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Gowher Ahmad Naik, Lovely Professional University Unit 23: Jhumpa Lahiri’s “This Blessed House”: Detailed Study

Unit 23: Jhumpa Lahiri’s “This Blessed House”: Notes
Detailed Study

CONTENTS
Objectives
Introduction
23.1 Biography of Jhumpa Lahiri
23.2 Detailed Study—This Blessed House
23.3 Main Characters
23.4 Summary
23.5 Key-Words
23.6 Review Questions
23.7 Further Readings

Objectives

After reading this unit students will be able to:
• Introduce Jhumpa Lahiri and her work “This Blessed House”.
• Discuss “This Blessed House”.

Introduction

“This Blessed House”, by Jhumpa Lahiri, was first published in Epoch literary magazine in 1999 and
then published in Lahiri’s collection of short stories, Interpreter of Maladies, later that year. The collection
was Lahiri’s first book, and it won the Pulitzer Prize. Reviewers praised Lahiri’s lucid, distinctive
style, as well as her mature insight into the emotional lives of her characters, and these qualities of
her work continue to resonate with readers and students.
The characters in Lahiri’s stories are mostly Indian, often people who have immigrated to the United
States and are trying to find their place in a new culture. Some of the stories deal with feelings of
dislocation, exile, and loss. In “This Blessed House,” however, the young, newlywed Indian couple
Sanjeev and Twinkle have adjusted well to life in America. Sanjeev is successful in business, and he
and Twinkle have just moved into a new house. However, they do not know each other all that well,
and tensions between them surface when Twinkle finds a number of Christian devotional items left
behind by the former owners. She likes them and displays them on the mantel, but Sanjeev wants to
get rid of them. This sets the stage for a struggle between Sanjeev and Twinkle over who is going to
control their relationship. Sanjeev, from whose point of view the story is mostly told, learns a great
deal about his new wife and what it will take for them to have a harmonious marriage.

23.1 Biography of Jhumpa Lahri

Jhumpa Lahiri was born in London, England, in 1967. She was raised from the age of three in South
Kingston, Rhode Island. Her parents were immigrants to the United States from Calcutta, India. Her
father was a librarian at the University of Rhode Island, and her mother was a teacher’s aide at an
elementary school.
In spite of the fact that they lived in the United States, Lahiri’s parents considered themselves Indian,
and every few years they made trips to Calcutta, accompanied by their two daughters. Lahiri would
stay in India for periods lasting up to six months, although she did not feel at home there. Nor did
she feel quite at home in Rhode Island, where she was conscious of her different ethnic background
and often felt like an outsider.

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