in response to Kyle's, i think that compassion is heavy because it is something that connects one person to another; Tomas feels that human relationships that go beyond the physical are dangerous. Tereza, whom he feels compassion towards is "heavy" and Sabina, who is a mere mistress, is "light". I think he "describes compassion as a "sickness" that "infected" him, causing him to feel "the sweet lightness of being rise up out of the depths of the future" (31). Yet moments later he states, "there is nothing heavier than compassion" (31)" because in reality it is heaviness that makes him happy, even though he doesn't realize it. I think he suffers so much because he does not know that life is intrinsically heavy (despite what the first couple sections state). By denying truths that he feels, his thoughts are contradictory and creates internal conflict that manifests itself in his relationships to others. In summary, compassion is heaviness, and heaviness is good; only that which is heavy has value, and things that are valueless can't be good, therefore things that are valuable are good.
She seems strong, original, confident, etc. but then (p.98) she has an "overwhelming desire" for a man that is completely different from her -- she wants to be his "slave." Also, the description of her desire is nestled within pages of "misunderstood words" that highlight how incompatible she and Franz are. So how could she desire him?
"Almost apologetically the editor said to Tereza, 'Of course, they're completely different from your pictures.' 'Not at all,' said Tereza. 'They're the same."' (68-69).
What on earth does Tereza mean? Even the speaker found "it difficult to explain what she had in mind when she compared a nude beach to the Russian invasion" (69). Does this have anything to do with the dichotomy of soul vs. body or "what a terrific sense of the female body" Tereza apparently has (70)? How does this connect to the work as a whole?
I'm not sure if this is a reader response, but here goes!
What should we make of the bowler hat? It's described as something that "signified violence; violence against Sabina, against her dignity as a woman" (87). It's also said to be a motif: "the bowler hat was a bed through which each time Sabina saw another river flow, another semantic river: each time the same object would give rise to a meaning, though all former meanings would resonate...together with a new one" (88).
Also, do we see the bowler hat as a universal motif or one that is solely Sabina's? What does the relationship between Sabina and Tomas through the bowler hat say about them?
5 comments:
What are your feelings towards Tomas (do you feel frustrated, compassionate, disgusted...)? and why?
How well do you think Tomas understands himself? What are the causes and consequences of this?
in response to Kyle's, i think that compassion is heavy because it is something that connects one person to another; Tomas feels that human relationships that go beyond the physical are dangerous. Tereza, whom he feels compassion towards is "heavy" and Sabina, who is a mere mistress, is "light".
I think he "describes compassion as a "sickness" that "infected" him, causing him to feel "the sweet lightness of being rise up out of the depths of the future" (31). Yet moments later he states, "there is nothing heavier than compassion" (31)" because in reality it is heaviness that makes him happy, even though he doesn't realize it.
I think he suffers so much because he does not know that life is intrinsically heavy (despite what the first couple sections state). By denying truths that he feels, his thoughts are contradictory and creates internal conflict that manifests itself in his relationships to others.
In summary, compassion is heaviness, and heaviness is good; only that which is heavy has value, and things that are valueless can't be good, therefore things that are valuable are good.
What are we supposed to think of Sabina?
She seems strong, original, confident, etc. but then (p.98) she has an "overwhelming desire" for a man that is completely different from her -- she wants to be his "slave."
Also, the description of her desire is nestled within pages of "misunderstood words" that highlight how incompatible she and Franz are. So how could she desire him?
"Almost apologetically the editor said to Tereza, 'Of course, they're completely different from your pictures.'
'Not at all,' said Tereza. 'They're the same."' (68-69).
What on earth does Tereza mean? Even the speaker found "it difficult to explain what she had in mind when she compared a nude beach to the Russian invasion" (69). Does this have anything to do with the dichotomy of soul vs. body or "what a terrific sense of the female body" Tereza apparently has (70)? How does this connect to the work as a whole?
I'm not sure if this is a reader response, but here goes!
What should we make of the bowler hat? It's described as something that "signified violence; violence against Sabina, against her dignity as a woman" (87). It's also said to be a motif: "the bowler hat was a bed through which each time Sabina saw another river flow, another semantic river: each time the same object would give rise to a meaning, though all former meanings would resonate...together with a new one" (88).
Also, do we see the bowler hat as a universal motif or one that is solely Sabina's? What does the relationship between Sabina and Tomas through the bowler hat say about them?
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