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Part 6, Chapter 25
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
By the time the bus pulls up to the Bangkok hotel, it is nearly dark. Thinking about Sabina, Franz takes a walk in the streets, and a man speaking an unknown language takes Franz’s hand and leads him down a side street. Someone must need help, Franz thinks, and goes along. Two more men emerge and, speaking in English, ask Franz for his wallet. Franz thinks of Sabina. She always thought he was strong, so he refuses to comply. Suddenly, he is hit over the head and collapses. Franz wakes up sometime later at a hospital in Geneva with Marie-Claude by his side. Within days, he is dead.
Again, Franz has completely misunderstood Sabina. She thought he was weak, not strong, and the fact that he is overpowered by these men is further evidence of this. Furthermore, Franz’s death, much like the Grand March, is meaningless. He has failed to gain any weight or significance, despite multiple attempts. In this way, Franz’s life is unbearably light, and since it will never return again, it will fall into complete obscurity.
Themes
