The Unbearable Lightness of Being

The narrator pauses his story here to note that his characters never actually lived. Rather, they were born out of ideas: “Thomas was born of the saying ‘Einmal ist keinmal.’ Tereza was born out of the rumbling of a stomach” (39). When Tereza first appeared at Tomáš’s flat, she hadn’t eaten all day, and her stomach was rumbling. This reminds the narrator of the body/soul duality that, although it was once a mystery to humans, is now easily explained by science. And yet, despite in-depth biomedical knowledge, humans still cannot escape their bodies.

Tereza sees herself “through her body” (41). As a young woman, she spent long hours in front of the mirror, not out of vanity but because she thought that looking at her body allowed her to glimpse her soul. Occasionally, instead of seeing through to her soul, she saw only her body and was dismayed to see her mother’s features reflected in her own. Tereza’s mother was a deeply unhappy woman. Ultimately, she left both her husband and young Tereza for another man. Bereft, Tereza’s father grew careless with his criticism of the communist government and was imprisoned. Tereza was sent to live with her mother and stepfather.