Sisyphus's Rock

            Early in our discussion of The Unbearable Lightness of Being, the story of Sisyphus and his rock was brought up. To me, the rock represents all of the things that ultimately have little or no consequence in our futures; moreover, it is human nature to involve or even obsess over things that are seemingly inconsequential.  I find it interesting as well that the characters in the novel have a rock of their own, specifically Tomas and Tereza, whose identities are tied up in their pursuits.

            The rock that Tomas is condemned to push with no return may be his sexual exploits. While he might not see it as a condemnation, everyone who lives within the realm of Tomas’s affairs end up having little or no significance in his life. Sabina is the only mistress who has a lasting, significant impact on him, but even she transcends the circle of affairs. It is, after all, Tereza who is the most dictating force in Tomas’s life outside of himself, and it is she whom he dies with.

            Tereza’s efforts are consistently expended on attaching sentimentality unto everything she can. She tries ardently to make even the smallest things weighty and meaningful, such as coincidences and her routines. Her efforts to impose meaning, however, are proved somewhat inconsequential when she moves to the country. There, her former routines and all of the little things she deemed meaningful fall into the void of her past, and the truly meaningful things are the ones that stay with her, like Karenin and Tomas. Ultimately, however, the unbearable lightness of losing her tethers is exposed after her death, as it gives rise to the idea that even the most meaningful things to us are still subject to our mortality, which is the fall of Tereza’s rock.