Emma Goto
A semi-biography of Eileen, the first wife of George Orwell. The author Anna Funder places quite a personal touch on the story, making it all the more interesting.
The book is a mix of letters from Eileen to her friend, facts about her life from other biographies, and the author then filling in the remaining gaps with a sort of fiction, imagining what Eileen’s life would have been like together with George.
As the title suggests, the author imagined the marriage as not necessarily a happy one. Although we can’t know for sure how Eileen felt about it (and she did stay married to Orwell). Eileen was quite an educated, accomplished woman in her own right - proofreading and suggesting corrections to Orwell’s Animal Farm, yet was also reduced to doing all of the household chores and waiting on George hand-and-foot. And when times were tough, she was the breadwinner while George kept on writing.
And George repays this by cheating on her (!) multiple times. The author takes care to point out that many men have written biographies about Orwell, and softened his image by suggesting that Eileen was also engaging in her own affairs - but Funder decidedly takes Eileen’s side, and assumes how she must have felt a sense of betrayal about it all (which would only be natural).
Orwell probably did love his wife in his own way, but you can’t help but feel the injustice of it all. But I wouldn’t place the blame solely on George either. Eileen could have walked away at any point, right? And maybe she was ultimately happy (or satisfied) serving George, who knows.
Funder admits that in her own relationship with her husband she too has felt herself slip into these more traditional gender roles without realising. So I think women have to be careful too, to not let men write their story for them.
Overall a bit depressing at times. It really does tear down the image of Orwell, and I’m sure for any Orwell fans you could see this book as overly biased in Eileen’s favour. But a rather interesting book nonetheless, and I love how Funder weaved all the various sources and her own imaginings all together.
A semi-biography of Eileen, the first wife of George Orwell. The author Anna Funder places quite a personal touch on the story, making it all the more interesting.
The book is a mix of letters from Eileen to her friend, facts about her life from other biographies, and the author then filling in the remaining gaps with a sort of fiction, imagining what Eileen’s life would have been like together with George.
As the title suggests, the author imagined the marriage as not necessarily a happy one. Although we can’t know for sure how Eileen felt about it (and she did stay married to Orwell). Eileen was quite an educated, accomplished woman in her own right - proofreading and suggesting corrections to Orwell’s Animal Farm, yet was also reduced to doing all of the household chores and waiting on George hand-and-foot. And when times were tough, she was the breadwinner while George kept on writing.
And George repays this by cheating on her (!) multiple times. The author takes care to point out that many men have written biographies about Orwell, and softened his image by suggesting that Eileen was also engaging in her own affairs - but Funder decidedly takes Eileen’s side, and assumes how she must have felt a sense of betrayal about it all (which would only be natural).
Orwell probably did love his wife in his own way, but you can’t help but feel the injustice of it all. But I wouldn’t place the blame solely on George either. Eileen could have walked away at any point, right? And maybe she was ultimately happy (or satisfied) serving George, who knows.
Funder admits that in her own relationship with her husband she too has felt herself slip into these more traditional gender roles without realising. So I think women have to be careful too, to not let men write their story for them.
Overall a bit depressing at times. It really does tear down the image of Orwell, and I’m sure for any Orwell fans you could see this book as overly biased in Eileen’s favour. But a rather interesting book nonetheless, and I love how Funder weaved all the various sources and her own imaginings all together.
