After the defeat of the Germans in World War two, Czechoslovakia was re-established. Due to the largely dominant Russian communism movement, in 1948 the Communists seized power in Czechoslovakia. This political party demanded total control of the government, art, education, and Czechoslovakian culture. During the 1960s a series of political reforms, intending to ease the tight band of communism on the arts and culture of Czechoslovakia, were introduced. These reforms were immediately disliked by the Russian government who sent in their troops to arrest political reform leader, Alexander Dubcek immediately.
The idea that lightness and heaviness, soul and body, relate to The Unbearable Lightness of Being, is visible through the expression of art and culture in the novel. Because of the immense pressure to conform and be inexpressive, the idea of heaviness and weight surrounds the Soviet invasion. The idea of weight and heaviness also links to the concept of a body. For example, Sabina, a character associated with the theme of lightness, is forced to paint conventionally, but chooses to create works of art that are ‘double exposures’ alluding to a secret world. Sabina is desperate to escape the hold that communism has on her work, understanding that all political practises are the same totalitarian forces .This she reflects this in her artwork.
Similarly, it is suggested that those who accept lightness, (often related to the concept of a soul) are not likely to chose a life under rule of a political party, no matter what party it may be. Another character by the name of Tereza, fall into the category of heaviness. Tereza strongly fears the anti individualism promoted by governments and is a deeply private and conservative woman. The theme of heaviness relates to emotional and physical; depth and attachment, something that those who followed the communist takeover after the war, strongly believed in.
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