Term Paper on "Plato and Milan Kundera's Book the Unbearable Lightness of Being"

Term Paper 9 pages (3254 words) Sources: 5

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Plato and Milan Kundera's book "The Unbearable Lightness of Being

When asked about his characters in the Unbearable Lightness of Being, and how they emerged, Milan Kundera said referring to the character of Tomas, "And once more I see him the way he appeared to me at the very beginning of the novel. This is the image from which he was born.... Characters are not born, like people, of woman; they are born out of a situation, a sentence, a metaphor, containing in a nutshell a basic human possibility... The characters in my novels are my own unrealized possibilities. That is why I am equally fond of them and equally horrified by them." (Doctorow). Indeed, Kundera's characters are bits of himself that are subjected to two major influences: the historical context of the novel (very familiar to Kundera himself), and the existentialist philosophy as expressed especially by Heidegger in his Being and Time (Kimbrell: 71); the title of Kundera's book is itself a reference to this particular philosophic trend. The lightness of being in Kundera's novel is represented as a lack of attachment, commitment or moral responsibility towards what the material earthly life presupposes. In this sense, each of the four major characters in the Unbearable Lightness of Being is portrayed as to illustrate different ways of tackling this philosophical theme of spiritual weight and lightness. The philosophical theme is closely related to the historical and political context of the story. Kundera's novel is an exploration of this connection, as it was generated by Soviet Czechoslovakia, a product of harsh historical circumstances filtered by a philosophical and deeply reflective consciousness.

Kundera opens his novel with a discussion of Parmenides' dichotomization of the world, and ends this section of the book with a question as to the accuracy of Parmenides' conclusion that lightness is positive whereas weight is negative: "Was he correct or not? That is the question. The only certainty is: the lightness/weight opposition is the most mysterious of all." (Kundera: 6) Kundera assigns a deeply philosophical question to his main character, Tomas. "What then shall we choose? Weight or lightness?" (Kundera: 5) Lightness is associated with freedom, experimentation, and a total lack of any sort of commitment. Albeit attractive, the perspective of lightness is also "unbearable" because it is marked by fragility and the realities of life. Weight, on the other hand, is linked to the idea of commitment and permanence, thus becomes unbearable because it is associated with responsibility. As far as the characters, this dichotomy also encompasses the duality of the body and soul. In this sense, the structure of Kundera's four major characters is a reflection of Plato's theory on the dualism of the body and soul. Plato was a dualist whose philosophy was centered on the idea that the soul and the body are two separate substances that interact, and that the real identity of an individual lies within the soul. The soul is conceived as light matter whose existence precedes that of the physical body; similarly, upon the death of the individual, the soul leaves the deceased body. Thesis: This paper argues that Plato's theory on the dualism of the soul and body is applicable to all of the four major characters in the Unbearable Lightness of Being. Furthermore, this paper examines how the connection between the two substances takes place in the case of each character, and to what extent they are marked by this interaction.

In order to understand how the theory of the dualism of body and soul is applicable to the characters in the Unbearable Lightness of Being, it is important to make a few theoretical considerations. The body belongs to the world, but the soul is associated to the Ideas (Roberts: 373). By 'soul,' Plato, like any other Greek, understands life i.e. The vital principle manifested in all entities which are regarded as living and moving, such as plants, animals, human beings, higher orders of beings (Clendon Lodge: 470). As far as the relationship between soul and body, there are two points which should be considered. Firstly, the body is an instrument. It is never a piece of meaningless mechanism, but is adapted, taking into consideration its limitations, to serve as an instrument for the expression of spiritual values. In the second place, the function of soul in relation to body conceived in this way as instrument is to use it, to make the fullest and wisest use of it, and to direct all its energies into the most valuable channel. "Moral and spiritual development consist of a reorganization of the bodily mechanisms so that these come to express, in ever closer approximation, the Ideas of temperance, courage, justice" (Clendon Lodge: 483).

The theory of the dualism of the soul and body was tackled by ancient philosophers such as Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. In the case of the Unbearable Lightness of Being, all of the four main characters exhibit this dichotomy. However, it is Tereza who best represents Plato's theory. In her case this dualistic approach is synonymous to a split between the two parts that make up her individuality. Kundera refers to his characters being "born of a stimulating phrase or two or from a basic situation. Tereza was born of the rumbling of a stomach." (Kundera: 39). As far this duality in the case of his characters, Kundera argues that "the old duality of body and soul has become shrouded in scientific terminology, and we can laugh at it as merely an obsolete prejudice." (Kundera: 40) in the beginning of the novel, Tereza is controlled by her self-image as far as her physical appearance, more precisely her body: "Tereza tried to see herself through her body." (Kundera: 41). Her entire identity as an individual is dictated by this image hence the only way she can face herself is by looking at herself in the mirror: "She often stood in front of the mirror, even as a girl. She looked in the mirror to see 'her own 'I'." (Ibid) Tereza is convinced that one's outer appearance reflects their inner self thus she believes that by seeing herself she can actually perceive her interiority: "She thought she saw her soul shining through the features of her face."(Ibid). Tereza's belief is generated by her relationship with her mother. The mother-daughter relationship was never a fulfilling one to Tereza who finds the physical resemblance to her mother deeply upsetting. Because Tereza rejects these physical similarities, she tries to make them disappear by staring harder at herself and wishing them away: "Each time she succeeded was a time of intoxication: her soul would rise to the surface of her body..." (Kundera: 41). The fact that her mother used to look in the mirror a lot, coupled with the latter's odd behavior which both embarrassed and fascinated young Tereza are the foundation for the behavior of grown-up Tereza. Also, while growing up, Tereza was faced with her mother's lack of inhibitions which she perceived as a lack of shame; her mother would walk around the house in her bra, or even naked. In this sense, Tereza's habit of looking in the mirror can be deciphered as a sort of confrontation with her mother, and her childhood: "It was a battle with her mother. It was a longing to be a body unlike other bodies, to find that the surface of her face reflected the crew of her soul charging up from below. It was not an easy task: her soul - her sad, timid, self-effacing soul lay concealed in the depths of her bowels and was ashamed to show itself." (Kundera: 47) Tereza's soul/body duality is also reflected in her intimate relations with her husband, Tomas. The first time they make love she screams; to Kundera, the act of screaming is not the manifestation of desire and fulfillment, in other words, it is not the scream of sensuality, which is "the total mobilization of the senses" (Kundera: 54), but Tereza's attempt to cripple her own senses: "What was screaming in fact was the naive idealism of her love trying to banish all contradictions, banish the duality of body and soul, banish perhaps even time." (Ibid) Kundera paints the picture of a woman who is desperately looking for a higher aim to her life. Tereza loathes the emptiness inside of her, and tries to defend herself from it: "No, vertigo is something other than the fear of falling. It is the voice of emptiness below us, which tempts and lures us, it is the desire to fall, against which, terrified, we defend ourselves." (Kundera: 60) in this context, the fall represents an inner revelation which would end the emptiness. Tereza dreams about women marching around the swimming pool doing knee bends, and of her husband shooting them from above. This is her desire for release and freedom manifested in her dreams i.e. A reflection of her consciousness: "These were her vertigo: she heard a sweet (almost joyous) summons to renounce her fate and soul.… READ MORE

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