Karenin

Program Note

“Putting it negatively, the myth of eternal return states that a life which disappears once and for all, which does not return, is like a shadow, without weight, dead in advance, and whether it was horrible, beautiful, or sublime, its horror, sublimity, and beauty mean nothing.”
“Anyone whose goal is ‘something higher’ must expect someday to suffer vertigo. What is vertigo? Fear of falling? No, Vertigo is something other than fear of falling. It is the voice of the emptiness below us which tempts and lures us, it is the desire to fall, against which, terrified, we defend ourselves.” – Milan Kundera, The Unbearable Lightness of Being

Karenin is the name of a dog in The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera. In the novel, Karenin symbolizes the opposite of human existence. While humans are always searching for meaning, longing for something greater, heavier, and higher, and often feel burdened by this pursuit, Karenin lives without such desires or anxieties. He is content within the simple repetition of daily life. Through Karenin, Kundera raises a question: must life always be so heavy, difficult, and full of striving?