If for some women flirting is second nature, insignificant, routine, for Tereza it had developed into an important field of research with the goal of teaching her who she was and what she was capable of. But by making it important and serious, she deprived it of its lightness, and it became forced, labored, overdone.

and always against America; at times against massacres and at times in support of other massacres; Europe marches on, and to keep up with events, to leave none of them out, its pace grows faster and faster, until finally the Grand March is a procession of rushing, galloping people and the platform is shrinking and shrinking until one day it will be

Tomas turned off the radio and said, “Every country has its secret police. But a secret police that broadcasts its tapes over the radio—there’s something that could happen only in Prague, something absolutely without precedent!”

“Love is a battle,” said Marie-Claude, still smiling. “And I plan to go on fighting. To the end.” “Love is a battle?” said Franz. “Well, I don’t feel at all like fighting.” And he left.

The people of Prague had an inferiority complex with respect to these other cities. Old Town Hall was the only monument of note destroyed in the war, and they decided to leave it in ruins so that no Pole or German could accuse them of having suffered less than their share.

And so on and so forth. Before we are forgotten, we will be turned into kitsch. Kitsch is the stopover between being and oblivion.

She now knew there were conditions under which she could feel strong and fulfilled, and she longed to go off into the world and seek those conditions somewhere else.

corpus delicti

Naturally she had not realized it until now. How could she have? The goals we pursue are always veiled.