The Death of Socrates, Jacques-Louis David, 1787

“We must never allow the future to collapse under the burden of memory.” 

Milan Kundera published The Book Of Laughter and Forgetting in 1978. The novel, which tells the story of multiple people in seven integrated parts, provides a new approach to life. Kundera, born in the Czech Republic, became a writer in the midst of communist invasions and life-altering events such as the Prague Spring. Because of his experiences with government and the course of  history in his country, his writing crackles with historical information and political irony. The common line in Kundera’s works goes beneath the surface of examination to explore the unknown aspects of life and to challenge conventional thoughts on topics that seem otherwise mundane. The Book of Laughter and Forgetting explores the burdens of the lives of six people. Kundera says, “We must never allow the future to collapse under the burden of memory.” Aside from the obvious message to progress with life and let memories be in favor of creating a future, Kundera personalizes memory. He gives memory agency.

In Jacques-Louis David’s The Death of Socrates memory must give way to the future. As the story goes, Socrates was put on trial for his political philosophies in the wake Peloponnesian War and the Athenian decline in the face of Spartan power. In addition to his near technical perfection in The Death of Socrates, David creates a story as heartbreaking as it is brave. Socrates, who would rather poison himself than rescind his beliefs, displays unparalleled bravery that consumes the foreground of the painting. While bravery claims the foreground of the painting, heartbreak and memory fill the background. Socrates wife, escorted up the stairs by two men, waves goodbye to her beloved. As Socrates’ followers lament the coming death of their mentor he moves into the realm of memory that Kundera speaks of. The burden of memory similarly consumes thoughts of the future.

While these memories seem to be all that remains of Socrates, and of the times and people of the past, we must move on. The future cannot collapse under the burden of memories.