the title story Mr. Kapasi and Mrs. Das each imagine very different connec-
tions with the other person. What leads to the complete disruption of any
connection between them—is it individual personalities, or cultural influ-
ences, or some mix of the two? Other stories that offer profitable avenues
for such a consideration include “Mrs. Sen’s” and “Sexy.” What do these and
other examples suggest about cross-cultural connections? The articles by
Jennifer Bess, Noelle Brada-Williams, and Simon Lewis will be helpful to
those interested in this topic.
- Similarly, one might consider the following statements by Lahiri in her essay
“My Two Lives,” cited below: “While I am American by virtue of the fact
that I was raised in this country, I am Indian thanks to the efforts of two
individuals [her parents].... Their passing will mark not only the loss of the
people who created me but the loss of a singular way of life, a singular struggle.
The immigrant’s journey, no matter how ultimately rewarding, is founded
on departure and deprivation, but it secures for the subsequent generation a
sense of arrival and advantage.” What aspects of the immigrant’s journey does
Lahiri reveal in these stories? What struggles are particular to the immigrant,
and what to their children? Does she suggest or imply strategies for negotiat-
ing these struggles? “Mrs. Sen’s,” the husband in “This Blessed House,” and
“The Third and Final Continent” are particularly relevant, while the articles
by Judith Caesar, Madhuparna Mitra, and Laura Anh Williams, as well as the
various interviews, should be helpful to these topics.
- Caesar, in “Beyond Cultural Identity in ‘When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine,’”
cited below, asserts that “the plot of the story is slim because the meaning of
the story resides in its images and emblems, not in its story line.” This could be
argued for many—perhaps all—of the stories in Interpreter of Maladies. Images
and emblems that could provide fruitful exploration for the way they build a
theme or reveal a character include the dress that will not stay on the hanger
in “Sexy,” Shukumar’s recipe book in “A Temporary Matter,” Lilia’s ritual with
the candy Mr. Pirzada gives her, Mrs. Sen’s chopping, the religious artifacts in
“This Blessed House,” and Mrs. Croft’s “splendid,” among others. Consult the
articles by Williams and Jennifer Bess.
- Food plays a major role in many of the stories in Interpreter of Maladies. The
first story, “A Temporary Matter,” has a young husband using the recipes his
wife cooked with such care before their child was stillborn, relying on her
notations in her cookbook. He refers to “back when she used to cook,” signal-
ing they are now moving in different directions. “When Mr. Pirzada Came to
Dine” has the Pakistani Muslim visitor presenting candy to the young narrator
every night, an act she imbues with great ritual significance. Mrs. Sen, in the
story of that name, spends a great deal of time chopping vegetables and other
ingredients, focused on finding the freshest fish as she tries to figure out her
identity in her new land. Her complicated food preparation also reminds her
of—perhaps helps her feel connected to—the community of women she once
prepared food with back in India. These and other instances of food or food
preparation as metaphor (Mrs. Croft’s pans of soup in the final story) could
prove productive for research and analysis. One might also consider how food
Jhumpa Lahiri 21
