The Unbearable Lightness of Being | Plot, Characters, & Facts (2024)

The Unbearable Lightness of Being, novel by Milan Kundera, first published in 1984 in English and French translations. In 1985 the work was released in the original Czech, but it was banned in Czechoslovakia until 1989. Through the lives of four individuals, the novel explores the philosophical themes of lightness and weight.

Summary

The story is set against the background of the Prague Spring of June 1968, the Soviet invasion of the country that followed in August, and the aftermath of the crackdown on liberalization. The tale begins on a philosophical note, discussing Friedrich Nietzsche’s concept of eternal return (or eternal recurrence). If, as Nietzsche believed, everything in life happens an infinite number of times, causing the “heaviest of burdens,” then a personal life in which everything happens only once loses its “weight” and significance—hence the “the unbearable lightness of being.” Within this discussion, however, the narrator also mentions the opposing theory of Parmenides, who held that light (represented by warmth and fineness) is positive, while the opposite, heaviness, is negative. This conflicting set of views raises the question of which is correct, and against this backdrop the story begins.

The novel pivots on Tomas, a surgeon and serial adulterer who embraces “lightness.” He is willfully free of all heaviness, shunning labels and ideals, and he justifies his physical unfaithfulness (mere sex) on the basis of his emotional faithfulness (his love for his wife). One of his mistresses, Sabina, a free-spirited artist whose sexual obsession rivals Tomas’s, takes lightness to an extreme, betraying others with her complete lack of commitment. On the other hand, Tomas’s wife, Tereza, is heaviness personified and has given herself, body and soul, to her husband. Her love is a binding thing—not bad, just heavy. She also has fervent political ideals, whereas Tomas is held down by none.

As the three lives collide, the viability of lightness is questioned, as are the characters’ responsibilities to themselves and to others. When the Soviet tanks roll in to crush the Prague Spring, Sabina, Tomas, and Tereza flee to Switzerland. But Tereza decides to return, leaving Tomas to make a choice. He accepts heaviness and follows her to certain persecution, unwilling to be a pawn of either the communists or the insurgents. The couple ultimately lives a quiet life in the country until both are killed in a car accident. In the meantime Sabina abandons her earnest lover, Franz, after he leaves his wife for her. Sabina later moves to the United States and seems condemned by her never-ending betrayals. Franz continues to love her up until his death.

Analysis and adaptation

By the conclusion of The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Kundera held that the theories of both Nietzsche and Parmenides are false, as both the “light” and “heavy” characters meet unhappy fates. Furthermore, he demonstrated how unbearable it is that each choice can only be made once with one possible result and that no one can ever know what other choices would have wrought. Upon its initial publication in English and French (L’Insoutenable Légèreté de l’être), the novel enjoyed international popularity, especially after the release of the acclaimed 1988 film adaptation. That movie was directed by Philip Kaufman and starred Daniel Day-Lewis (Tomas), Juliette Binoche (Tereza), and Lena Olin (Sabina).