed sexual desire.