Reading Reflection #4

Doing it out of order. Whatever. So I'm still reading The Unbearable Lightness of Being, and it's getting very complex. One thing I'm noticing is that the scenery in the book is completely contrasting to how the characters are feeling. At one point the character Tereza goes out to photograph the Russian invasion of her homeland of Prague. There's girls in mini skirts parading around in front of the soldiers, and general chaos and anarchy, and it's one of the only times in the book Tereza is truly happy. She's impassioned by the rebellion and the chaos and feels light in that moment. Another time where the scenery doesn't reflect the situation is when another character Sabina decides to leave her lover. She doesn't want to be tied down to him anymore and doesn't like how "heavy" his personality is (how he gives every little thing so much weight and value), and decides to celebrate by going to a cemetery. That's right, a cemetery to celebrate. A third example is when Tereza goes to the park. It's this REALLY strange part where her husband has sent her there to die. He's arranged for a firing squad to kill her because he thinks she doesn't want to live anymore. At this point in time I can't tell whether Tereza is starting to go crazy, and whether this is a made up situation in her mind, or she was the one that decided to go herself. Anyways, when she realizes what her husband intended to do the author suddenly takes note of how beautiful the surroundings are. He talks about the elegance of the trees and how Prague is the most beautiful city in the world. To me this plays a huge part in the theme of the novel. The theme so far is the comparison of lightness and heaviness. Not just like weight wise, but in actually living. For what is typically considered "heavy" (depressing, sad, responsible) moments like Tereza almost getting killed, the scenery doesn't reflect the heaviness of the situation. It's what is normally considered a "light" scene (happy, carefree). Then, when the character feels a "lightness" (like finally coming to a decision on a tough subject), the surroundings are suddenly what is considered depressing (cemetery). It makes it seem that everything is not what as it seems, and that there's many different nuances to every single situation encountered in life. It is also a good way of the author remaining unbiased about what he thinks is the better way to live; with heaviness or lightness. I don't understand how the author thought up these ideas, and had the ability to put them into words, but I'm glad he did. It's really made me think.