Milan Kundera, in "The Unbearable Lightness of Being," explores the origin of characters, suggesting they are not merely created like real individuals, but emerge from situational contexts, expressions, and metaphors. He argues that characters encapsulate essential human truths that the author perceives as overlooked by others. This perspective emphasizes the uniqueness of each character, highlighting how they embody specific human possibilities rooted in their narrative circumstances.

Kundera's insight suggests that the essence of a character is intricately tied to their environment and the deeper meanings conveyed through language. Rather than being lifeless constructs, these characters serve as vessels for exploring complex human experiences and ideas. By focusing on the situations that give rise to characters, Kundera shifts the understanding of storytelling from a biographical approach to one that values the significance of context and metaphor in character development.