Milan Kundera 1929 Born in Brno Czechoslovakia to

Milan Kundera (1929 - ) Born in Brno, Czechoslovakia to an intellectual family Studied musicology, film, literature and aesthetics at the university Joined the communist party in 1948, but was expelled in 1950 (rejoined in 1956 to 1970) In 1952 joined the faculty at Prague’s Academy of Performing Arts: lectured on world literature Published poems, plays, essays with a clearly communist ideology Lost his teaching position after Soviet invasion in 1968 Books banned in Czechoslovakia in 1970 Became guest prof. in France (1975) Deprived of Czech citizenship in 1979 Became French citizen in 1981

His official biography: “Milan Kundera was born in Czechoslovakia in 1929, and since 1975 he has been living in France”

Best known novels: The Joke (1965) The Book of Laughter and Forgetting (1978) The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1984) Immortality Identity (1988) (1996)

Heaviness Provides comprehension of what it is to be Nietzsche's Eternal Return The universe will recur an infinite number of times across infinite time and space. We are reincarnated in the same body, same soul, and same mind in the same situations. Time becomes cyclical. “…however long a time may pass…all configurations which have previously existed on this earth must yet meet, attract, repulse, kiss, and corrupt each other again. ” Heine Every move we make, we must make responsibly. This is the heaviest weight (das schwerste Gewicht)

Heaviness Amor A Fati love of one’s fate. Everything that happens in one’s life is good and/or necessary We must accept our lives instead of trying to better them.

Lightness If life is indeed a singular occurrence, does it indeed mean anything? Einmal ist keinmal What happens but once, might as well not have happened at all. Or, does it leave us to better our lives?

Problem: Parmenides saw the world as a conflict in duality. Lightness was seen as positive. Heaviness was seen as negative. But which is worse in regard to living our lives? Es muss sein! (It must be!) This is the central crux or conflict of the text.

War Written to take place during the Warsaw Pact Invasion in 1968. Soviet Union, Bulgaria, Hungary, East Germany, and Poland banded together to halt the Prague Spring: Wanted to decentralize authority Wanted to loosen restrictions on media, speech, travel, etc Wanted to split into Moravia and Slovakia, two separate republics The invasion was led by the Soviet Union that occupied Czechoslovakia and strengthened Communist control. 108 people killed 500 wounded Thousands emigrated

Music, Art, Literature, and Life All are riddled with duality Lightness and weight Body(aesthetics) and soul (meaning) All are composed, circular, and contain similar motifs All contain suffering All contain beauty

Narration Kundera employs a type of Free Indirect Speech called Peripheral Narration He first acts as a character, then he admits he’s the author, and finally begins to analyze the narration for the reader. “I have been thinking about Tomas for many years. ”

The Structure The novel is Post-Modern and follows a non-linear structure. It even follows the same events from multiple perspectives. The parts are as follows: 1. Lightness and Weight 2. Soul and Body 3. Words Misunderstood 4. Soul and Body 5. Lightness and Weight 6. The Grand March 7. Karenin’s Smile