It would be senseless for the author to try to convince thereader that his characters once actually lived. They were notborn of a mother‘s womb; they were born of a stimulatingphrase or two or from a basic situation. Tomas was born of thesaying "Einmal ist keinmal." Tereza was born of the rumblingof a stomach.
The first time she went to Tomas‘s flat, her insides beganto rumble. And no wonder: she had had nothing to eat sincebreakfast but a quick sandwich on the platform before boardingthe train. She had concentrated on the daring journey ahead ofher and forgotten about food. But when we ignore the body, weare more easily victimized by it. She felt terrible standing therein front of Tomas listening to her belly speak out. She felt likecrying. Fortunately, after the first ten seconds Tomas put hisarms around her and made her forget her ventral voices.