Immortality (1991) (edit title/settings)

Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit see section history

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Characters/People edit see section history

• Milan Kundera: Author and narrator who muses about life and his own process of writing a novel, all sparked by the chance witnessing of an insignificant gesture of a woman at a public pool.
• Agnes: Fictionalized manifestation and central obsession of the writer, borne of a seemingly insignificant gesture of a woman to her swimming instructor.
• Paul: Husband of Agnes
• Laura: Sister of Agnes
• Professor Avenarius: A friend of Kundera who consults with him as he writes his novel, also a character in the book.
• Goethe: Kundera includes fictionalized discussions between Goethe and Ernest Hemingway.
• Ernest Hemingway: Kundera includes fictionalized discussions between Goethe and Ernest Hemingway.

Quotes edit see section history

• “Perhaps we become aware of our age only at exceptional moments and most of the time we are ageless.”

• “To be mortal is the most basic human experience, and yet man has never been able to accept it, grasp it, and behave accordingly. Man doesn't know how to be mortal. And when he dies, he doesn't even know how to be dead.”

Setting & Locations edit see section history

• Paris
• Europe
• France
• Switzerland
• Prague
• Weimar
• Russia
• Martinique
• Germany
• Teplitz
• Rome

First Sentence edit see section history

Table of Contents edit see section history

Themes & Symbolism edit see section history

• Immortality: What significance does Kundera ascribe to immortality? Goethe tells Hemingway, "Immortality means eternal trial." In what ways might this be true, notonly for such famous artists as Goethe, Hemingway, and Beethoven, but for Agnes, Paul, and each of us? How do Kundera's "minor immortality," "great immortality," and "ridiculous immortality" differ, from each other?
• Death: What roles does death play in the novel? What kinds of death occur, and what is the importance of each? In what ways does death "form an inseparable pair" with immortality?
• Notion of one's self/one's image in the eyes of others: Kundera writes, "Without the faith that our face expresses our self, without that basic illusion, that archillusion, we cannot live, or at least we cannot take life seriously." In what ways do the concept of the individual self and its expression gather importance in the novel? How does a notion of one's self ("mere illusion, ungraspable, indescribable," claims Paul) differ from a notion of one's image in the eyes of others ("the only reality, all too easily graspable and describable")?
• Solitude: What is the importance of solitude to Agnes and to other characters? What does it consist of for each? How is solitude related to the longing for immortality? What is the importance of the distinction that Agnes makes between living and being?

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. Milan Kundera (Author)

Other Contributors:

1. Peter Kussi

First Edition edit see section history

Awards edit see section history

• Independent Foreign Fiction Prize (1991)

Classification edit see section history

• Library of Congress: R606 .T74
• Dewey: 891.8635

Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Literature & Fiction › Literary
• Books › Literature & Fiction › Classics

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