Is there only a dichotomy between heavy and light in The Unbearable Lightness of Being?

This is an old article, which has been re-published after some revisions have been made! Although it refers to the classic work "The Unbearable Lightness of Being", most of it is a personal subjective opinion rather than a recommendation article, and it is not recommended to reward.

This article is written assuming that the reader has read this book.

"The Unbearable Lightness of Being" (Nesnesitelná lehkost bytí) explores the issue of " existentialism ", and Milan Kundera established his position as the world's greatest living writer with this novel.

I personally think that European literature has similar scenes and atmospheres no matter what era it is—the square is still there, and the sense of sight (Déjà vu) is particularly deep, especially philosophical issues. With the dialogue and thinking of the protagonist, almost It is timeless, so it is worth reading again and again.

When I read it, I feel like I have heard this sentence somewhere before, or experienced a similar situation? I am fascinated by such a situation, which may be the reason why the book is called an existential work.

What is more special is that in 1984, three years after the novel was published, the film adaptation of the original book " The Unbearable Lightness of Being" ( The Unbearable Lightness of Being ), starring Juliette Binoche, was released. The film knew her, and "The Unbearable Lightness of Being" was well-known in Taiwan at that time, but no publishers followed the trend to publish the novel, and the traditional Chinese version in Taiwan was released nearly 20 years later. This is what I found out when I checked the information when the book was published, but of course maybe someone had already read the pirated book at that time? After all, I was not born at the time, so I don't know how much impact it had.

Read more: In those years, the pirated books we watched together

Personal thoughts on "light/heavy" in the book

Then when it comes to the choice of "light" and "heavy", the artist (female supporting role) who can have sex at will and the young and introverted waiter (female lead), when I was a teenager, I thought that being a woman would definitely be cast aside Too frivolous women —of course, I didn’t understand the political meaning of it at the time, and I sympathized with young girls who valued emotional and sexual relationships, felt insecure but fell in love with scumbags.

But ten years later, I have a different idea. I began to find Teresa who is in a weak position as men (subjectively) as disturbing, because her fragility and anxiety require men to fall in love with her and take care of her, probably because I just happened to meet an Italian man who picked on an Italian woman who threatened to commit suicide. The man told me he "must" be with the woman who threatened suicide because he knew I was strong enough to handle losing him.

The above experience has made me no longer understand women who are vulnerable and use their vulnerability as a weapon.

And at this age, I personally like Sabina’s role in the portrayal of the two female protagonists. She is very free and easy, rebellious, and her charm may be what everyone thinks of "communist women", even though she hates it herself. this identity.

When the story sometimes describes one of her "light" behaviors, it makes me feel her weight.

And Teresa's presence has always made me very impatient, I hate the aggressive (to me absolutely aggressive), a woman who is attached to a man, like the one I once met A girl who reversed her fate with the plot of a popular novel. When I was watching the movie, as soon as Juliet Binoche appeared, I would want to fast-forward, and I was very annoyed by the sudden shift to Juliet!

 To make a digression, I became very impatient to watch the young Juliette Binoche's plays. Of course, at my age, I always look for old movies that have been released! Fortunately, I have seen most of her "classics" when she was young: "Lovers in Xinqiao", "Lover in Fire", "Lover in England", "Blue"... I am a very unscrupulous audience, always I transfer my personal emotions to the actors, but there are also many movies that I just watched because I like actors.

I guess, when a writer or screenwriter describes a person with vitality and enthusiasm, he is often younger and more beautiful to show a certain degree of persuasiveness. Therefore, it is more acceptable for "weight" to appear among young people. As for being overwhelmed; and for someone of her age, who may have gone through many hardships in life, she can't be too heavy.

I felt that the lighter I lived, the lighter I was.

Light and heavy, it is difficult for me to use dichotomy

After Sabina arrived in the "Western World", she suddenly discovered that the people in Prague gathered together to resist is not so important to the people of Prague... Just like street protests are very "popular" in Taiwan, and the word "popular" will be used It's because I always feel that many people didn't understand what was advocated at the time, but he wanted to follow along.

During the May student movement in Paris in 1968, some media said sarcastically: " Now follow the revolution together, and you will feel that you are an intellectual. " , as if unable to blend into the stratosphere.

"Participants" and "bystanders" are exactly divided into two categories.

All the issues we encounter in society can easily become dichotomies. When I read it for the first time, I felt that Sabina entered the democratic world and participated in political activities with his own slightly cynical attitude. People in democracies who are accustomed to expressing themselves (like her Swiss lover) do not see the thrill of being able to express themselves in the first place.

In my opinion, it is impossible for life to choose "light" or "heavy".

There is no job in Switzerland, no sense of down-to-earth life, no familiar language and friends, and Teresa who can't bear the "lightness" of the free world, so she chooses to go back to the Czech Republic with heavy constraints alone; her husband Thomas He also thought that he could feel relieved because of her departure, but the fact is that he couldn't bear the weight without Teresa, and the two could only be tied together after all.

It is very sad that two people "can only" be together.

Sabina is actually a contradictory individual. Thomas, who understands her, does not love her; Franz, who cannot understand her, worships her. When I watched it, I always thought that this is a typical CCR. Franz who grew up in free Switzerland could not understand a woman who lived in a communist world and pursued art?

Her mysterious and somewhat sad background made men from another world fall in love with her, but it was only after she stepped out of her own world that she realized that "I am a very ordinary person". There are also the formal aspects of her body, including keeping the gentleman hat left by her grandfather, and starting to paint "liberals" in the United States to express freedom... Then she returned to what she said: I don't hate communism, but kitsch .

But what I don't understand is that all forms equal kitsch.