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Part 6, Chapter 17
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
The American actress, who had been near the back of the Grand March, moves quickly to the front. A doctor from the middle of the parade yells at her, asking why she even bothers taking part in the Grand March. These people need medicine and doctors, he screams, not entertainment. The actress is highly insulted. “You won’t get anywhere without stars! It’s our job! Our moral obligation!” she yells back.
Obviously, Kundera is being sarcastic here, but what the actress says is undoubtedly true. The suffering of the Cambodian people, sadly, will not draw large-scale attention; however, a famous actress marching for the rights of others does garner attention. Thus, the actress considers the march to be her “moral obligation.”
Themes
