Existentialism is a philosophy that rose in popularity in the 20th century. Two consecutive world wars turned the world upside down, and people lost their grasp of life and humanity. Thus, this philosophy, utterly concerned with human existence, influenced writers such as Franz Kafka and Milan Kundera. The latter’s novel, ‘The Unbearable Lightness of Being’ shows clear traces of this philosophy in Czechoslovakia during the Prague spring. The characters struggle to define their lives amidst harsh times: “man is nothing else but that which he makes of himself” (Sartre). Furthermore, due to the individualist nature of existentialism, it was antagonistic to communism. Therefore, existentialism is expressed in the novel in its criticism to communism; the decision making of the characters; and the
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It is a condition of anxiety that comes with responsibility or commitment, as one realizes tendencies are meaningless unless you choose them. We can relate this to Tereza’s dreams: they are the presence of Tereza’s angst. “Marching naked in formation with a group of naked women was for Tereza the quintessential image of horror” (28). The dreams are a metaphor to why Thomas' infidelity hurts her so much, as it makes her one more naked body among the many. Tereza tries to get rid of this angst by having sex with the engineer, but she just manages to traumatize herself, as this was against her “Es muss sein” or essence.
“Hell is other people” is a term coined by Sartre’s in one of his existentialist plays, but it translates very well to ‘The Unbearable Lightness of Being’. The case of Tomas and Tereza is a prime example because they share their love but not their thoughts on casual sex. Thus, one of them must sacrifice part of his essence for them to be happy, creating dread. Consequently, all decisions of a character will affect inexorably the lives of
It is a condition of anxiety that comes with responsibility or commitment, as one realizes tendencies are meaningless unless you choose them. We can relate this to Tereza’s dreams: they are the presence of Tereza’s angst. “Marching naked in formation with a group of naked women was for Tereza the quintessential image of horror” (28). The dreams are a metaphor to why Thomas' infidelity hurts her so much, as it makes her one more naked body among the many. Tereza tries to get rid of this angst by having sex with the engineer, but she just manages to traumatize herself, as this was against her “Es muss sein” or essence.
“Hell is other people” is a term coined by Sartre’s in one of his existentialist plays, but it translates very well to ‘The Unbearable Lightness of Being’. The case of Tomas and Tereza is a prime example because they share their love but not their thoughts on casual sex. Thus, one of them must sacrifice part of his essence for them to be happy, creating dread. Consequently, all decisions of a character will affect inexorably the lives of