Study Guide

The Unbearable Lightness of Being Part 1, Chapter 8

By Milan Kundera

Part 1, Chapter 8

Tereza continues to be haunted by dreams that symbolize her jealousy.
One night she dreams of being clawed by cats, and we're told that in Czech slang the word for "cat" means "pretty woman."
In another dream she and dozens of other naked women are marching around a swimming pool. Tomas stands in a basket hanging from the ceiling shooting orders at them to march and sing. When a woman doesn't obey his orders, he shoots her and she falls into the swimming pool.
In yet another dream, Tereza is dead in a hearse, surrounded by other dead women who talk to her as though they are good friends.