Posted by magnus on May 26, 2002 at 11:55:27:
In Reply to: So love can be conquered? (1984) posted by Cruz on May 26, 2002 at 06:26:38:
the realization that Winston came to while he was in the Ministry of Love at the end is that Julia wasn't so much a lover, but she was a spy and an agent for Big Brother.
to answer the question, though, love is an internal condition and people can only try to destroy it. the feelings that one has are personal feelings and can only remain as such. in the final look at things, too, in 1984 there is love. the love of Big Brother, the love of the Party, the love of the country. love is a vague term and can only roughly (for the sake of arguement) b said to be deep devotion or a personal strong liking to another person or thing.
as far as proving that love can be defeated, i am more skeptical over. the "defeat" of love depends on the will of the person. it was still possible that winston could not have loved Big Brother, that he could still remain a dissident of the Party but he succumbed to the apparatus of the Party out of the want he had to live and the torture given to him.