Page 142 - DENG201_ENGLISH_II

English - II

Notes 8.3 Summary

• The Interpreter of Maladies, a profoundly popular book in the literary world, celebrates human
life with its emotive value, consciously or unconsciously interpreting man and his face value.
With India and Boston as two social milieu, the stories contain more of psychological conflict
than social to maintain the charisma of newness. Realism is another quality and the approach is
rational therefore the stories represent life in its true colours. Boori Ma (A Real Durwan) is as
life-like as Mrs. Croft is (The Third And Final Continent). These stories not only give a fascinating
picture of India where togetherness is yet to be totally replaced by selfishness (Bibi Haldar), a
seemingly honest desire may be realized to improve the native population of its selfish
inhumanity. Nevertheless, the stories give us a feel of conscientious efforts to produce a work of
marvel therefore precision, economy and design are meticulously achieved. The collection in its
form and design prove true what Frank O’ Connor wrote:
• “Story telling is that nearest thing one can get to the quality of a pure lyric poem. It doesn’t deal
with problems; it doesn’t have solutions to offer; it just states the human situation”.
• Jhumpa Lahiri takes up many complex themes, ranging from the relationships between men
and women, between children and parents, between men and society, sexual vividness to
psychological struggles of the characters. As a storyteller she turns her probing eyes into the
struggle of women characters, focussing on their sexual and emotional reactions and responses
related to reality, marriage, motherhood, discussions of freedom in both psychological and
social terms. Because a good writing is shaped by the contemporaneity, Lahiri makes a serious
study of the ills and oddities around, explores its causes through incidences to reach at a final
summation. Manjeri Isvaran says that a storyteller is deeply indebted to the contemporary world;
Lahiri’s work is a testimony to his belief:
• “The Story-teller, today cannot abstract himself from the contemporary world, he cannot also
absolve himself of the role of the seer-one who sees truth and inner harmony on which things
are strung together. His voice now, more than at any other time, should not be that of destructive
exposition, but of peace and good will, “ winning the world as rose or lily wins it”, and should
go on winning it with the marvel of his intelligent heart, seeing other hearts unite in sympathy,
shared wonder and the joy of beauty. He is the Ancient Mariner , and the world the Wedding
Guest”.
• Marked with a perceptible beginning and end, the stories contain every detail, which is necessary
to feel the emotions, to read the idea and to live with the unreal within the conjured atmosphere.
The variegated aspects of human life sound literally the same providing Lahiri’s work ‘a potent
air’. Uncovering the whole gamut of human passion and emotion she reveals the range of
suffering in mind and body. She does not allow the eyes to go unquenched with tears, repairs
are made and nearly all stories end in a happy mood. Ira Konigsberg tells us what transforms
the terrible into aesthetic pleasure and how:
• “Successful short stories, however depend on more than an illusion of reality: they depend on
the author’s ability to mould his reality, to structure and shape it much more rigidly and
compactly than the novelist. The story then presents a design, a pattern, a meaning in the sense
of philosophy or morality but meaning in the sense that the work presents an interpretation of
human experience.”
• Lahiri, with majestic smoothness carries her readers off their feet by the profound flow of
narrative, complexity of situations, external mindset and characters, transforming her art into a
living experience for the full participation of her readers. The collection is not merely aimed at
entertainment not at profundity of thought, but an exploration of man in his relations with
society and in his understanding of his own self. Jhumpa Lahiri shows an equal amount of
fascination for outdoor life and life contending with flesh. For example- Miranda (sexy) flights
with her own self, categorizing her personal quality of living and finally making haste to mend
wrong ways. All through the story Miranda is ‘Sexuality incarnate’; no sooner she recognize
her waywardness and imagines the damage caused to Dev’s family, she throws herself in a self

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