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Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Unbearable Lightness of Being, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Time, Happiness, and Eternal Return
Lightness, Weight, and Dichotomies
Sex, Love, and Duality of Body and Soul
Words and Language
Power, Politics, and Inequality
Summary
Analysis
Living in Geneva, Sabina wonders why she should continue her friendships with other Czech emigres. She has nothing in common with them, other than where they come from, and she is excited by the idea of “betraying” their relationship, just as she had “betrayed” her father. Sabina meets Franz on a train to Amsterdam, and when she first sees him, she is overjoyed. She wants to throw herself at him and be his “slave,” but she doesn’t tell him this. Instead, Sabina smiles and tells Franz she is happy to see him.
Sabina does not view “betrayal” as a negative thing, and when she “betrays” her relationships with others, even her parents, it is to strike out on her own and form new relationships and connections. Sabina views betrayal as a type of adventure, and it is closely tied to who she is. Sabina wants to be Franz’s “slave,” meaning she wants him to exert power and control over her. But Sabina views Franz as weak and incapable of such control, so she doesn’t tell him.
Themes
