Title Let the Old Dead Make Room for the Young Dead

Author Milan Kundera

Year Published 1974

Kind of Book Short Story

How strongly I recommend it 10/10 

My Impressions This piece captured a phenomenon I've notice, but have never been able to articulate—our avoidance of creating new memories with a person/lover out of a fear of spoiling a good memory that we have with them—or spoiling their good memory of us. This piece also captures the grief and insecurity of a aging woman who has lost her beauty.

Date Read April 2022

What question is the author trying to answer?

Practical Takeaways

  • "Let the Old Dead Make Room for the Young Dead" ie. Don't let the preservation of old memories keep you from making new memories

  • Allow old memories to make way for new memories

  • Don't allow old memories to prevent you from making new memories

Big Ideas

  • We sometimes fear making new memories with a person

Because

  • Creating new memories with a person might spoil our good old memories with them

Or

  • Creating new memories with a person might the spoil good old memories they have of us

  • Bad experiences with a person ruin the present moment

And

  • Bad experiences with a person spoil our previous memories with that person

  • Time passes more quickly than we are able to live

Even the most Idealistic/Romantic people STILL care about physical beauty

  • Older women sometimes feel the nervousness/shyness of young inexperienced women with men after it has been a long time since a man has hit on them/made a move on them

  • When a man ages/dies he has his work to be remembered by

  • When a woman ages/dies she only lives on in the memories of others (as a monument)