ich. Although he is fully aware that the seven years he spent with Tereza were "more attractive in retrospect than they were when he was living them" (Kundera 30), he decides that "Es muss sein" (Kundera 32). "Es muss sein" means "It must be" in German, a quote from Beethoven's music. Tomas has made a decision to return to Tereza. That is his choice, and there is something very "light" about having a choice. Instead of being able to grasp that he is responsible for his choice, Tomas weighs it down with "Es muss sein." After saying this, it seems as though he never really had a choice, and now his decision is heavy and weighted. He has always thought that "truth lies in the opposing idea, in weight, in necessity" (Calvino).
             Kundera says "Tomas was born of the saying, "Eimal is keinmal" (Kundera 39). "Eimal is keinmal" means that "what happens but once...might as well not have happened at all" (Kundera 8). This saying implies that since our lives only happen once, what we do in them may as well never have be
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