Introduction
Interpreter of Maladies is one of the short stories included in Jhumpa Lahiri's critically acclaimed collection of short stories of the same name. It is widely regarded as one of her finest books, and it has received several prizes, including a Pulitzer Prize for literature. The short story leads a family of five on a tour of India during their holidays. The characters include the couple, Mr. and Mrs. Das; their children, Ronny, Tina, and Bobby; and their hired driver, Mr. Kapasi, all of whom play important roles in the plot's creation. This essay seeks to break down the story as being an emphasis on the importance of effective communication highlighting various instances in the story proving the same.
The Setting
The setting of the story is on a warm July Saturday as the family of five is visiting the sun Temple at Konarak; a popular tourist attraction in the region (Lahiri 12). The interactions between the characters during the length of the trip form the backbone upon which the writer hinges her narrative development and explores various thematic concerns. The narrative is told from a third person perspective through the revelation of Mr. Kapasi's perceptions of the events that transpired during the trip.
Distorted Perceptions and Poor Communication
The narrative manages to bring out a conspicuous element evident in the main characters. This is in regard to how they perceive the world around them and the people in it. Everyone has an artificial way in which they see things. From how Mr. Das views the world through his camera, his wife through her sunglasses, Mr. Kapasi through his rearview mirror and the kids through their visors (Lahiri 14). These instances are perhaps a symbolism to the distorted way in which the characters view things and thus leads to the all too obvious disconnect present in the story. It also leads to point to the origin of the main thematic concern present in the story; the fact that most of the challenges faced by the characters are as a result of poor communication between the characters. Poor communication has adversely affected all the mentioned relationships thus causing the characters to have distorted perceptions of the world around them.
The Role of Mr. Kapasi
The story revolves around an 'interpreter of maladies', Mr. Kapasi whose main work involves interpreting various illnesses affecting patients to a doctor (Lahiri 17). This line of work intrigues Mrs. Das who points out the importance of the work in a manner Mr. Kapasi had not considered before. It also causes a feeling of high esteem that someone would think highly of his work. This is in contrast to the situation with his wife at home who barely acknowledges his work. He further explains of the drift in the relationship with his wife that has been reduced to 'bickering, indifference and protracted silences', something he saw mirror in the relationship between Mr. and Mrs. Das' relationship (Lahiri 19).
Effects of Poor Communication
The lack of communication has led to the Kapasi's to drift apart. Mr. Kapasi has had to make compromises in his life and feel like a failure and is unable to talk about this to his wife who he feels does not care about his professional life. His wife in the other hand still mourns the death of her child and despite her husband's efforts to reach out to her, she is unconcerned and probably resent him for saving lives while having been unable their child. The Das' on the other hand have similar issues (Lahiri 18). Mrs. Das feels she settled too early and hates that her life has become an endless job where she devotes all her time to raising the kids and her house chores while her husband seems content with a life she deems boring and mediocre. Hence, her inability to communicate her frustrations to her husband and his seeming nonchalance and inability to detect her discontent has led to her falling out of love with him and eventual cheating on him with her friends and her lack of concern towards her children. The problems faced by both couples stem from an inability to communicate adequately.
The Characters of Mrs. Das and Mr. Kapasi
The writer does exemplary work in enriching her characters in this particular story to convey her intended message. The role of Mrs. Das in the story is a statement to this. In the story, Mrs. Das is portrayed as self-absorbed and quite selfish (Lahiri 14). She sees everyone else as a means to fulfill her own wishes and needs. Her selfishness is evident in her lack of desire to share food with her children, her reluctance in taking her daughter to the bathroom, and her refusal to paint her daughter's nails. Her self-absorbent nature is evident by how she mocks and derides her husband's liking for tourism and her cheating while using the fact that they are no longer in love as an excuse for her abhorrent behavior (Lahiri 26). She sees the strains in the marriage as a burden only she has to endure. She doesn't realize that her detachment and lack of affection for her children affect them. She fails to see the consequences of her affair to her husband and children. She retreats to her artificial safe space behind her sunglasses, unable to face the realities of her life and the guilt that she feels for her actions.
Ms. Lahiri designed Mrs. Das' character to embody stereotypical American flaws which include disregard for other countries and cultures, ill-behaved children, and the narcissistic tendency to blame others for her own failings in life. She is a lazy, unconcerned, and messy parent. Her lack of concern for the environment around her is evident when she drops rice snacks all over the ground which distracts the local wildlife. This instance is a reflection of a common trope in regard to American tourists often called the 'ugly American' which refers to a traveler who stands out due to her stretched sense of entitlement and self-importance (Lahiri 27).
The other character that features prominently in the story is Mr. Kapasi. He longs for something beyond what he has now to lift him off the monotony of the daily grind that his life has become. Upon meeting Mrs. Das for a short while, he quickly romanticizes a friendship with her, revealing just how lonely his marriage and life has become. His career is a shell of what he hoped it would be. Rather than using his grasp of English to help in diplomatic spheres, he uses it now to translate for a doctor, hence magnifying his failure. It doesn't help either that he has forgotten most of the foreign languages he had known previously save for a few phrases (Lahiri 18). His arranged marriage is suffering due to his wife's inability to recover from the loss of their young child and her inability to forgive him for working for the doctor who could not save their son.
In his fantasies, he sees Mina Das as a kindred spirit since she is also in a loveless marriage (Lahiri 19). He imagines similarities that are inexistent in Mrs. Das. Unsurprisingly, his fantasies end in disappointment when Mrs. Das confides in him and he witnesses her true self. His feelings of desire for her are replaced with revolt and disgust when he learns of her true nature.
Additionally, both of his work ventures have him acting as a 'culture broker'. As a tour guide, he shows English-speaking tourists the sights of India, while as a translator, he helps ailing patients to communicate with the doctor effectively. Despite their inadequacies to fulfill his desire to be a diplomat, they are both important vocations. Yet despite all these qualities, he fails to bridge the gap between himself and Mrs. Das.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the short story, Interpreter of Maladies, has a lot of thematic concerns. The writer develops the characters in a wholesome manner to bring out her message. However, the most prominent concern is the importance of communication in relationships and the effects of ineffective communication in straining relationships and distorting the views of those in them. The third person perspective of Mr. Kapasi and the experience of the Das' family members aid greatly in developing this concern.
Work Cited
Lahiri, J. Interpreter of Maladies. NY: Houghton Mifflin, 1999.
