Review of the Unbearable Lightness Of Being

Review of The unbearable lightness of being

The unbearable lightness of being- a love story, a novel of love and obsession or a philosophical wonderment? Whichever you decide you can be assured that, with clever coincidences and the heavy reliance in philosophy this is a novel which promises a journey in which you will question many ideas and visit your own.

This is the tale of a Prague physician, Tomas, who with his wife Tereza escapes to Zurich in 1968. When Tomas and his infidelities drive his wife away and force her to return to Prague he follows her. After publishing a piece in a newspaper Tomas loses his license to practice medicine and he decides to become a window washer. Yet he decides for now that he is happier for a while in a job he doesn't have to think about. In the meantime, his philandering increases. We as the reader are left to wonder whether it is weakness or strength that keeps them together. Kundera's narrator explores these and other vital questions of being throughout the novel.

In this novel Kundera uses characters to ponder a number of meaningful questions, yet even so these characters are intriguing and manage to hold the attentions of the reader well. Within this novel kundera explores choice, he ponders the choices people make and how it comes about. Kunderas’ main aim in this book seems to me to be the exploration of human existence, in which he views the world with ideas of lightness and weight. In each sense he uses the ideas of well known philosophers. Parmenides viewed the world divided into pairs of opposites- light/darkness, fineness/coarseness, warmth/cold, being/non being. He believed the most ambiguous, most mysterious certainty of all to be the opposition of lightness and weight. And it is exactly this that Kundera appears to be searching for the answers to throughout the novel.

There are four different characters in the book. Together, weighted in different ways, they can almost describe every person. They feel and interpret emotions and situations in different ways- everyone offers their own point of view. The reasoning for this is that everything must be seen from a relative point of view. We learn to always keep in mind that something can appear very differently when seen from a different perspective. This novel also seems to have many different layers and presents a number of different perspectives. Kundera does not merely scratch the surface of meaning, yet instead he delves deep within, exploring many possible explanations for the answers to previously unanswerable questions.

Themes are important to this novel and some contrast one another- optimism and pessimism, lightness and weight. An example of an important motif which is referred to on a number of occasions throughout the novel is of Tereza as the ‘baby in the bulrush basket’. What is interesting is that the different characters also represent different extremes. Franz and Sabina represent the extremes of heaviness and lightness, Sabina is so light that she betrays him and she reacts to heaviness with instinctive dislike. Franz, the man she almost loves, is supremely heavy. We are shown two couples who both carry one light and one heavy person but each couple choose completely different paths. Kundera explores each of these different paths. Tomas and Tereza decide to stay together; Sabina and Franz part ways. We learn a lot about relationships during the novel and see contrasts between the two couples as they choose their different paths. We learn that Franz and Sabina are incompatible and don’t have a lot of history together, yet on the other hand Tomas understands Sabina and I get the sense that she wants Franz to be more like him. Franz and Sabina each have a history without one another and certain subjects provoke disagreements.

A beautifully written book, the unbearable lightness of being is both sensual and intellectual and I would recommend it to anyone who is seeking a novel which is both enlightening and refreshing.

Part 5- Lightness and Weight, 2

Part Five- Lightness and weight, 2

Summary

Tereza’s unexpected visit to Tomas in Prague and the story of Oedipus.
The communists and Tomas’ letter to the weekly.
Tomas and the chief surgeon discuss Tomas ‘retraction’
Reaction to the retraction.
The country clinic and the visit of the man from the Ministry of the Interior.
The second visit from the man from the Ministry of the Interior
Es muss sein- love or profession?
The story behind Beethoven’s ‘Muss es sein? Es muss sein!’ motif and Tomas’ ‘long holiday’.
The reason for Tomas’ pursuit of women.
The two categories for womanisers and the curious women.
Tomas sleeps with the curious women.
Love and un-love and poetic memory.
Tomas’ son, the editor and the petition for political amnesty.
Images of Tereza and the decision not to sign the petition.
The published petition and the destruction of the Czech nation.
Addendum to the preceding chapter- planets, optimism and pessimism.
The physical and mental tiredness of Tomas.
Tereza’s nightmare.
The soaring death rate and the biologists’ funeral.
An encounter with ‘s’.
Tomas and Tereza discuss moving to the country.
The clockwork of the head.
Tomas’ ‘es muss sein’ of his love.

The themes which run throughout this part of the novel influence the characters on a deeper emotional level. Themes of love and sex, optimism and pessimism, lightness and weight are apparent. It is interesting to see how these themes link and contrast one another. The motif of Tereza as the ‘baby in the bulrush basket’ is used heavily during this part of the story and also Oedipus frequently arises, this perhaps most importantly because it is this that opened part five of the novel.

The character of Tomas is becoming almost unbalanced. By this I mean his physical and mental state is beginning to deteriorate. By the end of two years of the ‘long holiday’ it seems he is physically strained, this is particularly highlighted in chapter 17 in an episode in which he does not recognise one of his mistresses. “This episode both amused and horrified him: it proved that he was as tired mentally as physically.”
I am beginning to dislike Tomas’ character as it seems that he cannot make up his mind with Tereza and I think that it is unfair for her to have to be put through so much pain when it could be easily put to an end. If Tomas could just move to the country like Tereza suggested then in my opinion it would be a good situation for both of them. “We’d be alone there… And we’d be getting back to nature. Nature is the same as it always was.” Tomas wouldn’t have to worry so much about the secret police and Tereza could be happy knowing that she was the only women that Tomas wanted. Why can Tomas not just leave the city and his mistresses behind and care for the women he loves?

Also it seems that Tomas’ mental strains are taking affect on his sleep. He is now suffering from strange dreams as well as Tereza. I think that although he feels the need to find these unique women to sleep with, it is making him mentally unstable. One minute he seems to feel deeply for Tereza and the next he is hurting her again.

My favourite quote from this part of the novel comes In the penultimate page of this part and is Tomas talking of the famous myth from “Plato’s Symposium: people were hermaphrodites until God split them in two, and now all the halves wonder the world over seeking one another. Love is the longing for the half of ourselves we have lost.” I think it is both a beautiful and interesting way to describe love.

I think what is interesting about the part of the novel is that although primarily it is set in Prague, within this country we are taken to many houses and offices. This perhaps reflects the mental state of Tomas as he seems emotionally confused.

Part Four- Soul and Body 2

Part Four- Soul and Body 2

Tereza and Tomas after their move back to Prague. Tomas listens to a radio program sponsored by the police. Tereza's fear of the body continues and she puzzles over the supposed connection between soul and body. She wishes she could feel light about her body, and behave the way Tomas does. No longer allowed to take photographs, Tereza starts work at a hotel bar. To try to release herself from her fears of the body, Tereza begins flirting with men at the bar. Tereza asks Tomas to help her. He directs her to Petrin Hill, where a man with a rifle helps three suicidal people kill themselves, and then turns to her. She tells him no, and that it wasn't her choice, and leaves the hill understanding that Tomas sent her to die. Tereza decide to go visit the engineer and they have sex. Tereza notices an injured crow she tries to save it, but cannot; she watches it die. The bald customer that gave her a hard time before calls her a prostitute and hints that people are watching her. The ambassador confirms that he is in the secret police, and after their conversation Tereza is convinced that the engineer was in the secret police too, and that she has been set up for blackmail. Tereza and Tomas drive through Prague. It has changed and Tereza dreams that park benches float by in the river, and realizes the city is bidding her farewell. She wants to die.

Key themes from section four include death, fear, paranoia, the human body, Lightness and heaviness and the soul and body.

The setting is Prague, yet it has changed. Most live in fear, particularly of the secret police; this causes paranoia, especially for Tereza. This section contains a greater volume of narrative and is more emotive.

Throughout this part there is a distinct indecisiveness between Tereza’s reality and dreams. She seems to be loosing her mind. There seems to be a separation in the couple in this section, they do not communicate. Kundera emphasizes Tereza's inability to deal with lightness of being. Tereza cannot put a light interpretation on her one-night stand with the engineer and at first she imagines herself in love with him, then she decides the engineer was a spy, and thinks of sex as an act of terror inflicted on her. In the end it makes her want to die. We experience events as Tereza experiences them. Tereza is paranoid.

I have become more wary of Tomas. He seems so much more sinister than before, after he sends Tereza to Petrin Hill. He has changed and again opposites are shown as Tomas is emotionless in comparison to Tereza.

Part Three- Words Misunderstood

Part Three- Words Misunderstood

Franz has left and Sabina reminisces. She explains emotional link between her and Tomas, the ‘abysses’ between her and Franz. The short dictionary begins. We learn of Franz’ childhood and his mother. Sabina goes to a meeting of all the Czech people and is judgemental towards them all. Misunderstood words. Marie-Claude, the art gallery and relationships. More misunderstood words and Tereza’s feelings towards relationships. Sabina leaves Franz. Sabina moves to Paris.

Key themes running throughout this part are misunderstanding, judgement, opposites, truth and fidelity.

This part is largely set in Geneva and Kundera explores the idea of opposites. Geneva is the opposite of Prague.

Franz and Sabina represent the extremes of heaviness and lightness, Sabina is so light that she betrays him and she reacts to heaviness with instinctive dislike. Franz, the man she almost loves, is supremely heavy. We are shown two couples who both carry one light and one heavy person but each couple choose completely different paths. Kundera explores each of these different paths. Tomas and Tereza decide to stay together; Sabina and Franz part ways. We learn a lot about relationships in this part of the novel and see contrasts between the two couples as they choose their different paths. We learn that Franz and Sabina are incompatible and don’t have a lot of history together, yet on the other hand Tomas understands Sabina and I get the sense that she wants Franz to be more like him. Franz and Sabina each have a history without one another and certain subjects provoke disagreements.

The chapters seem to flow; they link with one another intricately. This leaves me feeling more satisfied as I feel part of the story now. I like to feel involved in a book and I think that now Kundera has pushed the boundaries, he has managed to form a key link between philosophy and narrative.