Independence vs. Dependence

I feel pity for Tereza and her plight, but not in the same way Tomas pities her. Tomas sees Tereza as a helpless child, a representation of the children in need of rescuing in many ancient myths. I see her as a woman absolutely consumed by love that she can’t even establish her own independence akin to Sabina. Sabina is emotionally stable, a thriving artist leading her own life, however questionable it may be. Tereza “offers her life” up to Tomas and endures his betrayals. I find it unfortunate that photography, to Tereza, primarily meant “getting at ‘something higher’ and living beside Tomas" since her street pictures of the Soviet military occupation are so significant. When she departs Zurich and returns to Prague, she does so secretly hoping he would follow her back (she admits this herself). She equates herself with her “weak” country and goes back to said country despite its state of political turmoil and oppression, which is so illogical and dangerous. She can barely see herself as an individual. She can't love herself. Though Tereza and her mother are not the same person, they are dissimilar personalites living awfully similar lives. I feel echoes of eternal recurrence in this instance, but I know it does not coherently apply here.