Finishing up The Joke

Much like in class on Thursday, I collected some of (what I thought) were meaningful quotes in the last part of our reading. I have written out the quotes and my reactions to them...

1.Vlasta rebukes me for being a dreamer. She says I don't see things as they are. I do see things as they are, but in addition to these visible things I see the invisible. It's not for nothing that fantasy exists. It's what makes home of our houses. -p.144

- I just personally like this quote. It's hopeful to believe in things that are more than material. I especially like the last sentence. Houses are physical places filled with material things but homes have love and companionship, the invisible.

2. Because being brave in solitude, without witnesses, without the reward of others' approbation, face to face with himself, that took great pride and strength. -p.156

- This sort of relates to Havel. In a way Ludvik argues that no matter what, even if it is not popular, you should be brave and live in the truth. But he also says that it's only true if you keep it to yourself - and Havel argues that when you live in the truth you want to inspire others to live that way.

3. Because it's not your enemies who condemn you to solitude, it's your friends. -p.159

- I also just liked this quote. I think essentially it means that your friends are the ones you rely on for company, not enemies. So when your friends desert you, you are left in solitude. If your enemies desert you, you are better off.

4. Once more I was amazed by the incredible human capacity for transforming reality into a likeness of desires or ideals. -p.181

-  True, humans see and hear what they want to see and hear. But it's interesting that Ludvik says this so scathingly about Helena because he does it himself. Particularly when he was younger, with Lucie. He sees thier relationship as loving and he thinks he loves her. I think their relationship is a tie to real life for him, life outside the camp, nothing more. He doesn't love her, he loves the idea of her. But he wants to be in love so he believes he is.

5. "When I first met you, I know right away that you were the one I'd been waiting for all these years."
"You're not a phrase-monger. You wouldn't talk like that if you didn't mean it."
"...the first time I met you, I realized I had been waiting for you for years. That I was waiting for you without knowing you. And I knew that now I must have you. That it was inevitable as fate."

- What Ludvik is saying is true, just not in the way Helena thinks. He's sneaky with his words - a phrase-monger even... He really does want her - but only to get revenge on her husband, not for love. He has been waiting for her, even before he knew her, because he has constantly been searching for a mean of revenge.

6. "Get undressed, Helena," I repeated for the last time. ... She was naked. -p.194

- This reminds me of earlier in the book when Ludvik wanted Lucie to be naked while he was dressed - which ended up turning out oppositely. Now he has his wish and he likes it because Helena is completely vulnerable and he feels as though he possesses her. Ludvik has a mean streak in him and it comes out now because he's reveling in his "revenge" and it is even sweeter if Helena is embarrassed in the process because he loathes her as well as her husband.

7. True religion does not need the favor of secular power. Secular disfavor only strengthens faith. -p.209

- Sometimes making something unpopular makes it popular. Faith is tested in the face of adversity, which strengthens it.

8. Was I thrown out? Driven out? I can't quite say. All I can say for certain is that doubts about me and my convictions started up again. It is true some of my colleagues hinted I could do well to make a public statement along the Atheist lines. ... It would probably have taken very little: a move to defend myself. They certainly would have stood up for me. But I did nothing. -p.234

- This is what Havel is saying about living in the truth. Stick to your convictions even when you face adversity. It is interesting that in this case Kostka does nothing to continue living in the truth - proof that inaction is sometimes as effective as action - just like the greengrocer doesn't put up the signs in his shop.