Part 2, Chapters 7-12 Summary

Tereza's mother becomes increasingly grotesque in appearance and behavior. She discards any remnant of beauty or refinement. She has divided her life between her time as a youthful beauty, and her life now as an ugly spectacle. Tereza is captive in this revolting world, waiting for her opportunity to escape. At the restaurant where Tereza works, old drunken men constantly harass her. One day, Tomas comes into the restaurant and reads a book. He is the opposite of the banality and repulsiveness that pervades her life. He does not know the awful things that are said and done to her. Tereza also recognizes his book as a weapon that she has in common with him. Tereza considers books the symbol of a 'secret brotherhood' of those who are different from her mother and the old drunks.

Kundera jumps forward...