Wifedom: Mrs. Orwell's Invisible Life

Eileen is the primary figure of the book. She studied English literature at Oxford under J.R.R. Tolkien and then pursued a master’s degree in psychology. In June of 1936, she married Eric Blair (who is more commonly known as George Orwell). In 1944, they adopted their son Richard, and in March of 1945. Funder describes her as “a wisp of a human but inhumanly strong” (21). Eileen had dark curly hair, blue eyes, the traditionally pale Irish skin, and from all accounts, she did not care about her appearance. Those around her describe her as fiercely intelligent, and she was also generous with that intelligence. She is significantly empathetic; however, she also “can ‘lash with her tongue’ [and] doesn’t suffer fools” (41). Funder finds Eileen intensely imaginative, with an author’s eye for plot and an empath’s ability to craft believably round characters. There is little question that Eileen’s perspective and literary background enhanced and improved Orwell’s writing. Eileen is brave and hardy until the cancer overwhelms her. She clearly loves Orwell “deeply, but with a tender amusement” (20), and she stays with him through all the trials of his affairs, his illness, and their poverty.

Funder’s account acknowledges the fact that Eileen always stood up for herself— sometimes calmly, as in the anecdote where she checks his exaggerated statement at a dinner, and sometimes less so, as in their fight over his affairs and his subsequent escape to Wallington. She loves being a mother, and her devotion to her adopted son pushes her to make her own health a priority. However, this leads to the surgery that claims her life. Eileen is also instrumental in Orwell’s writing, regularly collaborating with him on his books, editing his work, making sure that the typesetting is done on time. After her death, no person or combination of people can replace all that she dedicated to Orwell’s well-being.

George Orwell, whose legal name was Eric Blair, was born in India in 1903. After growing up both in Burma and in England, he saw the ugliness of colonial racism firsthand, and this experience influenced much of his work and many of his political opinions. Throughout his writing career, he wrote six novels and three nonfiction books. He is celebrated for his biting political criticism and his unflinching honesty. However, as a person, he was eccentric and often inconsiderate of those around him. Funder describes him as “thin as a folding ruler” with “deep wrinkles […] etched from nose to chin […] [and] his voice [as] high and thin, a lazy cut-glass drawl” (31). He had the habit of regularly exaggerating statements in social situations in order to provoke reactions. Funder includes his original statement that he did this for a specific reason. As he himself admits, he provoked people in public “because there is some lie I want to expose, some fact to which I want to draw attention” (10). He goes to war with injustice in his books, trying to create a kinder and more equitable world.

In his own life, however, he is often inappropriate, inconsiderate, and largely cruel, even to those who love him most. Women in particular tend to draw his ire. There are multiple stories of him attempting to “pounce” on a woman, and at least two vivid accounts of attempted violent sexual assault. He is especially heartless to Eileen, who provides his most important support, and he is careless of her feelings and her health. His son remembers him as a loving father, and there are many accounts of his generosity, but the evidence of many written documents suggests that he actively tried to diminish Eileen both in their lives and on the page.

Lydia is a Russian divorcée who becomes friends with Eileen in graduate school. She was six years older than Eileen when they met in a psychology class in 1936. After receiving her degree, Lydia became a professional psychologist and translator. Lydia invited Eileen to the dinner party at which she met Orwell. They were friends for the rest of Eileen’s life, and Lydia’s essay on Eileen and her discussion of Eileen in interviews show the massive impact that Eileen had on Lydia. Funder interprets several of Lydia’s observations of Eileen as a romantic attraction on Lydia’s part. Lydia certainly cared deeply for her friend and never approved of her marriage to Orwell. Strangely, Lydia also had several amorous encounters with Orwell. According to her, these were all unwelcome, but she felt too much sympathy for him to repulse him too actively.