stmhumanities

The relationship between politics and the role of the body and one's identity in unbearable lightness really interests me. I think that Tereza's obsession with defining what her body and soul really mean to her is a constant struggle for her when it comes to her identity. She feels that she is at risk of losing the power and influence her soul can have on her life because of her body. Her mother deprived her of seeing her body in a positive aspect, and Tereza became to view her body as grotesque. She feels that her body is taking away from her identity and often times preventing her soul from being able to be "called out" or influence her life in a way that would make her distinguishable from others. I believe the Communist regime relates to the body and one's identity greatly in the novel. The Communist regime took a person's ability to express themselves freely. Just as Tereza's soul was buried deep down in her body unable to be influential, the Czech people experienced their voices and opinions being buried and quitted under Communist oppression. People's voices during these times were not able to make their way to the "surface" to reveal great truth; instead, their thoughts were concealed. If Tereza's soul is not being called out in any way, she feels that she will become just like everyone else. Similarly, the goal of the communists were for people to become all the same and to share a common ideology , stripping a person from their identity.