“...We all need someone to look at us. We can be divided into four categories according to the kind of look we wish to live under.
The first category longs for the look of an infinite number of anonymous eyes, in other words, for the look of the public.
The second category is made up of people who have a vital need to be looked at by many known eyes. They are the tireless hosts of cocktail parties and dinners. They are happier than the people in the first category, who, when they lose their public, have the feeling that the lights have gone out in the room of their lives.
Then there is the third category, the category of the people who need to be constantly before the eyes of the person they love. Their situation is as dangerous as the situation of the people in the first category. One day the eyes of their beloved will close, and the room will go dark.
And finally there is the fourth category, the rarest, the category of people who live in the imaginary eyes of those who are not present. They are the dreamers. Franz, for example. He traveled to the borders of Cambodia only for Sabina. As the bus bumped along the Thai road, he could feel her eyes fixed on him in a long stare.
So also, Tomas’s estranged son, Simon. He wrote a letter to Tomas. He did not ask him to write back. He only wanted him to focus his eyes on his life. And later on, after Tomas’ death, he searched and found the address of his mistress. Because he desperately needed an imaginary eye to follow his life, he would occasionally write her long letters.”
'The Unbearable Lightness of Being'
Milan Kundera
The first category longs for the look of an infinite number of anonymous eyes, in other words, for the look of the public.
The second category is made up of people who have a vital need to be looked at by many known eyes. They are the tireless hosts of cocktail parties and dinners. They are happier than the people in the first category, who, when they lose their public, have the feeling that the lights have gone out in the room of their lives.
Then there is the third category, the category of the people who need to be constantly before the eyes of the person they love. Their situation is as dangerous as the situation of the people in the first category. One day the eyes of their beloved will close, and the room will go dark.
And finally there is the fourth category, the rarest, the category of people who live in the imaginary eyes of those who are not present. They are the dreamers. Franz, for example. He traveled to the borders of Cambodia only for Sabina. As the bus bumped along the Thai road, he could feel her eyes fixed on him in a long stare.
So also, Tomas’s estranged son, Simon. He wrote a letter to Tomas. He did not ask him to write back. He only wanted him to focus his eyes on his life. And later on, after Tomas’ death, he searched and found the address of his mistress. Because he desperately needed an imaginary eye to follow his life, he would occasionally write her long letters.”
'The Unbearable Lightness of Being'
Milan Kundera
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