Marie-Anne Character Analysis in The Unbearable Lightness of Being

Franz and Marie-Claude’s daughter. Marie-Anne takes after her mother and is nothing like her father, and she does not have a particularly close connection to Franz. Despite the “heaviness” implied by the father-daughter relationship, Marie-Anne and Franz are practically strangers, and she is yet another reason why Franz’s life is overwhelmingly “light” and therefore meaningless.

Marie-Anne Character Timeline in The Unbearable Lightness of Being

The timeline below shows where the character Marie-Anne appears in The Unbearable Lightness of Being. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Lightness, Weight, and Dichotomies Theme Icon

...best if she attended the party. Franz walks into the next room, where his daughter, Marie-Anne, entertains more guests. She is nothing like Franz, and he thinks this to himself as... (full context)

Power, Politics, and Inequality Theme Icon

...infinite eyes looking at them. The second group—to which Franz’s wife, Marie-Claude, and his daughter, Marie-Anne, belong—need to be looked at by many familiar eyes, like at parties and dinners. The... (full context)