2004-05-12 - 2:59 a.m.
Here�s some fragments from what I wrote last week about Lahiri�s �Interpreter of Maladies.� I thought it was the best modern short story collection that I�ve read in the last two or three years. I saw her interviewed on Charlie Rose in November 2003 and she expressed zero emotion when she spoke, so she seemed like somebody I should probably underline and I my pen ended up spent. I wish I could be that type of pure reader who never used the details of the author as a type of on-ramp but when I got the syllabus for a class this semester and saw her name listed at week 11, I was only �fired-up� to read her.
In �A Temporary Matter� Shukumar�s existence is less for Shoba than the other way around. This is apparent from a key description of Shukumar�s attitude toward his wife; �He envied her the specificity of her task, so unlike the elusive nature of his own.� While Shukumar strives to complete the dissertation, his hope is that she will be there in the aftermath, dutifully fleshing out details, making the corrections. Her ability is dependent on his ability and the unappreciative, implicitly diminutive attitude that he takes toward her work has bled into emotional aspects of their marriage. From the opening scenario, readers might make the connection that Shukumar and Shoba are at a point in marriage that is beyond repair and still swirling in despair. If the couple can reveal mutual stress points, there is hope that their shared despair might pass into something stronger but the future oriented Shoba has other plans. Though the luminous power that has sustained the relationship will be up and running in five days again, Shoba asserts her own potential for power with her cunning ability to plan ahead. Leading him into the confession trap and knowing what the end will be before the game begins, most of Shukumar�s secrets seem silly considering how much time he spends ruminating over them. Another major key tone toward his wife comes when power is restored. On the fifth day when Shukumar knows that the lights will be on again, he suddenly loses the urge to cook anything up for her. This is another way of saying that as long as the marriage is operating efficiently he won�t have to think too much about her and she will come back to frying his meat and he can get back to concentrating on the dissertation. For Shukumar, this five day dark spell in their marriage reminds of what some critics have said about Bob Dylan. His voice is annoying and because of the pain, listeners find themselves paying more attention to the words. Shukumar�s angry indiscretion after finding out he�s been more than half of the fool almost completely dispels any hope of a future reconciliation.
If the decision to leave was murky, it becomes more clearly good after his final admission which is maybe equally as painful as her leaving. By telling her the sex of the baby, it gives Shoba a developed picture to ponder when she comes back to the memory. Then Shukumar goes gruelingly on and on, unveiling excruciating details, giving her a horrible concrete image. If Shukumar gave a shit about her, he would be careful to guard her against any further clarity about their baby. His reaction is a knee-jerk you hurt me, so I�ll hurt you reaction and hopefully Shukumar will have the sense to soon regret it.
The overall view of marriage in this story is hopeful, if only that it can be terminated. Shoba suffocated in marriage, is still young with artistic application of cosmetics. The death of baby seems to become the necessary sacrifice that gives her courage and sight to say �What could possibly be worse than this?�
In �The Treatment of Bibi Haldar,� the view of everyone in the story including Bibi is that marriage is a major life goal and safe guard against lunacy. More than any of the Lampiri stories marriage is the exact same thing as identity. Either a person is married or they are insane and if they are not currently insane, they soon will be, because everyone will start to treat you like a worm (�She�s done it again, she�s infected our child�) in between their shitty advice (Swallowing Raw Duck Eggs beaten in milk?). Lahiri�s message, is however, to show that marriage is not always the sacred cure and ultimately she shows that having something to love is just as effective as being loved.
There is that expression about healers and how the giver of touch is just as healed as the one who receives the touch. The doctor in this story is no healer. He reinforces the marriage as cure myth and he isn�t the only one who harms her. Haldar�s wife by thinking that she is possessed by the devil for not being married, keeps her away from the stove. It�s these snowballing actions that ensure that Bibi will not only lack skills for the marriage but will also bring a bag full of mental disorders to whoever will take her . Haldar keeps her away from electronics because he is scared they will �excite� her. This does two terrible things, it keep her unaware of what is going on in the world but what�s more harmful is that it gives her nothing to think about in her inner dialogue except a potent misery that the incompetent doctor would possibly say sometimes throws her into seizures. By having a child and having something to lavish her love on, Bibi is cured of psychosomatic illness. .
The way marriage is painted in this story makes India seem like a wonderful place for the loveable but an equally miserable place for the unlovable. Marriage ceremony is probably pretty ritualistic and full of odd traditions across cultures but in India it sounds like a serious, potentially grave experience for females. One passage that I think best shows this scrutiny is on page 165; �They will stare, ask several questions. They will examine the bottoms of your feet, the thickness of your braid. They will ask you to name the prime minister, recite poetry, feed a dozen hungry people on half a dozen eggs.� Poor Bibi! I almost hope that she doesn�t reach the point of being put on display as she seems like a loose canon the way it is. The women do the cooking, the laundry, the child raising and they waste a lot of time and energy trying to look good for their men. This view is not very different from what history books say America was like before the 1960's pill.
This is a good story for showing how when the goal of a group of people is x how people live and die by it. The goal is normal and what is normal is far to often mistaken as an absolute synonym for healthy. When what is arbitrarily thought to be normal is not achieved, people like Bibi Haldar are isolated further. Most interestingly to me is the characterization of Bibi. She reminds me of the person who everybody keeps somewhere in the back of their address book to call on a rainy day to affirm themselves. Maybe the married women are compassionate because they�ve been asking themselves questions like �An extra 1/8 of an inch on my chin and that could have been me?�
In the story �Mrs. Sen,� though she takes pride in her cooking and domestic activities she is also sad. Her blue sunglasses are a little too big for her face and she hopes that once she gets her driving licence that things will improve. In this focused on the future way she has the proper American attitude but with marriage she is still about 100% Calcutta. Despite her identity being more tied in with marriage than the scenario of �A Temporary Matter� but less so than �Bibi Haldar,� Mrs. Sen comes across with idiosyncracies described through the eyes of Eliot.
Babysitting Eliot is a relief for her and she seems to have taken the job more for the human interaction than for the money. Being a full time wife in India is different than being a full time wife in America.. In Calcutta, Mrs. Sen could scream and somebody would come running. She was more a part of a community of women who could get together and talk while preparing meals.
When Mrs. Sen applies for the job she writes, �Professor�s wife, responsible and kind,� on the index card. Introducing herself as the wife of her husband shows that she has her own identity very much wrapped up in his. Mrs. Sen is her husband�s servant but she is still very individual and I think that Lampiri is trying to say as a sort of sub-theme in this story that just because a woman is either born into this type of society or an American woman say chooses to be a homemaker, it doesn�t make their life any less noble or respectable. If Lahiri was trying to critique this lifestyle she would have turned Mrs. Sen into a drinker or made her yell. Instead Mrs. Sen enjoys very simple things like a letter from a relative, cutting up a fresh fish skillfully or picking a certain sari to match the occasion.
Mrs. Sen is dependent on her husband to drive her to get the fish. One good picture of their marriage is during the driving scene. Mrs. Sen does want to learn to drive but she wants to do it at her own pace but one day Mr. Sen says, �You are driving home today.� She replies, �Not today,� and he says, �Yes today.� The tone of his voice isn�t really described but he is pretty commanding throughout this experience by �Put your blinker on,� �Switch lanes,� and �Are you listening to me?�
She drives the car against her will and has a bad experience and says she will not drive again. She tries to not be reliant on her husband to get the fish by learning the bus system but they are inconvenient. All of the transportation options are more inconvenient than being able to walk just a little ways for fish like she could do in India.
She doesn�t even have pictures she could send to friends and family without exaggerating her happiness. An important theme of this story is the difference between the close-knit group feel in India and how people living in America loose this for their freedom and individuality. This theme develops through the difference between a group of people who can walk wherever they need to get and a group of people who are reliant on automobiles.
As much as Mrs. Sen is dependent on her husband, she has dignity and pride in her domestic activities. Other than being ripped away from India, I don�t think she has very much dissatisfaction with who she is essentially.
