In Part One, Chapter Nine, of 1984, Winston sees the mysterious girl from the Fiction Department coming towards him. As she approaches, she trips and falls and Winston goes to help her. As she rises, he notices that she is frightened:
Her eyes were fixed on his, with an appealing expression that looked more like fear than pain.
Initially, Winston is perplexed by this reaction but, after she has gone, he realises that she has slipped a note into the palm of his hand. The note says "I love you" and Winston now understands the cause of Julia's fear. She was not afraid of him, she was afraid of being caught with such a note. Under Party rules, members are not allowed to have relationships with whomever they choose. As Winston comments, Julia fell directly in front of the telescreen and thus ran a great risk of being detected as she pushed the note into his hand. Punishment for such a crime might include torture or even being vaporised - a terrifying prospect for Julia.
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