Page 160 - Orwell, George - Nineteen eighty-four -bilingüe [pdf]

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That was very true, he thought. There was a direct Esto era cierto, pensó él. Había una conexión
intimate connexion between chastity and political directa entre la castidad y la ortodoxia política.
orthodoxy. For how could the fear, the hatred, and ¿Cómo iban a mantenerse vivos el miedo, y el
the lunatic credulity which the Party needed in its odio y la insensata incredulidad que el Partido
members be kept at the right pitch, except by necesitaba si no se embotellaba algún instinto
bottling down some powerful instinct and using it poderoso para usarlo después como combustible?
as a driving force? The sex impulse was dangerous El instinto sexual era peligroso para el Partido y
to the Party, and the Party had turned it to account. éste lo había utilizado en provecho propio.
They had played a similar trick with the instinct of Habían hecho algo parecido con el instinto
parenthood. The family could not actually be familiar. La familia no podía ser abolida; es más,
abolished, and, indeed, people were encouraged to se animaba a la gente a que amase a sus hijos
be fond of their children, in almost the old- casi al estilo antiguo. Pero, por otra parte, los
fashioned way. The children, on the other hand, hijos eran enfrentados sistemáticamente contra
were systematically turned against their parents and sus padres y se les enseñaba a espiarles y a
taught to spy on them and report their deviations. denunciar sus Desviaciones. La familia se había
The family had become in effect an extension of convertido en una ampliación de la Policía del
the Thought Police. It was a device by means of Pensamiento. Era un recurso por medio del cual
which everyone could be surrounded night and day todos se hallaban rodeados noche y día por
by informers who knew him intimately. delatores que les conocían íntimamente.

Abruptly his mind went back to Katharine. De pronto se puso a pensar otra vez en
Katharine would unquestionably have denounced Katharine. Ésta lo habría denunciado a la P. del
him to the Thought Police if she had not happened P. con toda seguridad si no hubiera sido
to be too stupid to detect the unorthodoxy of his demasiado tonta para descubrir lo herético de sus
opinions. But what really recalled her to him at this opiniones. Pero lo que se la hacía recordar en
moment was the stifling heat of the afternoon, este momento era el agobiante calor de la tarde,
which had brought the sweat out on his forehead. que le hacía sudar. Empezó a contarle a Julia
He began telling Julia of something that had algo que había ocurrido, o mejor dicho, que
happened, or rather had failed to happen, on había dejado de ocurrir en otra tarde tan calurosa
another sweltering summer afternoon, eleven years como aquélla, once años antes.
ago.

It was three or four months after they were married.
They had lost their way on a community hike Katharine y Winston se habían extraviado
somewhere in Kent. They had only lagged behind durante una de aquellas excursiones colectivas
the others for a couple of minutes, but they took a que organizaba el Partido. Iban retrasados y por
wrong turning, and presently found themselves equivocación doblaron por un camino que los
pulled up short by the edge of an old chalk quarry. condujo rápidamente a un lugar solitario. Estaban
It was a sheer drop of ten or twenty metres, with al borde de un precipicio.
boulders at the bottom. There was nobody of whom
they could ask the way. As soon as she realized Nadie había allí para preguntarle. En cuanto se
that they were lost Katharine became very uneasy. dieron cuenta de que se habían perdido,
To be away from the noisy mob of hikers even for Katharine empezó a ponerse nerviosa. Hallarse
a moment gave her a feeling of wrong-doing. She alejada de la ruidosa multitud de excursionistas,
wanted to hurry back by the way they had come aunque sólo fuese durante un momento, le
and start searching in the other direction. But at this producía un fuerte sentido de culpabilidad.
moment Winston noticed some tufts of loosestrife Quería volver inmediatamente por el camino que