The Unbearable Lightness of Being Day Three: Words Misunderstood
Please post a question about "Words Misunderstood," Book 3, which divides its sympathies between Franz, Sabina and the narrator. Make sure to keep up your motif log for group discussion. On Tuesday you'll meet with your group members to share your individual findings.
Sabina and Franz have obvious disparities in their interpretation of many words: strength means psychological toughness, dominance for Sabina, while it means kindness and physical prowess to Franz; living in truth is to live under secrecy and away from public judgement for Sabina, while it means to reveal himself completely to the public for Franz. They have so many dividing opinions and the author spends a great amount of time to describe them. However, the cause of their parting ways boils down to Sabina's obsession for betrayal. So then how are their different understanding in words important? Did they contribute to the final break up at all?
ReplyDeleteIn chapter 3 of book 3 we come across what Franz and Sabina define betrayal as. Franz believed that "fidelity deserved pride of place among the virtues" (91) whereas Sabina found an odd joy in betrayal. Her obsession with betrayal that began with her desire to spite her father as a child continued into her adult life and eventually caused her to end her relationship with Franz that she eventually regretted. In their relationship, who is heavy and who is light? Why is it that Sabina finds joy in betrayal? Is there a correlation between the betrayal of her father and the betrayal of Franz?
ReplyDeleteThe two characters' spotlighted in this section, Franz and Sabina are seen throughout the whole arc as being polar opposites, and just misunderstanding words. However, we see that Franz seems to settle into this groove and is fairly contempt with his life, even with Sabina out, but Sabina seems to be much more lonesome and regretful about Franz. Is the book trying to say that certain betrayals have worst outcomes than others? Is the slight discrepancy between the two near the end an indicator for some conflicting differences in how they're portrayed? Or is it simply just because of their personalities that Sabina seems to suffer more?
ReplyDeleteIn the first two sections of The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Tereza and Tomas are contrasting characters because Tereza is aligned with weight and Tomas is aligned with lightness. In the third section, Franz seems to be extremely heavy while Sabina is extremely light. What do you think Kundera is trying to show by displaying the different outcomes in these characters relationships, even though both relationships consist of contrasting people? (Tereza and Tomas stay together and Sabina and Franz split up)
ReplyDeletePart III, "Misunderstood Words," is an aptly titled summary of Franz and Sabina's relationship. Through the narrator’s definitions of several items, such as cemeteries, as readers we see that Franz and Sabina do not see things the same way. It is not until Sabina has left Geneva and heard of Tomas and Tereza's accident that she realizes that she was not nearly as patient with Franz as she should have been. Sabina also realizes that the last link to her past is gone. Is her revelation about Franz based on the realization that her relationship with Tomas is a definite end? Is her revelation based on her thinking that Tomas was happy with Tereza or on newfound loneliness? Also, why is it “too late” for Sabina to go back to Franz and accept their differences?
ReplyDeleteIn Chapter 3 of Words Misunderstood, Kundera defines the different meanings of different words such as woman, betrayal, and fidelity. He argues that each word has a different meaning to each person such as the bowler hat with Franz and Sabina. To Sabina, it has multiple meanings, but to Franz, its meaningless. Does this mean that we can't fully understand one another if we haven't grown up together and had the same experiences? Why does Kundera point this out? Do we have to fully understand the backdrop to each word to love another person?
ReplyDeleteNear the beginning of Part 3, the narrator focuses heavily on the significance of the bowler hat to Sabina and her relationship to men, Tomas in particular. It is also developed as a motif for her life and how it would present different meanings to Sabina. The narrator continues to show Franz's relation to the hat as a misinterpretation but what of Tomas' interaction with the hat? Why is this detail that looms so large for Sabina merely a small detail for Tomas? What can this say about their different codes and how they view the relationship they share?
ReplyDeleteWhat did Sabina see in Franz that she didn't see in Thomas? What is it about Franz that keeps him on Sabina's mind? Even though both Sabina and Franz go through certain difficulties within their relationships is their enough evidence to suggest either character solely embodies lightness or heaviness?
ReplyDeleteWhen Sabina disappears, Franz at first is heartbroken, but he soon realizes that he is better off with the idea of Sabina rather than Sabina herself, and though he still thinks of her he settles into his life with his new student mistress in a rather content way. Sabina however, arrives in Paris feeling empty, and even at one point states that she misses Franz. Why is it that Franz can continue to live his life in relatively the same manner and be relatively content, while Sabina is now changing her perceptions, such as of graves, and is not content at all? Does this change come more from Tomas' death or from her abandonment of Franz?
ReplyDeleteGiven Sabina's strong aversion to heaviness, why does she still like Franz in all his heaviness?
ReplyDeleteQuestion from Rebecca Sai: On page 91, the author states that Sabina "knew of nothing more magnificent than going off into the unknown." Does this statement mean that weight is something that Sabina tries to avoid or prefers not to have? In my opinion, what is "known" is weight and burdensome. So because Sabina is so enthralled by the idea of the unknown, does that mean she wants to immerse herself in lightness?
ReplyDeleteWe see in part 3 that Sabina is associated with lightness, while Franz is associated with heaviness. Earlier, Tomas is associated with lightness while Tereza is associated with heaviness. Both relationships get in trouble at some point. The author is showing that different things can happen even if people are opposite. But what do you think would happen with couples who were both light or both dark?
ReplyDeleteThroughout Part 3 we see how drastically different Franz and Sabina are and how so many of their views and opinions combat each other. It is strange that people like this can stand each other, let alone be lovers. What is even more striking is the difference between their attitudes after Sabina moves away and they stop talking. Franz is upset at first, but comes to realize that Sabina has freed him and he is truly happy. Sabina, on the other hand, was seemingly happy at first but comes to a realization as well, the realization that she desperately misses Franz. Does this dichotomy of personalities serve to exemplify even further the main themes of lightness and weight?
ReplyDeleteHow exactly do Tereza and Sabina represent different life paths for Tomas, especially in looking at his incorporation of both lightness and weight? Furthermore, it seems as if Sabina is more associated with negative aspect of things; however, why is she still associated with lightness?
ReplyDeleteHow do the words defined help add to the motifs we have already discussed in class? How does this part of the novel support Kundera's idea passed on in the supplemental reading that he hopes to guide the reader through the psychoanalytical aspects of the novel?
ReplyDeleteSabina and Tomas represents lightness while Teresa and Franz are heaviness. Sabina rejects her feminine identity and Franz is a scholar who rejects his physical strength. Does the aspect of heaviness and lightness also send a message about gender identification?
ReplyDeleteFemininity is a continuous issue throughout the novel. On page 89, the narrator states "not every woman is worthy of being called a woman." While Sabina seems to be the perfect figure of a woman, Marie-Claude lost the woman in her. Why does the narrator not associate femininity with one's identity, but as a physical trait that fades with time?
ReplyDeleteThe story so far continually details contrasts between the two couples, especially between Sabina and Franz. Do the many misunderstood words between Sabina and Franz help to accentuate the ideas of lightness and heaviness mentioned throughout the novel?
ReplyDelete"When people are fairly young..., they can go about writing it together and exchange motifs (the way Tomas and Sabina exchanged the motif of the bowler hat,) but if they meet when they are older, like Franz and Sabina,... every motif, every object, every word means something different to each of them." (89) Does Franz and Sabina's inability to exchange motifs or understand each other's definition of certain words really stem from when they met in their lives? Or does it stem more from their personally differences and incompatibility in their relationship?
ReplyDeleteIn the first part of the book, Thomas and Tereza are opposite sides of the being spectrum. In the third, Franz and Sabina are. How are the interactions of the two couples different? Why do Thomas and Tereza seem to get along better than Franz and Sabina?
ReplyDeleteOne definition the book explores is that of "cemetery." How does the contrast of Franz and Sabrina's perception of cemeteries reflect their inner personalities?
ReplyDeleteIn chapter 2 of part 3, Sabina now looks at herself in the mirror as Tereza did earlier in part 2. The author writes, "She went back to the mirror, still in her underwear. She put the bowler hat back on her head and had a long look at herself". Do you think the reoccurrence of the mirror has any significance, as it allows characters to look at their own bodies?
ReplyDelete