Work record
Keep the Aspidistra Flying
George OrwellKeep the Aspidistra Flying by George Orwell (1936)Keep the Aspidistra Flying is George Orwell's satirical novel about a young man's war against money.1936 · Early 20th Century · Novel · English
Abstract
Premise. A young poet from a struggling family resigns from a promising post in advertising and declares war on money. He works in a little bookshop for a pittance and lives in a dismal lodging house, where a potted aspidistra in the window sums up the timid respectability he scorns.
Misery. Poverty makes him resentful. He borrows from his sister, scorns his rich editor friend's help and mistreats the young woman who loves him.
Windfall. A sudden payment for a poem leads to an expensive dinner, drunkenness, a fight with the police and the loss of his job.
Turning point. He sinks into deeper squalor until his girlfriend tells him she is expecting a child. He refuses to consider ending the pregnancy and chooses marriage.
Ending. He returns to his old firm and buys the very houseplant that once stood for everything he despised, to stand in the window of the small flat where he and his wife will raise their child.
For students. The novel satirizes both commercial culture and its proud rebels. Discuss money, pride, family and the choice of life. Gordon Comstock's 1936 story stays in US copyright through 2031, so the bookshop and Lambeth scenes are given here in summary; the satire itself needs a borrowed or bought copy.
Main characters
- Gordon Comstock: poet and bookshop assistant
- Rosemary Waterlow: his girlfriend
- Ravelston: wealthy socialist editor
- Julia Comstock: his sister
Summary
Keep the Aspidistra Flying is George Orwell's satirical novel about a young man's war against money. Gordon Comstock, aged twenty-nine, comes from a shabby-genteel family that sacrificed everything to educate him. He has published one thin book of poems and quit a good job at an advertising agency, the New Albion, to declare war on the 'money-god', vowing never to be respectable or ambitious. He works in a small second-hand bookshop in London for two pounds a week and lives in a dreary lodging house where the landlady forbids visitors and cooking, and where an aspidistra plant in the window symbolizes the respectable life he despises. Gordon's poverty makes him bitter and self-pitying. He sponges on his long-suffering sister Julia, resents his wealthy socialist friend Ravelston, who edits a left-wing magazine and tries to help, and treats his loving girlfriend Rosemary badly. When an American magazine pays him ten pounds for a poem, he takes Rosemary out and squanders it on a drunken evening that ends in his arrest and the loss of his job. He sinks lower, working in a seedy lending library in Lambeth and living in a squalid room. Then Rosemary tells him she is pregnant. Faced with the choice between abortion and marriage, Gordon chooses life: he returns to the advertising agency, marries Rosemary, and buys an aspidistra for their new flat. The novel ends with his acceptance of ordinary decency, family and work. Although Orwell satirizes the commercialism of advertising, the book finally honors the ordinary people who 'keep the aspidistra flying' and the responsibility of fatherhood. Gordon's refusal of abortion is a striking moment in a secular novel of the 1930s. Orwell drew on his own months working in a Hampstead bookshop, and the shop's customers, snobs, bargain hunters and lonely eccentrics, are among the book's comic delights. The 1936 novel stays in US copyright through 2031, so Gordon's tirades against the money-god are paraphrased, not quoted.
Virtues in this work
Plot or Argument
- Chapters 1-4: The bookshop
Gordon's war against money and his miserable life.
- Chapters 5-7: Rosemary and Ravelston
A failed outing, Gordon's resentment and his friends' kindness.
- Chapters 8-9: The spree
A windfall leads to a drunken night and arrest.
- Chapters 10-12: Return
Rosemary's pregnancy leads Gordon to marry and return to work.
Characters
- Gordon Comstock, hero
Self-pitying poet at war with money.
- Rosemary Waterlow, girlfriend
Cheerful, loyal commercial artist.
- Ravelston, friend
Wealthy socialist editor.
- Julia Comstock, sister
Self-sacrificing sister.
Lessons
Pride disguised as principle
Gordon's war on money is partly vanity and self-pity.
- How does Gordon treat those who love him?
- Is his rebellion noble?
Choosing life
Gordon chooses fatherhood over abortion.
- Why does Gordon change?
- How does Psalm 139:13-16 bear on this?
Ordinary decency
The aspidistra comes to stand for ordinary, decent life.
- What does the aspidistra mean at first and at the end?
- What does Orwell admire about ordinary people?
Context
Orwell worked in a Hampstead bookshop in 1934-35 while writing the novel, during the slow recovery from the Depression.
Composition
Published by Victor Gollancz in April 1936; Orwell later disowned it.
Reception
Considered minor but sharp in its satire of advertising and class; filmed in 1997.
Comparisons
- A Clergyman's Daughter
Orwell's previous novel, also about escaping respectability.
- The Great Gatsby
Another novel about money and status.
- Babbitt
Sinclair Lewis's satire of commercial respectability.
Quotes
For Students
A reading companion for classical Christian high school students. See the student guide.
Reading Guide
Watch for
- The aspidistra as symbol.
- Gordon's treatment of Julia and Rosemary.
- The poem sale and spree.
- Gordon's final choice.
Key terms and names
- Aspidistra
- Hardy houseplant, symbol of lower-middle-class respectability.
- Money-god
- Gordon's name for the power of money.
- Advertising
- The industry Gordon despises and returns to.
- Satire
- Mockery to expose folly.
Seminar Questions
- Comprehension Why does Gordon quit his job?
- Comprehension What happens after he sells his poem?
- Interpretation What does the aspidistra symbolize?
- Interpretation Why does Gordon choose marriage?
- Interpretation Is the ending a defeat or a victory?
- Big Question What place should money have in a good life?
Faith Connections
- Matthew 6:24 (Scripture)
Ye cannot serve God and mammon; Gordon's obsession with money rules him even as he rejects it.
- Psalm 139:13-16 (Scripture)
Thou hast covered me in my mother's womb; Gordon chooses life for his child.
Logic and Rhetoric
Central argument: Hatred of money can be as enslaving as love of it; ordinary decency, work and family offer a truer freedom.
Rhetorical device: satire. Orwell mocks advertising slogans and Gordon himself.
Debate: Resolved: that Gordon's return to advertising was a defeat.
Writing Prompts
Essay: Explain how Gordon's view of the aspidistra changes.
Comparison with The Great Gatsby: Compare the role of money in the two novels.
Medical Lens
Gordon's drunken spree and Rosemary's pregnancy.
- Chapter 8
Gordon's drunken night and its consequences.
Creative Prompts
- Essay
Write a short dialogue debating whether Gordon is a hero or a fool.
- Fiction
Write Rosemary's letter telling Gordon about the baby.
- Classroom
Analyze an advertisement as Gordon would.
Further Reading
- Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell
Orwell's final novel.
Verification notes
COPYRIGHT: First published 1936; still under US copyright (95 years from publication, until the end of 2031). Abstract and study guide only; no full text and no quotations.
No verification flags recorded.