Winston, during the 1st part of the book is always straching his varicose ulcer. Once he meets Julia he no longer finds the ulcer itchy. What is the symbolism/ signifigance of this?
Reference the book when answering. (Pg. 150)
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The significance of Winston no longer itching his varicose vein is that when he spends time with Julia,he is a less stressed, happier person. I read that people who get varicose veins and ulcers usually have high blood pressure and when you are stressed your blood pressure is high. Since he has been spending time with Julia,(seven times during the month of June) he is less stressed and jumpy, "the process of life had ceased to be intolerable". Therefore, he has lower blood pressure and that is why the ulcer heals. The symbolism, is that her company is healing Winston not only mentally but physically.
I think that Orwell is using that to show that Winston likes his life now, and he has kind of experienced a turning point in his life. Along with that he has had some other changes like gaining weight. It shows that he is changing as a person.
The varicose vein dying down is definitely dying down because of Julia, yes, but I don't think that is the only reason.
What stuck out to me was the fact that he was always itching his ankle. It kind of reminds me of the idiom: itching to say something. Before he started meeting with Julia, Winston was itching to talk about rebellion. He was itching to pour his stories out to someone. Yes, his bulging vein was due to stress, and it was a physical display of Winston relieving stress, but I think it's a little more symbolic, even. I think he now has someone to talk to, so he no longer has an itch. He had an itch in the back of his brain-an itch to tell someone about his feelings against the Party, which showed in his varicose vein. He found an outlet, though: Julia. He no longer has to scratch, just talk to Julia to cure his incessant itching.
Winston's varicose vein represents his constant searching for purpose in his life. Just like he tried not to scratch his vein, I think he tried to ignore the fact his life was controlled by the party. When Winston meets Julia he is satisfying his need to have a meaning outside of the party's mold.
When Winston is with Julia he is a lot and happier and he feels as if he has less stress. This allows him to be more calm and happy, because he is so relaxed, he does not worry about his ulcer. This shows that once Winston started to rebel against the party, he felt a lot better and it made him wasn't so stressed with everything the party was doing.
The varicose vein represents more meaning in his life and it is something that can't be fixed just by scratching at the surface.
The varicose ulcer represents Winston's need to find meaning in his life. Now that Winston has found Julia he has something to live for and has satisfaction in his life. Now that Winston is also beginning to believe that he can fight against the party he does not have that haunting reminder that he needs to do something.
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