Tamina

Tamina is the main character of the book, as deemed by Kundera or the "I" character. We follow her story for most of the novel's entirety. She has left Prague for a small provincial town that Kundera refuses to name, although this is where Tamina lives now. Her husband dies shortly after escaping from Prague and Tamina is left to herself. She tries to commit suicide by swallowing a number of prescription pills and swimming out to sea, but instead of drowning she is revitalized and finds peace and silence. She returns to town and serves coffee in a bar, making very little money. She is thought to be a great listener because she never interrupts with stories about herself, when in fact Tamina is trying to hold onto silence because it is in silence she can best remember her deceased husband. She seems to listen to other...