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Unit 9: Jhumpa Lahiri’s Interpreter of Maladies: Discussion on all Important Spheres of the Text Questions

by her, but ‘did not know what love was, only what he thought it was not’ . In Twinkle, he asks Notes
himself, ‘what was there not to love?’
The tension between the two reaches its peak when Sanjeev threatens to take the statue of the Virgin to
‘the dump’ . For the first time, Twinkle shows her passion: they argue until Sanjeev notices that she is
crying. Her ‘sadness’ provokes a protective reaction from him, and ‘in the end they settled on a compromise’.
Sanjeev is humbled both by Twinkle’s love for him and by the respect shown toward him by his
friends and colleagues. His irritation at Twinkle and the feelings that overwhelm him are finally
dissipated by the ‘pang of anticipation’ he feels at the sight of Twinkle’s shoes. Although he does not
share Twinkle’s taste in Christian paraphernalia, he knows that they will be together for the ‘rest of
their days’ . He loves her because she is unique, and their relationship will be cemented because of
their ability to compromise.
Lahiri shows that in any relationship the two people must be able to learn to tolerate each other’s differences.
This is even more so in an arranged marriage, where the couple must develop mutual love and respect.
Through describing Twinkle’s taste for Christian artefacts, Lahiri implies that Sanjeev also must develop
a more tolerant attitude toward his new culture if he is to adapt successfully. As Sanjeev’s character
shows, the immigrant experience is often painful and the adjustments frequently overwhelming.
Compassion
Many of Lahiri’s stories feature an underlying pattern of human compassion:
• Shoba and Shukumar eventually develop mutual compassion in ‘A Temporary Matter’.
• Lilia learns compassion through Mr Pirzada’s enforced separation from his family (‘When
Mr Pirzada ame to Dine’).
• Miranda learns to value herself through her feelings of compassion for the boy Rohin (‘Sexy’).
• Eliot feels compassion for Mrs Sen although, in contrast, his mother does not (‘Mrs Sen’s’).
• The narrator, although he does not fully understand her, feels a connection with Mrs Croft
based on compassion (‘The Third and Final Continent’).
Lack of communication leads to isolation

Lahiri points out that communication is essential, both for societies and for individuals within society.
Lack of communication and miscommunication often lead her characters to feel emotionally isolated
and to suffer from cultural displacement. This is particularly true for immigrants who feel divided
between the customs of their homeland and those of their adopted society.
For Mrs Sen ‘everything is there’ – that is, in India – and she cannot assimilate to life in America.
Although her Indian cooking practices function as the obvious symbol of her lack of adjustment, her
separation from her family is at the heart of her alienation. She waits fretfully for the ‘blue aerogram’
that brings news from the family, an anxiety that Eliot finds ‘incomprehensible’. Her alienation is
heightened because she is unable to communicate successfully even with her husband, as Mr Sen has
not understood her feelings of isolation and simply expects her to be able to cope alone. Her failure to
learn to drive is the motif through which Lahiri demonstrates Mrs Sen’s ongoing sense of cultural
displacement. After the accident, she becomes even more isolated.
At the same time, though, Eliot’s mother is shown to be equally incapable of communication. Her
relationship with Eliot is distant and, in contrast with Mrs Sen, without warmth or real affection. If
food is a symbol of Mrs Sen’s marginality, then Eliot’s mother’s isolation is shown through her failure
to cook for either of them, relying on pizza and bread and cheese. She represents the failure of society
to bridge the cultural divide through communication and is uncomfortable around Mrs Sen, merely
nibbling her Indian ‘concoctions’ (p.118) without offering her any real sense of inclusion. When their
association ends, she is ‘relieved’.
• Mr Kapas, in ‘The Interpreter of Maladies’, is also the victim of miscommunication (see above).
• Bibi Haldar, in ‘The Treatment of Bibi Haldar’, is isolated because of her illness; she is unable to
communicate her needs to those around her because she is marginalised by society.

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