I am not in favor of imposing happiness on people. Everyone has a right to his bad wine, to his stupidity, and to his dirty fingernails.
Milan Kundera
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Milan Kundera, in his book "Farewell Waltz," expresses a belief in the importance of individual freedom, even when it comes to personal failings or choices. He suggests that everyone should have the right to make their own mistakes and experience their own struggles, such as enjoying bad wine or exhibiting less-than-perfect hygiene. This highlights a respect for personal autonomy and the diverse ways people choose to live their lives.

The quote implies that happiness should not be enforced upon individuals, as each person has unique preferences and experiences. By acknowledging that some may prefer their own flawed paths, Kundera emphasizes the value of personal agency and the complexity of human existence. He argues against a one-size-fits-all notion of happiness, advocating instead for acceptance of individual variations in life choices.

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Farewell Waltz
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Milan Kundera
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February 23, 2025
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Other quotes in Farewell Waltz

What he did succeed in seeing behind him in his mind's eye was tiny, compressed like a closed accordion.
Milan Kundera Farewell Waltz
What he did succeed in seeing behind him in his mind's eye was tiny, compressed like a closed accordion.
The weirdos do not live badly, as long as people are lucky to comply with their strangeness.
Milan Kundera Farewell Waltz
The weirdos do not live badly, as long as people are lucky to comply with their strangeness.
What drove such people to their sinister occupations? Spite? Certainly, but also the desire for order. Because the desire for order tries to transform the human world into an inorganic reign in which everything goes well, everything functions as a subject of an impersonal will. The desire for order is at the same time a desire for death, because life is a perpetual violation of order. Or, inversely, the desire for order is a virtuous pretext by which man's hatred for man justifies its crimes.
Milan Kundera Farewell Waltz
What drove such people to their sinister occupations? Spite? Certainly, but also the desire for order. Because the desire for order tries to transform the human world into an inorganic reign in which everything goes well, everything functions as a subject of an impersonal will. The desire for order is at the same time a desire for death, because life is a perpetual violation of order. Or, inversely, the desire for order is a virtuous pretext by which man's hatred for man justifies its crimes.
Justice, in fact, should not be too interested in us. Justice is not a human thing. There is justice to the blind and rigid laws, and besides it, maybe some higher justice, but I do not understand that. It always seemed to me that in this world I was living out of justice. Justice is none of my business. Justice is something beyond me and above me. Whatever it takes, something inhuman. I will never work with that disgusting force.
Milan Kundera Farewell Waltz
Justice, in fact, should not be too interested in us. Justice is not a human thing. There is justice to the blind and rigid laws, and besides it, maybe some higher justice, but I do not understand that. It always seemed to me that in this world I was living out of justice. Justice is none of my business. Justice is something beyond me and above me. Whatever it takes, something inhuman. I will never work with that disgusting force.
You know, I think life should be accepted as it is. , means to accept the unpredictable. And the child is his collective image. The child is unpredictable. You do not know what will come out of it, what will bring you, and that is why you have to accept it. Otherwise, you live in half, you live as a person who can't swim and smokes off the coast, though the real sea is deep.
Milan Kundera Farewell Waltz
You know, I think life should be accepted as it is. , means to accept the unpredictable. And the child is his collective image. The child is unpredictable. You do not know what will come out of it, what will bring you, and that is why you have to accept it. Otherwise, you live in half, you live as a person who can't swim and smokes off the coast, though the real sea is deep.
... he realized that the path of love, which Bertlef had suggested, was closed to him; it was the path of saints, not of ordinary men.
Milan Kundera Farewell Waltz
... he realized that the path of love, which Bertlef had suggested, was closed to him; it was the path of saints, not of ordinary men.
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"That's a huge gamble." "We're long past the time for careful certainty."
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"That's a huge gamble." "We're long past the time for careful certainty."
When had it become so ingrained in her to apologize whenever she wanted something for herself?
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When had it become so ingrained in her to apologize whenever she wanted something for herself?
Relationships and marriages are hard enough, but you add war into the mix and small fissures become gaping wounds. No one sees what you're seeing - again that clear-eyed, unbiased thing - except your fellow soldiers. It's like one of those movies where only the hero can see the ghosts and everyone else thinks the hero is crazy.
Harlan Coben Fool Me Once
Relationships and marriages are hard enough, but you add war into the mix and small fissures become gaping wounds. No one sees what you're seeing - again that clear-eyed, unbiased thing - except your fellow soldiers. It's like one of those movies where only the hero can see the ghosts and everyone else thinks the hero is crazy.
I think I couldn't love him at all if he was the sort of man to make me choose between him and my writing. And
Meljean Brook The Kraken King and the Crumbling Walls
I think I couldn't love him at all if he was the sort of man to make me choose between him and my writing. And
Sociologists have a theory of the looking - glass self. You become what the most important person in your life {wife, father, boss, etc.} thinks you are. How would my life change if I truly believed the Bible's astounding words about God's love for me, if I looked in the mirror and saw what God sees?
Philip Yancey What's So Amazing About Grace?
Sociologists have a theory of the looking - glass self. You become what the most important person in your life {wife, father, boss, etc.} thinks you are. How would my life change if I truly believed the Bible's astounding words about God's love for me, if I looked in the mirror and saw what God sees?
Arisha noticed that all the greenery and trees were dying the more they walked on. They finally arrived at a large clearing of a hidden valley. But it was desert like, bounded by the foothills of the mountains on one side and the dry rocky bluffs on the other. It seemed strange to Arisha. It seemed like a little pocket of dry desert death in the midst of an otherwise lively area. She stopped, stunned by the sight before her.
Brian Godawa Joshua Valiant
Arisha noticed that all the greenery and trees were dying the more they walked on. They finally arrived at a large clearing of a hidden valley. But it was desert like, bounded by the foothills of the mountains on one side and the dry rocky bluffs on the other. It seemed strange to Arisha. It seemed like a little pocket of dry desert death in the midst of an otherwise lively area. She stopped, stunned by the sight before her.
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