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> The sheer level of spartan discomfort, for instance, that university denizens were expected to endure Sometimes* I wonder how much of the spartan discomfort
by 082349872349872 2y ago
> The sheer level of spartan discomfort, for instance, that university denizens were expected to endure
Sometimes* I wonder how much of the spartan discomfort in 1984 was authorial discretion characterising outer party life, and how much was just the background normal spartan discomfort of mid-XX britain.
* like when I read that Orwell had been burning furniture to stay warm
- lordleft 2y agoIt seems like the splendor and comfort of student life varied wildly depending on class and wealth (see: the depiction of Oxford in Brideshead Revisited).
- neaden 2y agoIf you haven't read it Road to Wigan pier is a great work by Orwell on the status of the British poor post war.
- zabzonk 2y agoA friend of mine in the mid 70s was reduced to burning furniture in his Edinburgh flat. Mind you, given the temperature in Edinburgh back then, and the quality of the furniture, you could hardly blame him.I always found the wardrobes intensely depressing.
- mytailorisrich 2y agoMy hall of residence at a North of England Uni used to turn off heating at night in the late 90s, bearing in ming the rooms' nice, old sash windows. Getting up for early lectures in winter was fun... I don't think they do this anymore. Certainly there were apparently many complaints from students when an Oxford college proposed to do that recently to help tackle the 'climate crisis'...