The Unbearable Lightness of Being's Bowler Hat

The Symbolic Significance of the Bowler Hat in The Unbearable Lightness of Being.

Milan Kundera defies the conventional ways of storytelling through the use of different narrative techniques to address the historically and philosophically complex within the novel The Unbearable Lightness of Being. The main conflict in the novel is whether lightness or weight is more unbearable. Support for both sides of the argument is included in the novel, placing certain answers up for discussion in a manner where “the novel does not present a clear-cut ideology” (Kimbrell 66). The debate is encapsulated in a single object — the bowler hat. The hat is a tool used in Tomas and Sabina’s lovemaking games and is also an item that exemplifies Sabina’s opposition against kitsch. However, it serves a larger purpose by appearing repeatedly in the novel, essentially representing the concept of eternal return while presenting Kundera’s opinions on certain philosophical concepts, most evidently his fondness for the paradox. As a result, the non-linear narrative further supports the bowler hat in characterisation, where the hat gains meaning as each character comes in contact with it, allowing the bowler hat to blur the line between contrasting concepts as well as the flow of time.

Sabina’s bowler hat is often used to signify her opposition against kitsch, as well as playing a key role in the characterisation of others. In the novel, Kundera defines kitsch as forced conformity which inevitably causes the eradication of individuality. Sabina attempts to escape the burden or the heaviness of emotional entanglements and kitsch through her pursuit of true beauty and individuality by the notion of betrayal. An act of betrayal would be Sabina refusing to accept or to fight for her inheritance, as one would tend to do so, and choosing to take only the bowler hat from her parents’ property. By doing so, her negation of the heavy emotional intricacy supposedly following the end of familial relationships as well as the notion of fighting for property rightfully hers, gives the bowler hat meaning. Another example would be the discovery of sexual humiliation coming from her “femininity” being violently overtaken by the “hard masculine hat”, in which she and Tomas find rather exciting partly due to the non-kitsch elements displayed (Kundera 87). The hat is now symbolic of Sabina’s distaste towards the long-established unwritten codes of society, and therefore represents her opposition towards kitsch. This can be used to explain the gradual deterioration of Franz and Sabina’s relationship as presented in Part 3: Words Misunderstood. Franz embodies heaviness, and he desires to place weight upon everything he has a connection with. He finds having an affair unbearable, hopes to prove the Grand March weighs “more than shit”, and desires a steady relationship regardless of who his partner is (269). Since the bowler hat represents Sabina’s opposition to kitsch, it then serves the purpose of revealing Franz’s perception of kitsch. Once she places the bowler hat on her head, she “transforms” into a completely different person in Franz’s eyes (85). The hat is described as “terribly out-of-place” and he is immediately impelled to lift it off her head, equating Sabina to a “naughty child” who “had drawn on a picture of the Virgin Mary”. The image of a moustache drawn on the Virgin Mary compares the bowler hat to the undermining of femininity, essentially representing one of Sabina’s definition of non-kitsch. By removing the hat, he is “erasing the moustache”, which also explicitly symbolises Franz’s inability to comprehend Sabina’s opposition to kitsch. Thus, the bowler hat is not only used to characterise but also used to denote the of the end of Sabina and Franz’s relationship by symbolising Sabina’s defiance against kitsch, in which Franz failed to understand.

The use of a non-linear narrative allows the bowler hat to play another essential role in the novel by embodying the concept of eternal return. Kundera has chosen to narrate the story in a non-chronological order, in which he “abandons continuous narrative for a structure which resembles film collage” (Day 301). The bowler hat appears in parts one, two, three, and then six, reminding readers time and again of its presence, and by returning “again and again” as part of the narrator’s strategic repetition, the hat becomes a symbol repeated ad infinitum (Kundera 88). Hence, the hat is given weight as it is presented as an object of eternal return, given a “different meaning” every time it returns. An example of this would be when the bowler hat is first introduced in part one, where Sabina wears nothing but the bowler hat in a hotel room in Zurich. Tomas feels “touched” by the scene, though readers are unable to discern why he feels so (28). Yet, due to the nonlinear narrative, this issue is brought back to light in part three, not only revealing that the non-kitsch elements were what excited him but also stating “they were both(emphasis added) touched” (87). Here, the bowler hat is given new meaning as the story progresses through a different perspective, which, in this case, is Sabina’s perspective, revealing that she felt touched by the scene as well. With the additional layer of meaning, readers understand why Sabina herself is “amazed” when she stares at herself in the mirror with the bowler hat on her head, at how she spent years “pursuing one lost moment” (86). The particular moment is when Tomas met her at Zurich and was able to understand her on a level deeper than Franz. This, however, gives the bowler hat an additional label — a “sentimental object” (87). Sabina is “amazed” because she discovers the irony of her being the embodiment of lightness while carrying around with her the embodiment of weight. This is supported by how the realisation is referred to as “something she had not reckoned with”. In this case, the supposedly light bowler hat is given weight, as well as representing how Sabina is unable to fully abandon her past because perspectives are layered on top of one another as the story progresses in a nonlinear fashion.

At several points in the novel, the narrator intrudes with additional thoughts on the bowler hat, using it to blur the line between contrasting concepts, and thus embodies the paradox. Kundera often debates with himself on philosophical questions, providing reasonable answers to both sides of the argument. He is particularly fond of the “essential identity of opposites” and is able to “conceive of a paradox and express it elegantly” (Doctorow 28). The paradoxes are presented through authorial intrusion, and, by using the narrator’s all-seeing perspective, the bowler hat is then transformed into a paradox in itself. While kitsch is given a strict definition, such as being “the dictatorship of the heart” over “mind”, and represents “communist ideals” instead of the “real communist regime”, and is the “answer” rather than a “question”, the bowler hat conversely symbolises the combination of opposites (Kundera 250, 253-254). When Sabina wears the bowler hat, she is both feminine and masculine and thus becomes a paradox. Additionally, the hat is described as both a “joke” and an object of “violence” when she first wears it in front of Tomas, allowing the hat to embody two contrasting concepts once again (86). The narrator even intrudes to state how it symbolises sexual love and familial love, as well as describing it as “sentimental (emphasis added) summary of an unsentimental story” (88). The bowler hat does not simply represent one idea, but rather serves as a juxtaposition to kitsch by portraying both sides of the argument. The hat is no longer a symbol exclusive to anything, be it character or opinion; instead, it has become a tool for Kundera to express his fondness of the paradox. To readers, having the bowler hat embody the combining of opposites allows easier understanding of paradoxical ideas presented by the narrator — “that is why I am equally fond of them all and equally horrified by them.” (221). Since the bowler hat is used in the story to support the sequence of events, it allows the paradoxes to be slightly more comprehensible in the context of the story.

The bowler hat symbolises the complexity of paradoxes through characterisation, which is further exemplified with the use of non-linear narrative and authorial intrusion. While introduced as an object holding significance but not explained how so, the hat is given additional meaning as the story progresses through different perspectives, be it Sabina’s or the narrator's. By returning time and again, the hat not only embodies eternal return but is also able to leave a heavy impression on readers, allowing them to develop an understanding of its significance. The bowler hat is symbolic of Kundera’s struggles of constantly being trapped on the cycle of exile and acceptance, a running paradox in itself. The Unbearable Lightness of Being was a product of his time and the bowler hat a symbol of defiance that promotes contemplation.

Bibliography

Day, Barbara. "Kundera, Milan," in Contemporary World Writers, 2d ed., edited by Tracy Chevalier, St. James Press, 1993, pp. 301–03.

Doctorow, Edgar Lawrence. “Critical Essays on Milan Kundera ‘Four Characters under Two Tyrannies: The Unbearable Lightness of Being’ ”. Edited by Peter Petro, G.K. Hall, 1999. pp. 26 - 30

Kimbrell, Gregory. “Existential Investigation: The Unbearable Lightness of Being” chrestomathy.cofc.edu/documents/vol1/kimbrell.pdf. p. 66. Accessed 28 May. 2018.

Kundera, Milan. The Unbearable Lightness of Being. Translated by Michael Henry Heim, Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 2009.