The Torment of Imagery

It is 1959, and Engineer Marek Paar, who has just graduated, begins his first job in the Liberec textile factory Primatex. He is first sent for training to the Study and Research Department, headed by the attractive Zina. The well-read Marek often puts himself in the shoes of Julian Sorell, the famous figure from Stendhal's novel The Red and the Black. He likes Zina at first sight and woos her, projecting her as Madam de Rénal. Zina is the lover of the married deputy director Arnošt. Marek gradually becomes familiar with the factory's operation and finds himself totally incompetent - but no one wants anything from him anyway. His former university colleague Oskar introduces him to his girlfriend Janička. One day, Marek kisses Zina and Arnošt transfers him to a subsidiary factory for that. Marek is bored to death there, and starts drinking. However, he manages to get back to Liberec after some time. As soon as Zina realizes that Arnošt will never get divorced, she breaks up with him and accepts Marek's courting. The two become lovers at a colloquium in the town of České Budějovice. Their happiness is, however, affected by the suicide of their colleague, Bukvaj, who learned that the waterproof but flexible fabric he invented had already been produced abroad for some time. Zina is not enough for Marek, and he thus seduces the very young Janička, alternately making love to both of them. Zina's devoted assistant Vilma photographs Marek and Janička in flagranti. The deceived Zina arranges his dismissal and returns to Arnošt. Janička also breaks up with Marek. The man later succeeds as a writer of novels about people working in chemistry and textile factories.