Interpreter of Maladies

Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri

This short story gives a glimpse at the marriages the American culture tend to create. The typical young couple that gets marriage too soon and has kids way too early, who fall out of love and ignore the children. This is what Mr.Kapasi sees when he encounters the Das family for the first time. As he begins to take the family on a tour, he becomes very fascinated with Mrs.Das. It appears that this man has not received any attention or admiration from a woman for many years, so he is automatically drawn to Mrs.Das when she gives him the slightest bit of attention. Both these people seems to be connected to one another due to their longing from something missing in their lives. Mrs.Das is bored and unloving towards he husband and her children, while Mr.Kapasi desires excitement and social interaction. He has lived a life far too by the norm for his liking due to his cold wife, so when Mrs.Das takes an interest in Mr.Kapasi, he mentally takes things a little too far. But as fate would have it, Mrs.Das was only interested in Mr.Kapasi's advice, shutting down any fantasy Mr.Kapasi had created. In just a few hours, Mr. Kapasi had mapped out his and Mr. Das's whole relationship, so it was too ironic for Mrs.Das to approach Mr. Kapasi about her child and his secret father. She thought of him as a fatherly figure, while he is planning their relationship. The author states,"It disturbed Mr.Kapasi to learn that she thought of him as a parent,"(Lahiri, 162). It was only too appropriate for her to burst his bubble by declaring she solely wanted his advice. As Mr.Kapasi's contact information floated away, it was as if an omen to solidify his shattered delusion.