Naked Orwell

A Seer's Blind Spots (washingtonpost.com)

"Somewhere along the way, however, amid all of the hero worship, the real man -- the idiosyncratic, squeaky-voiced, tubercular Englishman who dressed like a pauper, rolled his own cigarettes, chased after women and practiced a wobbly but sincere brand of socialism -- seems to have gotten lost, and perhaps the real writer has as well."

It is always disappointing to read that one's idol has feet of clay, and it is dismaying to read that George Orwell was unfaithful to his wife and had an anti-Semitic streak. (The article does not offer much detail in support of either charge, however.)

If Auden is right, Orwell is pardoned for writing well. Moreover, history has shown that the fundamental common sense and decency that radiate from his essays and books will continue to resonate long after his personal sins are forgot.

Neverthless, Glenn Frankel has done us -- and history -- a real service by reminding us that Orwell was, after all, a man, not a plaster saint.