The Obnoxious Man Character Analysis in The Unbearable Lightness of Being

A patron of the Prague bar where Tereza works. The obnoxious man accuses Tereza of serving alcohol to a young man, and then the obnoxious man subtly accuses her of being a prostitute. Tereza later discovers that the obnoxious man is a member of the secret police, and she grows increasingly paranoid that he is trying to incriminate and subsequently imprison her. The obnoxious man never does officially incriminate Tereza, but he serves as an example of the intimidation and terror employed by the Communist regime in Czechoslovakia during the Cold War.

The Obnoxious Man Character Timeline in The Unbearable Lightness of Being

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

Power, Politics, and Inequality Theme Icon

...look at Tereza’s legs, he says, and then he tells her he loves her. An obnoxious man at the bar assumes that Tereza has illegally served the young man alcohol and begins... (full context)

...tall stranger to return to the bar, but he never does. One particular day, the obnoxious man who had accused her of serving minors begins to tell a dirty joke. When Tereza... (full context)

Tereza learns soon afterward from one of the men she works with that the obnoxious man is with the secret police. The secret police function in several ways, Tereza’s coworker says.... (full context)