One of the aphorisms commonly attributed to the 19th century German philosopher, Freidrich Nietzsche, is "Live dangerously." Whether it is Tomas" illicit sexual encounters, Tereza's vivid photography of the Soviet occupation of Prague, or Sabina's avant garde art forms, the characters in Milan Kundera's novel The Unbearable Lightness of Being all follow this and several of Nietzsche's other dictums in practically every action that they take in his novel. That there is danger in any choice that man makes is a certainty, and just as certainly living one's life to the fullest and savoring every moment is a tenet of the theory of Eternal Return. These three main characters; Tomas, Tereza, and Sabina; each seek and attain their own equilibrium, their own "lightness of being", through personal journeys of discovery with each other that are both solitary and interdependent.
According to the concept of Eternal Return, the events of every man are simply points to be fully experienced along a line through time - the ribbon of life - and with each moment man travels through a new portal, simultaneously extending the line into the future and reconnecting with the past. For Tomas to fully exploit each and every moment to the fullest meant a coalescence of both the good and the bad, of the sublime and the unreasonable, every relationship bending the time-line to favor his attainment of pleasure and self-centeredness. Tomas is compelled by the danger of every new affair, but nevertheless self-bound by his desire for permanence in his relationship with Tereza - seemingly two different paths that converge on each moment of time as if the outcome was beyond his control. .
It often seems that Tereza, as well, is merely a victim of circumstance in her affair and marriage to Tomas. She is shackled by her need to pass through time with permanence and love instead of loneliness; and she accepts her emotional tightrope as inevitable, as fate - it simply must be.
