Winston looks around the little room above Mr. Charrington’s shop, which he has rented—foolishly, he thinks—for his affair with Julia. Outside, a burly, red-armed woman sings a song and hangs up her laundry.
Winston and Julia have been busy with the city’s preparations for Hate Week, and Winston has been frustrated by their inability to meet.
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The problem was exacerbated by the fact that Julia has had her period. Winston wishes that he and Julia could lead a more leisurely, romantic life, like an old, married couple.
Julia comes into the room with sugar, coffee, and bread—luxuries only members of the Inner Party could normally obtain. She puts on makeup, and her beauty and femininity overwhelm Winston.
Lounging in bed in the evening, Julia sees a rat; Winston, afraid of rats more than anything else, is horrified. Julia looks through the room and notices the paperweight. Winston tells her that the paperweight is a link to the past.
They sing the song about St. Clement’s Church, and Julia says that one day she will clean the old picture of the church. When Julia leaves, Winston sits gazing into the crystal paperweight, imagining living inside it with Julia in eternal stasis.
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SparkNotes Editors. “George Orwell 1984.” SparkNotes.com, SparkNotes LLC, 2005.