COMMUNICATION AND PROBLEMATIC INTEGRATION - KUNDERAS,MILAN LOST-LETTERS IN THE BOOK-OF-LAUGHTER-AND-FORGETTING

This essay uses the theory of problematic integration to analyze Milan Kundera's writing, particularly the central segment, entitled ''Lost Letters,'' in his first novel written as an emigre. The theory is conc erned with the role of communication when desires and expectations div erge, or when we face ambiguity, ambivalence, or impossibility (i.e., when it is difficult to integrate evaluative and probabilistic orienta tions). Communication plays many significant roles in experiences with such dfficulties. The essay reviews problematic integration theory an d presents a case study of Kundera's writing designed to illuminate bo th the theory and a work by one of the most significant of modern nove lists. The essay concludes by discussing the relevance of problematic integration theory to other approaches to the study of communication a nd by identifying questions for future communication research.