A ‘Dissident’ Extraordinary: Milan Kundera Remembered – OpEd

The cultural world mourns the passing of Milan Kundera—the celebrated Czech novelist— who captivated audiences with his remarkable fusion of dark irony and philosophical reflections.  Through his writings, Kundera was bold enough to stand up to totalitarian regimes while delving into the depths of the human condition. 

The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1984), his magnum opus, earned resounding acclaim for its ability to portray characters and themes that effortlessly transcended the confines of ordinary existence and ventured into the realm of profound ideas. In this widely acclaimed novel, Milan Kundera eloquently expressed the interwoven nature of necessity, weight, and value: “Only necessity is heavy, and only what is heavy has value.” 

Preserving an air of enigma, Kundera rarely granted interviews, staunchly upholding the belief that writers ought to express themselves through the power of their literary creations. During an interview with The Paris Review, Milan Kundera shed light on his writing style and recurring themes, stating, “Every one of my novels could be entitled The Unbearable Lightness of Being or The Joke or Laughable Loves; the titles are interchangeable, they reflect the small number of themes that obsess me, define me, and, unfortunately, restrict me. Beyond these themes, I have nothing else to say or to write.”

Kundera, the multi-talented Franco-Czech author, encompasses a vast literary repertoire as a novelist, short-story writer, dramatist, poet, critic, and essayist. His insightful perspectives on contemporary life, culture, and politics have garnered significant recognition. Scholars have acclaimed his novels for their ability to reveal the dual, yet interconnected, tragic, and comic dimensions of totalitarianism.

Born in Czechoslovakia in 1929, Kundera’s early involvement in the Communist Party began in 1947. However, due to his dissenting views, he was expelled from the party in 1950. He was later reinstated in 1956 and took up a teaching position at the Prague Institute for Advanced Cinematographic Studies. It was during this time that his novel The Joke (1967) achieved cult status, particularly during the ‘Prague Spring ‘of 1968. 

It was in the latter half of the 1960s that a group of more liberal individuals within the communist party, particularly writers and intellectuals, began advocating for freedom in Czechoslovakia, defying the bureaucratic and totalitarian machinery of the party. Growing increasingly disillusioned with the communist system, Kundera delivered a major speech at the Fourth Czechoslovak Writers Congress in 1967. In his speech, he openly criticized censorship and other repressive measures employed against writers. Kundera called for the freedom of writers, emphasizing the importance of preserving a distinct Czech identity, which could only be achieved through the unrestricted development of Czech literature and culture. The speech marked a milestone in the history of independent and self-reflective Czech thought, becoming a seminal moment in the quest for intellectual and creative freedom.

Kundera’s resistance to the official restrictions imposed on literature led to his active involvement in the reform movement of 1968, famously known as the ‘Prague Spring.’ This movement saw Czech artists and intellectuals spearhead a Cultural Revolution, denouncing governmental repression of the arts. They rallied behind President Alexander Dubcek, who sought to introduce a more liberal form of socialism, marked by “socialism with a human face,” during his short-lived tenure. Unfortunately, this period of reform was abruptly halted by the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in August 1968. The invasion not only quashed the liberal trajectory of Czech culture but also shifted the country towards a repressive Soviet-dominated form of communism. Subsequently, communist authorities banned over 400 authors, including Kundera, for their refusal to conform or collaborate with the new regime. Despite the ban, Kundera continued to voice his opposition to the damaging impact of an oppressive state on Czech literature and history. Consequently, like many of his characters, Kundera experienced the loss of his professional privileges, leading him to seek exile in France in 1975. Since then, he has flourished as an author, continuing to reside in France. 

As a reaction to his The Book of Laughter and Forgetting, Kundera was stripped of his Czechoslovakian citizenship in 1979. Subsequently, his novels faced a ban on publication within the country. In 1981, Kundera acquired French citizenship. From 1985 onwards, he chose to exclusively provide written interviews, as he often felt misrepresented or misquoted in spoken interviews. In 1986, Kundera released his first work written in French, an essay titled ‘The Art of the Novel.’ Two years later, in 1988, he published his first novel in French, Immortality. After working as a lecturer in comparative language sciences at the University of Rennes for several years, Kundera embarked on his career as an author with the esteemed publishing house Gallimard in 1978.

Regarded as an outspoken critic of the Communist regime in his homeland, Kundera often found himself labelled as a political ‘dissident.’ However, he vehemently rejected this characterization, instead embracing the role of a continental and cultural dissident. His mission was to awaken his contemporaries to the existence of more far-reaching and profound threats, extending beyond the boundaries of mere communism or any narrowly defined “political” phenomena. His focus transcended specific ideologies, aiming to shed light on broader issues that permeated society. 

According to Fred Misurella, Kundera spent two decades in Communist Czechoslovakia, where every human issue, regardless of its magnitude, was viewed solely through a political lens. However, Kundera desired to shift his focus toward other realms. His concern for the future of European and Western culture predated his status as a “dissident.” He approached various human problems, regardless of their scale, within a highly ironic and intellectualized framework. As a result, his novels serve as a platform that encapsulates the critical atmosphere commonly associated with being profoundly political in most intellectual circles.

Unlike many intellectuals of his generation, Milan Kundera rejected the notion of the writer’s political responsibility. Instead, he emphasized the aesthetic responsibility of the novelist, focusing on the role of upholding and transmitting a particular literary tradition. Kundera found it offensive to have his literary works categorized as ‘political novels,’ as it would undermine his artistic intentions and diminish the broader scope of his writings.

In Testaments Betrayed, Kundera expressed his strong disdain for those who seek to find a predetermined position, whether political, philosophical, or religious, within a work of art. He firmly believed that the purpose of engaging with art is to explore, comprehend, and gain insight into various aspects of reality, rather than imposing preconceived ideologies or agendas onto it. Kundera’s stance highlights his commitment to the authentic exploration of the human experience and the intrinsic value of art beyond any external frameworks or interpretations.

Milan Kundera’s essays on the purpose of the novel serve as a defense of the novel itself and its broader significance encompassing culture, civilization, wisdom, and autonomy. These essays are driven by his belief that the novel stands in opposition to the limiting nature of ideology. However, despite his focus on the mission of the novel, Kundera’s writings often contain intriguing and perceptive observations on politics. Consequently, many of his novels lend themselves to interpretations as political works. This creates an intriguing tension between the author’s intent and the potential interpretations within the text, resulting in a rich and thought-provoking ambiguity that resonates with both social scientists and literary critics. 

Milan Kundera did not advocate for a complete separation of the novel, and art in general, from politics. According to him, literary imagination serves as a tool to delve into and expose real-life experiences, including politics, rather than being a mere escape or subjective fantasy. Kundera emphasized that “real life” encompasses the entirety of the human experience, with politics being a particularly deserving subject for exploration and unmasking. Politics, often dominated by reductive ideologies and propaganda, should be subject to the penetrating and unmasking gaze of the novel. In contrast, much of “political art” in its didactic form becomes a vehicle for manipulation by politics, rather than offering a critical perspective. Kundera believed that the novelist, and art more broadly, should approach politics from a higher vantage point, surrounded by a broader and more meaningful cultural context that frames and enriches the understanding of political phenomena.

Kundera drew inspiration from various sources, as he often emphasized. He found inspiration in the Renaissance period and the works of writers such as Boccaccio, Rabelais, Sterne, Diderot, as well as from modern authors like Nietzsche, Musil, Gombrowitz, Broch, Kafka, and Heidegger. His books have earned the status of classics in the 20th century, and Kundera himself is widely regarded as one of its greatest novelists. Unlike many authors who seek the limelight, Kundera preferred to remain anonymous in his own way, allowing his books to speak for themselves. With his intellect, vast knowledge, and literary charm, Kundera has captivated numerous literary reviewers, who often attempt to analyze and explain his works while expressing admiration for his innovative creativity and reasoning. Such is the magnetic appeal of his writing that many critics follow his lead, entranced by his captivating literary style and profound insights.

Milan Kundera’s thoughts are essentially characterized by a nuanced exploration of the human condition, emphasizing themes such as freedom, memory, love, and the impact of politics on individual lives. Through his works, Kundera sought to challenge conventional beliefs and kept inviting readers to engage in profound reflections on the complexities of existence.