In Milan Kundera's The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Kundera describes a society almost devoid of human connection. Kundera uses the characters Tomas, Sabina, Franz and Tereza to explore the inability of humans to allow themselves to attach themselves to others, whether consciously or unconsciously. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Tomas's tendency to place his own priorities above others leaves him unable to fully understand and display the selflessness that love and connection require. He fears commitment due to the responsibility that it inevitably entails. The thought of acting solely for the good of others is repugnant to him, as evidenced by his inability to sustain relationships of any form, whether with women or with family such as his son. He states an inability to “live side by side with any woman, and could only be fully himself as a bachelor” (Kundera, 10). Tomas's ideal life is one in which he can indulge in the sin of selfishness and live without the influence of others influencing his decisions. He is not willing to compromise, demonstrating that he honors his own wishes over those of others. He also cannot sleep in the presence of others, demonstrating the innate sense of unease once he has to succumb to the presence and emotions of others. Love then becomes a burden that would compromise the pure selfishness of his life. However, Tomas seems to get rid of his flaw once he falls in love with Tereza. Tomas explains his newfound love through the idea of ​​compassion, where he emotionally experiences telepathy with Tereza and feels the sensations she feels, be it pleasure or pain. Through compassion, Tomas is able to become emotionally one with Tereza. By easing his pain, Tomas also relieves his, providing a solution to his selfish tendencies. Kundera sets his novel in a duality of opposites; lightness and weight, light and darkness, heat and cold. Selfishness and compassion then become another set of opposites, as compassion is capable of diminishing selfish desires and encouraging the compromise essential to being able to experience love. Kundera uses Franz to explore an alienation that occurs due to the inclination to live in fantasy. of his dreams and inability to understand his interactions. Franz establishes himself as a dreamer who often opts for the ideal rather than the truth. He demonstrates his alienation within his mindset through his failed relationships with his wife and Sabina. Franz was only capable of a logical understanding of human language, but not of the semantics underlying it. He emotionally protected his wife “for twenty years” because “he had seen his mother – a poor, weak creature who needed his protection – in his wife… because of a misunderstanding!” (Kundera, 118). Franz lived a lie based on communication problems for twenty years; without truth and communication, humans cannot experience love and connection. A combination of his preference for the unreal and lack of human understanding led him to unconsciously sabotage his relationship with Sabina as well. She lived in “darkness [which] was pure, perfect, thoughtless, without vision… for [Sabina] darkness did not mean infinity; for her it meant a disagreement with what she saw… a refusal to see” (Kundera, 95). Franz enjoyed the boundless freedom of his daydreams. He depended too much on it as an escape from life; to the extent that it ultimately overwhelmed the reality of his life. Darkness is perfect because it is devoid of vision, it can imagine anything its ownheart desires. However, because he dwells in the unreal, he is unable to sustain his relationships and interactions because he does not understand what elements are necessary to sustain them. He could not understand that his desire to live a fantasy had cost him his relationship with Sabina, who had rejected him from the fantasy as a rejection of reality. Franz is only capable of a facade of human connection, but in reality he is alienated due to his inability to understand interactions. Sabina, one of the most extreme characters represented by Kundera, lives and apparently enjoys her complete emotional alienation. His aloof nature is a manifestation of his distaste for society, both for society's repressive influences and for the human weakness he suffers from. He demonstrates a clear contempt for human weakness through his intolerance of Franz. Franz gives up power to those she loves and would never give them orders, which “seemed grotesque” to her (Kundera, 112). Franz demonstrates human weakness in surrendering to the ways of society, an idea he detests. She thrives on betrayal for the freedom and levity it provides her. He refuses to allow society to control his decisions or impulses. His ideals are revealed in his lifestyle and mentality. She firmly maintains that love must be private: “Sabina didn't suffer in the slightest from having to keep her love a secret. On the contrary, only in this way could he live in truth” (Kundera, 113). Once his affairs become public, there is outside influence that influences his decisions. Sabina understands well this power of destruction that society possesses. She could only live freely and indulge in her own thoughts without the presence of others who could have led her to unconsciously change her behavior to fit the norm. However, viewing society's presence as a burden, she ultimately admits a hidden respect for what others think of her. This is reinforced by her idolatry of the bowler hat, which not only embodies her family's past, but also her lovemaking with Tomas. He attempts to recreate that fleeting moment on multiple occasions (such as his encounters with Franz); however, she is continually disappointed in her single pursuit of eternal return. Sabina also demonstrates a pure affection and bond for Tomas, one of the few men who has ever understood her. She attempts to express her strong affection, but instead is only able to utter: "'you don't know how happy I am to be with you,' this was the most her reserved nature allowed her to express" (Kundera, 98). Sabina is so consumed by her overwhelming desire to escape the effects of society that she doesn't realize that she is ultimately trapping herself in her unrealistic mindset. He views love as weakness and a renunciation of power, and chooses instead to exercise frivolity and promiscuity. However, her fear of society and commitment has paralyzed her actions so much that she cannot express her affection for Tomas. Sabina, one of the most complicated and extreme characters created by Kundera, demonstrates that an absolute intolerance for human weakness, emotions and love causes a subconscious alienation through a self-entrapment in her inability to shatter her own expectations. Kundera demonstrates that there is no such thing as freedom from inevitable alienation, even the most romantic of characters, Tereza. Through her decades-long relationship with Tomas, in which she gave up her own desires and needs to please him, Tereza is ultimately still partially alienated. Tomas will never provide pure love and devotion, as opposed by Karenin. Tereza admits that Karenin has provided a “better love” because: It is a completely selfless love… Perhaps all the questions we ask of love, to measure it, test it, probe it and save it, have the further effect.