Identity

Author: Milan Kundera
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-02-01
Features: Identity is the second novel written by Milan Kundera in French. The work completely breaks free from the political background of Kundera's famous works like The Unbearable Lightness of Being, which were written in Czech. It tells the subtle emotional life between a couple. Kundera skillfully blends reality and fantasy through the of a couple on vacation by the sea, exploring from a philosophical level the complex relationship between people and their other "other," thereby analyzing the special definition of "identity."
At the age of sixteen or seventeen, she was particularly fond of a metaphor: did she come up with it herself, hear it somewhere, or read it from somewhere? It didn’t matter. She wanted to become a rose scent, a fragrance that spread everywhere, to conquer. She hoped to pierce through all the men and, through them, embrace the entire world. The fragrance of a rose spreading everywhere: that was the metaphor for a fling. This metaphor bloomed in her as she was about to come of age, like a romantic promise to gently mix with men, an invitation to journey beyond all men. However, she was naturally not the kind of woman who frequently had affairs. This hazy, lyrical dream soon fell asleep in her peaceful and happy marriage.