Orwell, George — Nineteen eighty-four [269]

The aim of the Party was not merely to prevent men and women from forming loyalties which it might not be able to control. Its real, undeclared purpose was to remove all pleasure from the sexual act. Not love so much as eroticism was the enemy, inside marriage as well as outside it. All marriages between Party members had to be approved by a committee appointed for the purpose, and – though the principle was never clearly stated – permission was always refused if the couple concerned gave the impression of being physically attracted to one another. The only recognised purpose of marriage was to beget children for the service of the Party. Sexual intercourse was to be looked on as a slightly disgusting minor operation, like having an enema. — Orwell, George, Nineteen eighty-four, 269

Note

The panoptic logic extended to the most intimate realm: marriage committees approve unions but refuse those showing physical attraction — control achieved not through explicit rule but through an ‘undeclared purpose’ never stated in plain words, the unspoken principle governing behavior like the unseen watcher.