The motif of the bowler hat

‘The bowler hat was a motif in the musical composition that was Sabina’s life. It returned again and again, each time with a different meaning, and all the meanings flowed through a riverbed’

·      post –modernism, use of metaphor to understand ideas, comparison is used widely to develop a deeper understanding

·      Kundera uses the metaphor of a ‘musical composition’ to describe the life of the characters in the text, to show the sense of progression and movement in the rhythm, however there is the idea of repetition in the melody. This can be used to show the repetition in the characters lives which adds weight and meaning through their experiences. He explains through the voice of the narrator what Sabina is. Expresses the idea of repetition shown through the constant return to the motif of the bowler hat.

·      During life, we acquire different motifs which gain meaning to us through past experiences. These motifs are used to develop the essence of our ‘being’ by defining our perspectives of different ideas. Kundera uses the motif of the bowler hat and its ‘constant return’ through the novel to show the meaning which it acquires through Sabina’s relationship with other characters. The bowler hat becomes a major motif in defining the charater of Sabina and the different ideas which depict her ‘light character’. However this concept of the continues return of the bowler hat contrasts Sabina’s essentially ‘light’ character, as it adds weight and the concept of return to her ‘meaningless’ ideals. The bowler had adds ‘weight’ both physically and mentally, through its ‘bulky and impractical’ nature, and the concept of eternal return, through which it acquires different meanings which ‘flow[ed] through [the] riverbed’ of her life.

·      These metaphors assist the in exploring thematic concerns as it conveys the wider qualities of being and the repetition in life which occurs through the return of different motifs, which then acquire meaning. During our lives we acquire and associate different meanings to objects which are used to define our own lives, they become part of the ‘musical composition’ of our lives. This is shown through the symbol of the bowler hat, which has 5 different meanings associated with I, however they all relate and help in the creation of Sabina’s unique identity. The metaphor of the ‘riverbed’ and ‘musical compesition’ in depicting Sabina’s life show the flow and progressive nature of life, which also contains a degree of repetiion, much like a song. Kundera uses music to describe the life of many of the character, introducing the wider idea of life as being both ‘light’ and ‘heavy’, both repetitive and continuous. This emphesizes the complex nature of all of the characters which are used to portray Kundera’s own ideas on the fundementals of human existence.