Page 180 - 1984
P. 180

quarters and bought herself a complete set of make-up ma-
       terials. Her lips were deeply reddened, her cheeks rouged,
       her nose powdered; there was even a touch of something
       under the eyes to make them brighter. It was not very skil-
       fully done, but Winston’s standards in such matters were
       not high. He had never before seen or imagined a woman of
       the Party with cosmetics on her face. The improvement in
       her appearance was startling. With just a few dabs of colour
       in the right places she had become not only very much pret-
       tier, but, above all, far more feminine. Her short hair and
       boyish overalls merely added to the effect. As he took her in
       his arms a wave of synthetic violets flooded his nostrils. He
       remembered the half-darkness of a basement kitchen, and a
       woman’s cavernous mouth. It was the very same scent that
       she had used; but at the moment it did not seem to matter.
         ‘Scent too!’ he said.
         ‘Yes, dear, scent too. And do you know what I’m going to
       do next? I’m going to get hold of a real woman’s frock from
       somewhere and wear it instead of these bloody trousers. I’ll
       wear silk stockings and high-heeled shoes! In this room I’m
       going to be a woman, not a Party comrade.’
         They flung their clothes off and climbed into the huge
       mahogany bed. It was the first time that he had stripped
       himself naked in her presence. Until now he had been too
       much ashamed of his pale and meagre body, with the vari-
       cose veins standing out on his calves and the discoloured
       patch over his ankle. There were no sheets, but the blanket
       they lay on was threadbare and smooth, and the size and
       springiness of the bed astonished both of them. ‘It’s sure

                                                     1 9
   175   176   177   178   179   180   181   182   183   184   185