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Part 5, Chapter 2
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
After Tomas comes back to Prague from Zurich, he takes his old job back at the hospital. One day, the chief of surgery calls Tomas into his office and tells Tomas that he has to retract the Oedipus article. He tells Tomas he doesn’t have to make a public statement or anything, but he does have to write something up that formally states he has nothing against the regime. Tomas says he will take the week and think about it.
Tomas’s Oedipus article makes him appear to be against the regime, and since all doctors are employed by the state, the hospital will not employ Tomas if he is politically against them. This again illustrates the power the Communist government has over the people. Tomas is not allowed his own political opinions—he has to support the regime or suffer the consequences.
Themes
