An Analytical Approach to Dreams and Escapism in Milan Kundera's "Life is Elsewhere".
What is more of an escape? Dreams are the human means to escape the confusion of life - the climax of relaxation is depicted as a wondrous sleep, disturbed only by the passing dream which casually floats through the mind. After a hard day of battling to prove ourselves in life, we revert to our dreams, within which we are given the safety to lick our wounds while exploring uncharted territories. The "lucid chaos" of dreams combined with the monotony of sleep creates the perfect medium for self-discovery, while escaping the harsheties in life.
For much the same reasons, Jaromil in Life Is Elsewhere, dreams. During the early years of his life, Jaromil's dreams present him with an opportunity to discover himself, while fleeing from his mother's selfish, domineering love. Jaromil searches for life elsewhere, reverting to his imagination to flee the heavy burdens imposed upon him by real life. He finds safety within his imaginings. In his dreams, Jaromil "prelives" his future while escaping his callous present. However, he sets a trap for himself; he soon is living in his dreams instead of his reality. Moreover, the dreams are in constant motion, spinning in a neverending circle where it soon becomes evident there is no ending. This parallels the active yet self-destructive cycle of Jaromil's later life: beginning at the denial of his true self as a poet, continuing with the betrayal and abuse of the redhead, and finally, the betrayal of his ideal counterpart at the eclipse of his youth. As he attempts to become the ideal self in his dreams, he shatters not only his life but also the lives of others close to him. .
Let us explore his relationship with his "ideal self"; his alter ego, Xavier. Whilst Xavier has everything that Jaromil believes he lacks (and consequently he is born of Jaromil's yearnings), it is clear within Jaromil's dreams that such a person would be unable to flourish within the real world.
