description: These letters are a work of self-preservation; they reveal a man of formidable moral courage struggling not to succumb to the tempting embrace of nihilistic despair, struggling to defend his dignity and his identity under circumstances of humiliation and deprivation. Prison becomes for him "a school of great self control"; as it enlarges the circle of things he can understand, it more clearly and narrowly defines the circle of things he can respect. Difficult, demanding (in his own words "politely intractable") Havel triumphs over isolation and powerlessness through the clarity he achieves in these letters, leaving us with a multi-layered work of lasting value, a profound and moving meditation on our world.
title: Vatslav Havel Letters to His Wife
titlecomplete: Vatslav Havel Letters to His Wife
genres: History, Biography, Czech Literature, Memoir, Philosophy, Politics, Unfinished, Nonfiction
ratings_count: 278