The Joke

On the day of the Ride of the Kings, the three narratives of Ludvik, Jaroslav, and Helena begin to overlap. After hearing about Lucie’s brutal past from Kostka and his failed tryst with Helena, Ludvik wants to return to Prague as quickly as possible. He wakes up too late for the morning train, however, and must wait until the afternoon. As he walks around the town, he begins to see his situation—and his entire life—as a “bad joke.” He realizes that the Ride of the Kings festival is taking place and moves through the crowds to the festival site. He has tried to avoid this kind of situation, but he finds himself caught up in the energy of the day.

Jaroslav feels exhausted. He talks to a radio reporter, Helena, about the Ride of the Kings. Though folk ceremonies such as this have had their funding drastically cut in recent years, he refuses to criticize the authorities, instead praising their support. Though he wants to, he cannot bring himself to say that “real folk art is dead” (254). As he returns to his house, he sees Vladimir being prepared to take part in the ceremony as the titular king. By tradition, the king is not permitted to talk until the evening.

In her mind, Helena thanks Ludvik for showing her “sensuality, tenderness, cruelty, pleasure, pain” (260). She knows that her husband will be visiting the town today with his young lover. Though Zemanek is cordial, Helena is internally seething.

Ludvik thinks about the history of the Ride of the Kings. He thinks about the role he once played in the ceremony and imagines Lucie as part of the ritual. He wonders why Lucie never explained to Kostka that she and Ludvik had a brief, tragic relationship. A man approaches Ludvik and introduces himself as Pavel Zemanek. Ludvik is surprised to meet him. He makes dull conversation with his sworn enemy, as well as Zemanek’s young lover, Miss Broz. He is filled with the rising dread that Zemanek will ask Ludvik to forgive him for his role in his dismissal from the Party many years earlier.

Still feeling fatigued, Jaroslav spots Ludvik in the crowd. He curses his one-time friend, who has seemingly been avoiding him. As he watches the festivities, he talks to Mr. Koutecky. The old man reveals that Vladimir cannot possibly be playing the role of king because he was seen elsewhere only a short time ago. Jaroslav is confused. He studies the elaborately dressed king, unable to discern whether his son is hidden beneath the veil. He becomes increasingly forlorn with the state of the world and decides to confront his confusion by returning home.

Ludvik walks through the town with Zemanek and Miss Broz. They talk about the generational differences between themselves and the young people around them. Much to Ludvik’s annoyance, he is charmed by Miss Broz. He feels as though her existence is just another part of Zemanek’s mockery, especially considering the unsatisfying outcome of his attempt to cuckold Zemanek. He is certain that he will refuse any attempt by Zemanek to reconcile.

Ludvik is mortified when Zemanek points out Helena in the crowd. He seems already aware of his wife’s affair. As Ludvik’s thoughts become increasingly frantic, they approach Helena, who is with her young assistant, Jindra. After polite conversation, Zemanek and his lover make their excuses and leave. Ludvik feels “humiliation and shame” (283). Though he knows that she will react badly, he informs Helena that he does not share her love and insists that he must leave. He hurries away from her, convinced that his life is just a bad joke. As he enters a restaurant, he sees a sign advertising a folk concert that evening.

Helena is distraught. As she tries to deal with Ludvik’s abandonment, Jindra clutches her hand. Though she is much older than him, he is obviously in love with her. Helena knows that Jindra often carries medication with him. She is struck by an impulse to take whatever medicine she can find in his jacket pocket and imagines Ludvik finding her dead body. She finds a bottle of pills and takes them all. She writes a suicide note addressed to Ludvik and then gives it to Jindra, telling him to deliver it by hand. He misinterprets her demeanor and kisses her on the lips, filling her head with sudden, excited thoughts. Then, he goes to deliver the letter.

Ludvik sits in the restaurant garden. As he eats and thinks about the nature of the world, Jindra brings the letter to him. Neither man knows what is inside. Ludvik, fascinated by the young man who views him as a rival lover to a woman he does not desire, orders a drink. When he eventually reads the letter, he understands what has happened and rushes to help Helena. They search through the building for Helena, worried that she is already dead. Eventually, they find her in an outside toilet. She is “pale but alive” (300). As Ludvik tries to help her, she angrily beats him away, but she is weak. She collapses, and Ludvik goes to find a doctor. Inside the building, he reads the label of the pill bottle and realizes that rather than a potent medicine, Jindra’s pills are actually laxatives. Helena will survive, though she will suffer from great humiliation. As Ludvik tries to return to Helena, Jindra hits him in the face. Ludvik leaves, reminded of Alexej’s suicide years before.

Speaking to his wife, Jaroslav learns that Vladimir is not the king. Jaroslav feels betrayed, but his wife explains that Vladimir did not want to be made king simply because of his father’s reputation. He was “ashamed to be a privileged child” and went to the motorcycle races instead of taking part in the ceremony (305). Jaroslav is furious. He breaks plates in his kitchen and then storms out. He sits outside with his violin, thinking ahead to the concert he is scheduled to play that evening. As he sits in a field, Ludvik approaches him and asks whether he can play alongside his old friend in the concert.

Ludvik describes approaching Jaroslav and asking to play with him. After having avoided Jaroslav, the sight of the dejected man makes him feel “a sudden guilty love for him” (311). He joins the band, and they play folk music. Standing in for another musician, Ludvik is told that his playing is still “excellent.” As the night goes on, the crowd begins to change. The audience is younger and more boisterous. Jaroslav loses interest in playing for these young people, but his bandmates remind him that the authorities have booked them to play until a scheduled time. The band plays on but becomes more insular and focused on their music. Jaroslav stops singing and becomes suddenly “very pale.” Ludvik goes to help his friend as the other bandmates are slow to realize what is happening. One of the bandmates is a doctor; he diagnoses Jaroslav with a heart attack, but he is certain that Jaroslav will live. Ludvik, thinking about destiny and life, goes to call an ambulance as the young people’s boisterous party continues around him.