ULOB- Lightness and weight - women and the scapel

Summary

This chapter (chapter 9) explores Tomas' need for mistresses and conquering.



Context

• Explains to the reader how he can continually cheat on Tereza


• Philsophy of Tomas


• leads to greater understanding of Tomas, what makes him tick


• Developing Tomas' need of control


• Obsession


• Discovery


• conquest


• Scientific approach

Scapel

Kundera discusses how Tomas wanted to dissect each womans individual essence with a scapel. By using this word he emphasises Tomas' innate logical mind and scientific approach. This is underlined further when we see him verbal protocoling a particular womans essence when he divides her individuality into three categories or motifs. This word choice of the scapel and him slicing open women is also a sexual innuendo and creates images in the mind of other slicing motions that Tomas will be doing with these women.

So it was a desire not for pleasure (the pleasure came as an extra, a bonus) but for possesion of the world (slitting open the outstretched body of the world with his scapel) that sent him in pursuit of women.