The Unbearable Lightness Of Being -

Not just pity, but the "co-sentiment" of feeling another's suffering. This is the "weight" that binds Tomas to Tereza.

Kundera defines kitsch as the "absolute denial of shit." It is the aesthetic ideal where all the unpleasant aspects of existence are ignored (e.g., political propaganda or overly sentimental art). The Unbearable Lightness of Being

The brief period of political liberalization in Czechoslovakia. Not just pity, but the "co-sentiment" of feeling