Franz's Version of Living in Truth

Sabina and Franz’s views on privacy are, as we discussed this week, polar opposites; but I think that, more than these opposing views, the difference here that truly distinguishes their characters is that Franz, who believes that he cannot live honestly unless his actions are seen by the public eye, doesn’t seem to try to make a concerted effort to actually live his life “honestly,” at least not to the extent that Sabina does.  Franz is preoccupied with the idea of the public eye constantly judging him often fails to be truthful.  Even when he separates from Marie-Claude, his relationship with the student has so many levels of dishonesty.  In fact, what exactly is “living in truth” to Franz?  Does it only mean living life with a merged public and private life, and how much does that actually have to do with living honestly, if you can’t even be honest with yourself about who your wife is under your own idealized version of her? 

Tomas'

Each main character of The Unbearable Lightness of Being is very distinct yet incredibly intertwined with all the others.  I think one of the most interesting characters is Tomas.  In some ways we are led to be sympathetic towards his character (i.e., by rationalizing that to be with many women is just "his nature"), but by taking a step back we might realize that he is rather despicable in many other ways.  Tomas claims to love Tereza while constantly causing her pain and anxiety as he goes off with others for sexual pleasure.  He says that he separates the concepts of love and sex in his mind, but in truth I think he is also afraid to accept responsibility by making a decision.  His decisions are largely made out of "obligation," and while he stalls and continues to not make a decision between Tereza and his other lovers, he is causing a woman great pain, all the time promising to love her and take care of her.  Tomas is selfish because he refuses to decide and take responsibility, and he doesn't even seem to try to relate to Tereza's obvious anguish.  By accepting responsibility, Tomas would feel another weight added to his life, which he initially doesn't think he can handle; but just like the transition from "sweet" to "unbearable" lightness of being, Tomas seems to evolve, although how much his character really changes is ambiguous.

History Repeating (Mass Surveillance)

In our discussions of governmental surveillance in Czechoslovakia pertaining to The Unbearable Lightness of Being, I found it striking how familiar the concept is.  It's a theme that repeats throughout history; the same situation occurred with McCarthyism, when writers and directors were on "blacklists," had their homes bugged and cars followed, and were encouraged to give up names of other writers/producers in order to be "cleansed" from the blacklists.  It was enough to be "guilty by suspicion" (the name of a film we watched in Civics last year).  The Salem Witch trials of 1692-1693 are equally infamous for the hysteria they caused, as people who were "plagued by the devil" claimed that their fellow townsmen were witches in order to escape persecution themselves.  Nor was the concept of mass surveillance completely unfamiliar even in the medieval ages, especially with the Fourth Lateran Council.  According to the Council, people suspected of heresy had to prove that they were innocent, or else they were excommunicated.  In effect, one was guilty until proven innocent, and people were encouraged to spy on and report their own neighbors.  This recurring theme in history is not an alien concept but rather an eerily familiar one.

Compulsion vs. Choice

We talked quite a bit in class this week about the scene when Tomas decides to follow Tereza and return to Prague.  He is haunted by Beethoven's est muss sein (it must be), feeling that he has no real choice in the matter.  I feel that this is connected to the opening scenes of Tomas and Tereza's relationship because, just as Tomas feels he must follow Tereza back to Czechoslovakia (a country now ravished by tragedy and despair), Tomas also feels compelled to care for Tereza while she is sick with the flu.  Both times he feels he has "no choice," despite having refused to allow many a woman to spend the night with him in the past.  In each scene, there is additionally a sense of pain—Tereza falling sick, and Tereza returning to a country that has in a sense become "sick" itself.  Perhaps due to Tomas' nature as a surgeon, he feels that he must protect Tereza, whom he partly views as someone to take pity upon.

Czech Music as Part of National Identity

Music, specifically related to a few Czech composers, was briefly mentioned during our discussions of Czech history today as well as in The Unbearable Lightness of Being during Sabina's thoughts on Czech identity on page 97. As someone who is interested in classical music, I thought I would make a brief post on the famous Czech composers mentioned, specifically Dvorak, Smetana, and Janacek, all of whom made music closely tied to Czech national identity.

Antonin Dvorak (Confusingly pronounced more like da-vor-jak) is probably the most well known Czech composer and lived from 1841 to 1904, a period during which the Czech people lived in the Kingdom of Bohemia as a state of the Austrian Empire. During this time when Czech identity was somewhat suppressed, Dvorak became the leading Czech figure in a movement of nationalist Romantic composers. He incorporated traditional Bohemian folk music into his works, such as his Slavonic Dances. He also spent a considerable amount of time in the United States, resulting in his American Quartet and what is probably his most famous work, his Symphony no. 9 "From the New World," both of which also adopted some American folk music characteristics.

Berdrich Smetana was another leading figure in Czech Romantic music who lived from 1824 to 1884, so a few years before Dvorak. He also incorporated many traditional parts of Czech folk music into his works, which include many polkas, a traditional Bohemian style of music, for example. He became famous for several operas, including The Bartered Bride, a comic opera that incorporated lots of Czech music and the plot of which takes place in a typical Czech country village. Another opera he wrote was Libuse, which celebrated the story of a Prague hero and was meant to commemorate the planned coronation of Francis Joseph as king of Bohemia. In 1874, he went completely deaf, but impressively continued to compose music, including in 1879 a suite of symphonic poems called Ma Vlast, or My Country, consisting of movements inspired by important Czech places such as The Moldau (a river) and Vysehrad (a fortress in Prague). One more interesting work is his autobiographical string quartet From My Life, which interestingly depicts his tinnitus and deafness by having one violin sustain a high note throughout one movement. 

Lastly, Leos Janacek was a later Czech composer who lived from 1854 to 1928 and was influenced by the previous two composers greatly. He also incorporated folk music into his works, specifically Moravian music, which he analyzed using modes. Unlike Smetana and Dvorak, his incorporation of folk melodies was less idealized in order to fit a typical Romantic style and more faithfully kept some aspects of the folk music, such as complex rhythms. He wrote several important realist operas like Jenufa.

From this brief discussion of these composers, it's evident that music plays an important role in Czech national identity with the importance both of traditional folk music as well as the cultural figures of distinctly Czech classical composers who incorporated this music into their works. These composers, particularly Dvorak, remain important Czech cultural icons as shown in their being mentioned while Sabina thinks of Czech identity in the novel. 

Some Links:

Dvorak's New World Symphony, so probably the most famous piece of Czech music. This is the intense start of the 4th movement, which sounds similar the Jaws theme at the beginning.

This is one of Dvorak's Slavonic dances and you can really hear the sort of Polka sounding folk melodies.

This is Die Moldau from Smetana's Ma Vlast, another very well known work which is supposed to depict the course of the Vlatva river.

Here's the 4th movement of the From my Life quartet, around the 4 minute mark you can hear the high E representing Smetana's tinnitus.

Lastly, here's a Janacek piano piece with his characteristically interesting and intricate rhythms.

Not expecting people to spend an hour listening to the classical music, but I thought it would be good to say a little about Czech music as it relates to national identity especially as it is referenced in the book, so I hope you check out a few of the pieces. (Warning: will probably do more classical music posts throughout the year)

Beloved and Invisible Man

In Beloved, Toni Morrison sends a message to the African-American community to not allow the events of the past to restrict their future. Beloved's character represents a collective past of the "60 million plus more" that have suffered through the inhumane treatment in slavery. In my independent study book, Invisible Man, it seems that the narrator's struggle to achieve a bright future is not under his own control. It is not as simple as avoiding the past. Everywhere the narrator turns it seems that whites are still looking to take advantage of him. He is taken advantage of by being having to partake in a Battle Royal where he fights other black men for a chance to win money and give his speech to earn a scholarship. He ends up being able to give his speech, but the white men do not listen unless it is to correct him on belief in equality. Throughout the novel, the author Ralph Ellison makes it clear that whites view the blacks as more of a tool than human beings. Morrison also portrays this viewpoint when schoolteacher and the other white men witness the infanticide, instead of thinking of the horror of killing a child, they think of their "damaged property." Sethe never truly plans for a future, until she sheds the events of her past. In Invisible Man, the narrator is fighting more than just his past, but the power of the whites. Ellison focuses more on a general, national level of success, while Morrison portrays success on more of a personal level.

A reflection on the year

Overall, I really enjoyed this course. The novels we read were interesting and I feel like I will remember them for a long time. My favorites were Unbearable Lightness and Dante's Inferno. ULOB really made you think about the person you are. Dante was cool to read because it included bad people of his time. I also liked being able to create my own Hell. Of course, I can't forget HamLIT and "I am slain." I also can't forget about INCEST!!!! Not many of the books we read 2nd semester had any incest, which is kind of disappointing. And then there is, of course, art. I have actually seen some of the art we studied out in the real world. My favorite is the one that looks like Nicki Minaj and "Persistence of Memory." I'm sure there is some things I am forgetting (like Santa Pants). I'm going to miss our stressed-out study sessions at Joseph's house with meatballs. Cant wait to go to Bay St. Louis with y'all! Thank you Ms. King and Mrs. Quinet!