Loneliness in Interpreter of Maladies Essay

Interpreter of Maladies

By: Jhumpa Lahiri

Loneliness

What is the relation between the characters in A Temporary Matter, Sexy, and Interpreter of Maladies?

Loneliness is a deep sense of remorse and emotional isolation that some people feel which is common throughout the world. That is the feeling that the main characters in A Temporary Matter, Sexy, and Interpreter of Maladies all have in common.

A Temporary Matter

The first story, A Temporary Matter, shows that the young married couple, Shukumar and Shoba, had problems in their marriage and because of that, their marriage has fallen apart. The trouble started when Shoba delivered a baby boy which was dead. Thats one thing that ruined what couldve been a long, normal happy marriage. Since then, Shoba and Shukumars relationship had been very distant. Shoba would constantly come home from work late while Shukumar was taking care of things at home. Shukumar kept avoiding Shoba when they were at home together. She would try her best to connect with him but it would never work out. She must have felt lonely in a way. When they finally lose touch with one another, even though living in the same house, a temporary problem comes into hand. The power is suppose to be cut off for a couple of days at night. This temporary problem saves their relationship for the meantime. They play a game in which they tell secrets to each other every night the that the powers out.

Shobas confessions focus on the relationship in contrast. Shukumars confessions focus on things that he personally did. He had no regrets about their relationship. All his regrets were about things he did outside their relationship.

At the end of the story, Shoba tells Shukumar about her decision to move into a new apartment by herself. Thats when Shukumar tells her something very deep. He tells her that he knew the babys gender. She sees that the loss of the baby also affected Shukumar as much as it affected her. But Shukumar was able to handle the pain because he did what the doctor told him to do, ..holding the baby might help you with the process of grieving (22). He told her that he held his son before he was cremated and they both cried. Soon Shoba left leaving Shukumar lonely.

The irony of this story is that the couple was able to reveal themselves emotionally and mentally while hiding themselves physically in the dark. But they hid their emotions in the light.

Sexy

Sexy is about the sexual relationship between Dev and Miranda and the hopelessness of an extra-marital affair. (In other words, a slip-up.) Miranda is a young woman who is inexperienced, not worldly, vulnerable, nave, and lonely. She meets an Indian guy named Dev. Dev is sophisticated, worldly, experienced, good looking, and is a great lover. Even though Miranda is married, somehow Dev introduces Miranda to the world. Hes the first real man Miranda has ever had. But soon the relationship between Dev and Miranda dies out for a couple reasons. The main reason is because of the definition that Rohin, a child, gave to the word sexy. In his point of view, sexy means loving someone you dont know. Then Miranda realizes that thats exactly what she did. He also tells her that, Thats what my father did. He sat next to someone he didnt know, someone sexy, and now he loves her instead of my mother.(108) Because of that, Miranda ends the relationship between her and Dev.

Interpreter of Maladies

This story talks about a young couple, Mr. and Mrs. Das that went on vacation. Whiles on vacation, Mrs. Das gets a heavy burden off her chest. Mr. Das is young man who isnt ready for a family, has no patience, and is a self-centered person who is in his own little world. Because of that, the family gets into a stage where they become tired and loveless. Mrs. Das is lonely, overwhelmed, isolated, and miserable. Its like shes tied down and backed into a corner. Mr. Kapasi is their tourist guide who doesnt love his wife and is dissatisfied with life goals and achievements. He uses Mrs. Das as a vehicle for his fantasy. Mrs. Das mistakes Mr. Kapasi as an interpreter for things like her problems. She views his job as romantic because of his responsibility. She sees Mr. Kapasi as more responsible than Mr. Das. She doesnt have faith in Mr. Das. She doesnt feel a connection to him at all. She expects Mr. Kapasi to save her rather than Mr. Das. She wants to be saved from her life in New Jersey. She says, I told u because of your talentsFor eight years I havent been able to express this from anybody, not friends, certainly not to Raj(65). As you can see, Mrs. Das is suffering from her mistake. She takes out her internal pain on the family and is hurting herself. She says, I feel terrible looking at my childrenI have terrible urges.One day I had the urge to throw away everything I own out the window, the television, the children, everything(65). When Mrs. Das confesses to Mr. Kapasi, he definitely feels whole lot better. Now Bobbys incident creates unity for the family and helps Mrs. Das become more motherly.