A review by ana_az_books
The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera
4.0
My friend asked me to help him with a paper on this book. That's why I have discussion questions here.
Tomas' application of erotic friendships and rule of threes:
I'm not sure, but I think this is the objective of Tomas' affairs. Like he has affairs to find out what's hidden and special about each woman he sleeps with. Anyway, Tomas' rule of threes was either to see a woman only after three weeks after the last time he has seen her, or to see a woman three times in succession but then to never see her again after that. This is so that he won't form too much of a bond with the women which could ruin his objective view of them.
Tereza's dream of naked women in the swimming pool:
Tereza dreamt of marching, smiling and singing with other naked women and if one of them missed a step, Tomas would shoot them, and they would fall into a pool that's behind them, and the remaining women would cheer. This dream combined Tereza's dislike of Tomas's affairs and her mother's treatment of the body. Tereza's mother treated the body as nothing special since everybody has one. She would walk around naked in her house with the curtains open, fart in public, etc. Tereza wanted to guard her body like she would guard her soul. In the dream, being naked with other women was a sign that she wasn't special, her body wasn't special. Tomas has sex with her as he does with other women.
Tereza's dream of a cat; meaning of a cat:
Tereza dreamt of having a cat attack her, scratching her face. The meaning of a cat was another woman. In this case, Tomas's other women
Sabina's paintings as on the surface an intelligible lie; underneath the unintelligible truth" or as her paintings as "double exposures”:
Her kind of paintings started as an accident, paint dripped onto one of her paintings. I think this is her way of doing her own thing while still seemingly doing what is acceptable to society. Like she liked Picasso's style but in school, she was told to only use realism. She hides who she really is through her paintings, the ones underneath them
Tomas' application of erotic friendships and rule of threes:
I'm not sure, but I think this is the objective of Tomas' affairs. Like he has affairs to find out what's hidden and special about each woman he sleeps with. Anyway, Tomas' rule of threes was either to see a woman only after three weeks after the last time he has seen her, or to see a woman three times in succession but then to never see her again after that. This is so that he won't form too much of a bond with the women which could ruin his objective view of them.
Tereza's dream of naked women in the swimming pool:
Tereza dreamt of marching, smiling and singing with other naked women and if one of them missed a step, Tomas would shoot them, and they would fall into a pool that's behind them, and the remaining women would cheer. This dream combined Tereza's dislike of Tomas's affairs and her mother's treatment of the body. Tereza's mother treated the body as nothing special since everybody has one. She would walk around naked in her house with the curtains open, fart in public, etc. Tereza wanted to guard her body like she would guard her soul. In the dream, being naked with other women was a sign that she wasn't special, her body wasn't special. Tomas has sex with her as he does with other women.
Tereza's dream of a cat; meaning of a cat:
Tereza dreamt of having a cat attack her, scratching her face. The meaning of a cat was another woman. In this case, Tomas's other women
Sabina's paintings as on the surface an intelligible lie; underneath the unintelligible truth" or as her paintings as "double exposures”:
Her kind of paintings started as an accident, paint dripped onto one of her paintings. I think this is her way of doing her own thing while still seemingly doing what is acceptable to society. Like she liked Picasso's style but in school, she was told to only use realism. She hides who she really is through her paintings, the ones underneath them