Saturday, August 23, 2014
Vertigo
The concept of vertigo is something that really struck me in unbearable lightness. Tereza goes through a period of time when she desires to be light towards, for she desires to have intercourse with a cook and to completely change her ways so that they carry less "weight." She claims she is experiencing "vertigo," the desire to fall. I thought it was interesting that in order for a person to fall they must have a sense of lightness. Therefore, vertigo represents living in lightness. As Tereza desires to be light and be more experimental as Tomas is, she longs to fall and experience vertigo. I think that vertigo represents not only a desire to fall but a desire to fall into a state of lightness. The title of the novel "Unbearable Lightness of Being" explains how human nature naturally desires to be light. Tomas constantly experiences this desire unlike Tereza, and he is able to live a "light' life most of the time because of his desire to fall. When one falls, one is free, light, and carries no weight. If one does not live in vertigo and experience it, that means one holds on to some heaviness or weight that prevents a person from falling.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
I agree with you Tiffany. In order for someone to be able to float and even have the sensation of falling they must first be light enough to get off of the ground. If one is heavy they might as well give up because it is as if they have cement blocks for feet therefore never allowing themselves to lift off of the earth.
I think this is an interesting analysis that contrasts a more common view point - that heavy things fall, and light things float. In class we talked about "light" people as balloons and "heavy" people as what anchors the balloons. If you held a balloon over a cliff and let go, it would simply float away. If you held an anchor over a cliff and let go, it would fall until it hit the ground. Commonly, therefore, you would think it would be the "heavy" people who would experience vertigo. I don't disagree with your analysis though, Tiffany. I think it is intriguing how Kundera switches "heaviness" and "lightness" in their common definition on their heads at this point.
Post a Comment