This is because we are examining Jaromil's story from an observatory which we erected at the point of his demise. For us, his childhood is in the far distance where months and years melt imperceptibly into each other. As he and his mother emerge from these misty horizons and approach nearer and nearer to our observatory, everything gradually becomes as distinct as a highly realistic painting showing every vein on every leaf.
Just as your life is determined by the kind of profession and marriage you have chosen, so our novel is limited by our observatory perspective: ...
Still, every person regrets that he cannot live other lives. You, too, would like to live out all your unrealized potentials, all your possible lives...
Life is short and missed opportunities never recur.
Milan Kundera