In Milan Kundera's novel, The Unbearable Lightness of Being, each of the four main characters experience the "lightness of being" and react to that lightness in a different manner. Sabina is a character that lives her life for herself. By not conforming to the many expectations that people and society have placed on her throughout her life she is able to maintain her individuality. She receives pleasure and comfort by betraying the major forces in her life such as her parents and the communist regime. However, Sabina is the only character who faces the "unbearable lightness of being," as compared with characters such as Tomas and Franz who find much more happiness in the lightness of being.

Sabina's realization of the unbearable lightness of being begins with Franz's decision to inform his wife, Marie-Claude, of his nine-month affair with Sabina. Franz felt by telling his wife the truth he is lifting the burden of lies from his being. This would allow him to feel a new lightness of being. Sabina, on the other hand, now believes that her life, once hidden from everyone but herself and Franz, would now become the public spectacle for anyone t

Once Sabina had broken contact with Franz and moved to Paris to start her life once again, she had found that the thrill and excitement of her betrayals was waning. She eventually realized that her betrayals in succession had forced her into a life without meaning. There was a consistency in her life to shed all of the situations that were burdensome or of a "heavy" nature. "She felt emptiness all around her" (122) is how Kundera explains her feelings to the reader. A life without meaning or weight can be defined as being light. By starting a new life she severed all contact with her past life and was free of any old attachments and responsibilities to anyone but herself. She succeeded in making herself as light as a feather by having no one to weigh her down. She had the ability to move from place to place unnoticed, unknown, but also now unloved.

Tomas is a character that finds the joy in the lightness of being by relinquishing the heavy burden that his profession had placed on his life. Tomas understood early in his life that becoming a doctor and then a surgeon was the "es muss sein" in his life. "It must be" are three words that can hold a great deal of weight and since they applied to a profession that held great risk and emotion, the words became even more powerful for Tomas. Becoming a surgeon and taking on great responsibility was not just any decision for Tomas but rather the only decision he could make in his life's journey. This "es muss sein" in his life conflicted often with his love for Tereza. Eventually, Tomas gave up his entire profession and city lifestyle for Tereza but before, he struggled to see how his love for Tereza was an "es muss sein" in comparison with his profession. After all, he became a doctor because he felt it was what he was meant to do. No external force played a role in his de!

something ever goes wrong. Rather, his job allows him to float around the city drinking and womanizing with a new sense of freedom and space. He realizes the enormous weight that he has caste off his life and comes to enjoy the li

Some common words found in the essay are:
Sabina Franz, Eventually Tomas, Franz Tomas, Prague Paris, Unbearable Lightness, Church Amsterdam, Sabina Franz's, Tomas Becoming, Tomas Franz, unbearable lightness, muss sein, es muss, es muss sein, love tereza, Milan Kundera's, tereza es muss, church amsterdam, life able, joys lightness, sabina character, lightness kundera, muss sein life, love tereza es, lightness sabina's,
Approximate Word count = 1398
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)