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Karson Culver

Professor Jensen

Honors 262

12 December 2022

Essay #2

Marriage and society are not all that different: both consist of an agreement between

individuals, both involve legal implications, and both define the roles of its subjects to keep their

specific system functioning accordingly. In this essay, I will argue that the marriage which binds

Marketa in “The Book of Laughter and Forgetting” parallels the Greengrocer’s society in “The

Power of the Powerless”, both of which reveal that discovering truth under lies is the key to

changing roles within a society and, ultimately, changing the society or structure itself. This is

critical because it outlines the importance of seeking out the truth as scholars and sharing this

truth as global citizens with those around the world who are experiencing societal oppression.

Before starting this argument, it is essential to establish that the Greengrocer’s society of

which he lived was rooted in a deceitful ideology whose main goal was to bar him within his

designated role. Havel himself writes, “it then appears that theory itself, ritual itself, ideology

itself, makes decisions that affect people, and not the other way around… It is a world of

appearances trying to pass for reality” (Havel 4,5). The essence of Havel’s claim is that the

communist system in which the Greengrocer lives is founded on deceptive, untouchable

ideologies and theories which control the people rather than them controlling themselves. This

effectively strips the people in the society of their ability to make decisions regarding their

personal roles and takes away their freedom to question such theories and ideologies on which

their society is founded. Thus, each person is molded into a version of themselves that best fits to
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keep the society running properly. This totally robs its participants of their ability to make

decisions on their own and locks them into their designated societal roles.

In cohesion with this, the Greengrocer’s role as a shopkeeper was established to maintain

the lies of ideology and to limit his learning of the truth which could overthrow the society

entirely. Havel agrees when he writes, “The greengrocer had to put the slogan in his window…

to contribute… to the panorama that everyone is much aware of. This panorama, of course, has a

subliminal meaning as well: it reminds people of where they are living and what is expected of

them… It is built on lies (Havel 6). In this, expectations are set for the society and its subjects to

act according to their designated roles in the lying panorama and, in doing so, limit their ability

to seek out the truth regarding their roles or societal structure This illustrates that the communist

regime of which the Greengrocer lives in was put in place to maintain the lies upon which it was

built and to remove the possibility of its subjects branching outside of their intended lanes.

In a similar manner, Marketa’s marriage contract with her husband, Karel, illustrates this

idea wherein their intangible marriage contract was built on a flawed foundation to trap her in a

role that she could not break free of without being exposed to the truth. According to Kundera,

“In the first weeks of their love, it was decided between Karel and Marketta that Karel would be

unfaithful, and Marketta would accept it, but that Marketta would have the right to be the better

of the two and Karel would feel guilty toward her” (Kundera 51). Basically, this shows the

predetermined roles for their marriage were for Karel to be unfaithful, and for Marketa to accept

such adulterous behavior. In this, I would argue that Marketa’s role as the acceptor symbolizes

that her role in marriage was to welcome lies, like she welcomed her adulterous husband, and

accept them as a fact in her life. This unwritten contract showcases how Marketa’s role as
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Karel’s wife depended on her ability to accept such lies and implies that learning the truth would

severely damage their institution of marriage.

In addition to this, Marketa’s discovery of the marriage contract’s deception leads her to

compare her high school self to her married self and recognize that the structure of marriage she

is in is faulty and is limiting her within her role as a wife, a revelation which threatens its

security. In Kundera’s view,

“In high school, [Marketa] had been untamable, rebellious, almost too full of life… And
all at once, without knowing how, she ended up in an entirely other role, contrary to her
expectations, contrary to her wishes and her taste. And all this because she hadn’t been
on her guard during the week when she and unwittingly drawn up the contract…
Suddenly all the years of marriage landed on her life a heavy sack.” (Kundera 52).

In making this comment, Kundera shows that Marketa is no longer her old self, vivacious and

full of life, but is instead now the wife of Karel who maintains her husband’s infidelity and does

not work towards anything else. Marketa is not what she used to be and realizes that the lies of

her marriage have limited her to a role she unknowingly accepted. This not only illustrates how

Marketa’s revelation provided her with the truth but also highlights a connection to the

experience of the Greengrocer in his communist society where he obtains the truth about his own

role.

Accordingly, the Greengrocer realizes that his role in his communist society is supported

by putting up a slogan sign in his shop and, because of this realization of the truth, he decides to

stop to try and change his role. Havel states, “Let us now imagine that one day the greengrocer

snaps and he stops putting up the slogan … In this revolt, the greengrocer… rejects the ritual and

breaks the rules of the game… His revolt is an attempt to live within the truth” (Havel 7). In

other words, the Greengrocer’s decision to rebel against the system by not putting up the slogan

sign in his window shows that he is trying to redefine his role in society solely because of his

learning of the truth. He is disrupting the system through this decision and is threatening its
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infrastructure. The Greengrocer no longer has the role of a passive shop owner but instead

embraces his rebellion and becomes independent of his role.

As a result of this revolt, the people and authorities react negatively and recognize that

learning the truth for the Greengrocer influenced his role in the society and thereby changed the

structure of the society altogether. Havel states,

“His superiors will harass him and his fellow workers will wonder about him… they will
persecute the Greengrocer either because it is expected of them, or simply as a part of the
general panorama… [despite this,] he has shattered the world of appearances…he has
demonstrated that living a lie is a lie” (Havel 7).

Havel’s point is that because the Greengrocer decided to rebel against the system and try to

redefine his role in the communist society, he will be persecuted by those around him, for he is

changing the system entirely and exposing that its foundation is lies. In this, the Greengrocer has

succeeded in altering his society, for its subjects now understand the truth behind the communist

regime they live in. This exposure shows that learning the truth influences the changing of a

subject’s role and the altering of a society.

In the same way, Marketa’s view of her husband when they are lovemaking near the end

of the “The Book of Laughter and Forgetting” illustrates that her revelation of truth previously in

the narrative redefined her role. In this, Karel shouts “I’m Bobby Fisher! I’m Bobby Fisher!”

and Marketa responds by imaging him as headless while “tenderly caressing Eva’s face [as] the

headless body moved vigorously on top of her” (Kundera 67, 69). Basically, this is showing how

Karel is under the impression that he is in charge and has power over Marketa sexually, but she

is phasing him out and focusing on something else entirely. This deception, while maybe not

intentional by Marketa, illustrates a bigger idea that her role is shifting in the narrative because

of her exposure to the truth about her husband. Marketa takes on the role of the adulterer and

Karel takes on the role of the acceptor even if they do not realize he or she are doing so.
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Therefore, it can be argued that this sexual scene nearing the end of the story proves that

Marketa’s revelation of the truth ultimately led to a role change as well as a structural change in

their marriage.

Evidencing this further, Marketa’s role-change ultimately changed their whole marriage

structure when she took on the role of the adulterer not just with Karel but also with Eva where

she would deceive her husband unlike the other way around. Havel himself writes, “Don’t worry,

said Eva. He won’t notice anything. Between the two of you, it’s been established once and for

all that it’s you and not he who has the suspicions. You really have no reason to fear he will

suspect anything” (Kundera 71). Havel’s point is that Marketa and Eva have an understanding

that Karel can be tricked into thinking the same roles are maintained in their marriage even when

they are not introducing a new lie for their marriage to be built on. Their adulterous affair

switches the roles within the relationship threatening its validity. This illustrates that Marketa’s

discovery of the truth about their marriage ultimately led to a role reversal where Karel was the

deceived and Marketa the deceiver. Thus, their marriage is maintained but it is built now on a

different lie. The structure and roles have been changed because of the truth.

Shifting focus from the text directly to an outward look, Havel’s Greengrocer highlights

the importance of seeking out truth as scholars and sharing this truth as global citizens when he

describes how members within a society influence one another’s obedience, alluding to the fact

that there is the power to change role dynamics in living in the truth rather than the lie. Havel

states,

“The greengrocer and the office worker have both adapted to the conditions in which they
live, but in doing so, they help to create those conditions… each helps the other to be
obedient. Both are objects in the system of control, but at the same time are its subjects as
well. They are both victims of the system and its instruments” (Havel 6).
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In making this comment, Havel communicates that those who partake in the communist system

are victims in that they are required to obey and stay within their role in the system no matter

what while also being instruments who encourage those around them to follow the rules as well.

This shows the power people have within their own system to enact change if they know the

truth and act outside of their designated role. Overall, this signifies the importance of learning

the truth as scholars and sharing this truth as global citizens to others so they can escape their

oppressive societal systems.

Similarly, Marketa questioning her role in her marriage also suggests that learning the

truth as scholars and applying it t as global citizens holds power to change said structure entirely.

Kundera writes, “Everything Marketa did she did for Karel and because of Karel… and why did

she do that? Why did she give herself pain? Why like Sisyphus did she keep pushing her boulder

uphill? Whatever she did, Karel was mentally absent. He made a date with someone else and

always eluded her” (Kundera 51-52). In other words, Marketa has lost herself in taking care of

Karel and understands that the pain and hardships she experienced in her marriage were a

reminder that she would never escape her role as the accepting wife of Karel. However, in

questioning this and seeking out the truth as any scholar would, Marketa experiences a change in

her role that ultimately alters the structure of their marriage through a role reversal as described

earlier in this essay. Additionally, Marketa’s revelation highlights the importance of sharing this

truth with others as global citizens to spark their own personal questioning of what roles are

embodied in their society. This seeking of knowledge and sharing of knowledge parallels with

Marketa and the Greengrocer’s experiences in their narratives to change their roles and change

the structure of their society or system.

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In its totality, this essay has argued that Marketa’s role progression within her marriage in

“The Book of Laughter and Forgetting” is like the Greengrocer’s role change in “The Power of

the Powerless” due to the revelation of truth. This strikes importance in both Marketa and the

Greengrocer’s lives while also highlighting our duty as scholars and global citizens to take part

in ending societal oppression that exists today.