In this story by Milan Kundera, a young couple on a road trip play what they think is a harmless game. The woman, normally shy and sexually inhibited, plays the role of a seductive hitchhiker. She finds the experience liberating, but carries the game too far. The man, who liked the woman for her purity, now sees her as no different to all other girls he has known. He begins to hate her, and humiliates the poor woman in a hotel room. Themes include identity, fantasy vs. reality, purity vs. promiscuity, jealousy, misogyny and cruelty.
Note how the man could not book their accommodation at the Tatra Mountains without a “recommendation” by his employer. The story is set in early 1960s Czechoslovakia under communist rule. If looked at as a political commentary, the girl’s experience could be regarded as an allegory for what happens to those who depart from the path the repressive regime has chosen for them.
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