Tuesday, May 28, 2013
On Intimacy
“He was well aware that of the two of three thousand times he had
made love (how many times had he made love in his life?) only two or
three were really essential and unforgettable. The rest were mere
echoes, imitations, repetitions, or reminiscences.”
"Flirting is a promise of sexual intercourse without a guarantee."
- Milan Kundera, The Unbearable Lightness of Being
“Making love with a woman and sleeping with a woman are two
separate passions, not merely different but opposite. Love does not make
itself felt in the desire for copulation (a desire that extends to an
infinite number of women) but in the desire for shared sleep (a desire
limited to one woman).”
- Milan Kundera, The Unbearable Lightness of Being
“Even at the age of eight she would fall asleep by pressing one
hand into the other and making believe she was holding the hand of the
man whom she loved, the man of her life. So if in her sleep she pressed
Tomas' hand with such tenacity, we can understand why: she had been
training since childhood.”
- Milan Kundera, The Unbearable Lightness of Being
- Milan Kundera, The Unbearable Lightness of Being
“So she stood naked in front of the young man and at this moment stopped playing the game.”
- Milan Kundera, Laughable Loves
“Jealousy isn't a pleasant quality, but if it isn't overdone (and if
it's combined with modesty), apart from its inconvenience there's even
something touching about it.”
- Milan Kundera, Laughable Loves
“Even in the game there lurks a lack of freedom; even in a game is a trap for the players.”
- Milan Kundera, Laughable Loves
*****
Milan Kundera is such a true master in the prose of human experiences and emotions; the sum of the human condition encapsulated in such simple words arranged ever so effortlessly into sentences connecting to the layman.
He is my favourite author of all time. I never get tired of re-reading his works and savouring those seamlessly put together sentences that strike one too a many chords a thousand times over.
