The Australian writer rehabilitates the first wife of the author of “1984”.
A treasure. Six letters from George Orwell's first wife, Eileen O'Shaughnessy, to her best friend, Norah Symes Myles, were found in 2005 among her nephew's belongings. We discover a biting, intelligent, emancipated woman. Australian writer Anna Funder draws on documents, testimonies, imaginary scenes, works, to bring to life the first wife of the legendary writer of “Animal Farm” (1945) and “1984” (1949). Eileen O'Shaughnessy met Eric Blair, aka George Orwell, in 1935. The marriage was celebrated a year later. He is 32 and she is 30.
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Anna Funder shares their life in a poor English cottage dating from the 16th century, then accompanies them to Barcelona, during the Spanish Civil War of 1936, then follows them under the bombs, to London, during the war. Anna Funder stands with Eileen O'Shaughnessy when she died in 1945 at the age of 39. In “The Invisible Mrs. Orwell”, the writer combines personal experience, academic research, and feminist point of view. She read the six biographies of George Orwell, which appeared before the disclosure of the 2005 letters.
The man was compulsively unfaithful
Biographers have all downplayed Eileen O'Shaughnessy's role in the life and work of George Orwell. The reflexes of patriarchy sculpt the image of a solitary genius. We must erase all the good that women have done to him; we must erase all the harm he has done to women. Because if George Orwell is an immense writer, the man was compulsively unfaithful. Anna Funder points out his misogynistic, homophobic comments and even an attempted rape. The theoretician of “common decency”, of the working classes, of truthful speaking had his dark sides, his parts of obscurity. His role is not recognized anywhere. What would George Orwell have done without his wife? Eileen O'Shaughnessy handled stewardship (house, garden, floods, visitors, animals, shopping, latrines, family, cooking) and contributed writing (revisions, discussions, ideas, suggestions).
She also treated the great man, who was seriously ill, whose tuberculosis was diagnosed in 1947. The Oxford graduate freed up time and influenced the work. Eileen O'Shaughnessy joined her husband in Spain in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War. She played an active role in the Independent Labor Party, but her name is not mentioned in “Homage to Catalonia” (1938). Anna Funder searches for her presence in the text using software. “My wife” appears 37 times. Not once does George Orwell write her name: “Eileen.”
The demonstration has its flaws. Anna Funder's overly systematic bias faces a major obstacle: it is impossible to establish with certainty the importance of Eileen O'Shaughnessy's contribution to the writings of George Orwell. Either because its influence has been so well minimized that few traces remain; or because she played a lesser role than the author would like in establishing her feminist thesis. The doubt remains. But the investigation remains fascinating, into the rehabilitation of a daring and courageous woman. The author delivers a deep and moving portrait of Eileen O'Shaughnessy. Before dying during a cheap operation, a hysterectomy, the young woman wrote to her husband. The cost of health care worries her. In the typed letter, this small handful of words: “I really don't think I'm worth that much money. » From now on, Eileen O'Shaughnessy has a first and last name.
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“The Invisible Mrs Orwell”, by Anna Funder, ed. Héloïse d’Ormesson, 496 pages, 23 euros.
© DR
