The Intrusive Author in Milan Kundera's "The Unbearable Lightness of Being"
The Intrusive Author in Milan Kundera 's The Unbearable Lightness of Being
In an interview he gave after the reprinting of one of his later novels, Milan Kundera said, most eloquently, that "the stupidity of the world comes from having an answer for everything the wisdom of the novel comes from having a question for everything" (qtd. in O 'Brien 4). This statement is one most indicative of the unique authorial style found in all of Kundera 's works, particularly his most famous novel The Unbearable Lightness of Being. Unlike previous traditional, non-autobiographical novels, Kundera chooses to indirectly reveal himself as the narrator, who, while omniscient in the control of his characters, poses questions of deep philosophical interest that even he cannot answer. This method has become problematic, however, as many critics have wrongly proclaimed this technique to represent the author 's hatred for the totalitarian regime under which his novel was written; in doing so, not only have they wrongly labeled Kundera "a passionate defender of Western culture" (Angyal 4), but they also have ignored the larger, philosophical issues that Kundera attempts to accomplish in the novel. While many of the themes in the novel undoubtedly reveal the totalitarian regime for what it is, it will be argued that the role of the intrusive author serves to create a sense of play and freedom of movement that digs deeper than history or politics to get to the heart of more important philosophical issues.
An analysis of Kundera 's structural functions and choices within The Unbearable Lightness of Being will provide a closer view of the openness, or "play" he strives for. One of the primary functions of Kundera as an intrusive narrator in the novel is to establish his characters as creations of his own mind. Whereas in traditional novels, the fictitious characters are assumed to be real in some imaginary world, Kundera almost immediately admits that "it would be senseless for
In an interview he gave after the reprinting of one of his later novels, Milan Kundera said, most eloquently, that "the stupidity of the world comes from having an answer for everything the wisdom of the novel comes from having a question for everything" (qtd. in O 'Brien 4). This statement is one most indicative of the unique authorial style found in all of Kundera 's works, particularly his most famous novel The Unbearable Lightness of Being. Unlike previous traditional, non-autobiographical novels, Kundera chooses to indirectly reveal himself as the narrator, who, while omniscient in the control of his characters, poses questions of deep philosophical interest that even he cannot answer. This method has become problematic, however, as many critics have wrongly proclaimed this technique to represent the author 's hatred for the totalitarian regime under which his novel was written; in doing so, not only have they wrongly labeled Kundera "a passionate defender of Western culture" (Angyal 4), but they also have ignored the larger, philosophical issues that Kundera attempts to accomplish in the novel. While many of the themes in the novel undoubtedly reveal the totalitarian regime for what it is, it will be argued that the role of the intrusive author serves to create a sense of play and freedom of movement that digs deeper than history or politics to get to the heart of more important philosophical issues.
An analysis of Kundera 's structural functions and choices within The Unbearable Lightness of Being will provide a closer view of the openness, or "play" he strives for. One of the primary functions of Kundera as an intrusive narrator in the novel is to establish his characters as creations of his own mind. Whereas in traditional novels, the fictitious characters are assumed to be real in some imaginary world, Kundera almost immediately admits that "it would be senseless for
Cited: Angyal, Andrew. "Review: The Unbearable Lightness of Being." MagillOnLiterature. EBSCOHost Research Databases. Online. Available: http://web22.epnet.com. 1-5. Kundera, Milan. The Unbearable Lightness of Being. New York: Harper and Row Publishers, Inc., 1984 O 'Brien, John. "Milan Kundera: Meaning, Play, and the Role of the Author." Studies in Contemporary Fiction. Fall 1992. Vol. 34, Issue 1. 1-20. Pichova, Hana. "The Narrator in Milan Kundera 's The Unbearable Lightness of Being." Slavic and East European Journal. 1992. Vol. 36, Issue 32. 217-226.