A few years ago, I first read Jhumpa Lahiri’s beloved novel “The Namesake.” Having found it to be a very endearing exploration of cross-cultural identity, I became curious to read more by her. With this Short Stop series, I will be taking a close look at her debut short story collection “Interpreter of Maladies.” Having won The Pulitzer Prize, I am curious to see if she is able to convey in a matter of pages what made her novel so substantial. Will this be a work that captures the complexities of being of two lands, where you’re in search of a home on two continents? Over the next few entries, I hope to discover what has made her one of the most essential modern writers and discover more of what she has to say about the human experience.
So far in every collection, there has been one story that has left me flummoxed. I’m unsure what to make of its themes and symbolism. In the case of this anthology, I found myself reaching the end of the titular entry and wasn’t sure what to make of it. I think a lot of it has to do with how sly Lahiri’s writing can be. Whereas I read the previous two stories and found myself able to piece together her ideas, I wasn’t sure why nothing in “Interpreter of Maladies” was connecting. With that said, I have taken some time to revisit the text and consult other resources with hopes of finding its greater meaning. I don’t know that I have a full picture, but I think that I’m ready to interpret this malady.
There had to be a reason that “Interpreter of Maladies” is the one that this collection is named after. Does it provide clues into the work, or is it just that it’s the best name in the whole book? I would personally fall towards the latter, but then again it’s a good symbol to explain how this work has felt so far. There hasn’t been any momentous action yet. Of the three stories, it has centered around people talking or observing the world around them. It’s left the reader to interpret what is going on and find meaning in often mundane details. Alas, I think that the choice to cast Mr. Kapasi in the role of the audience helps to make this story pop a little more than had we taken any perspective within the Das family.
Much like “When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine,” the choice of narrator ultimately impacts how we enjoy the text. Mr. Kapasi is not part of The Das Family’s life. He doesn’t know a lot about who they are or what their lives will be after this occasion. The Dases have come to visit India and he is giving them a tour around the city. They stop at various locales and take in the sights. It’s maybe here I became initially confused as it felt more like an exposition of various sights than any real symbolism. However, it’s useful to think of Mr. Kapasi as being distant, only commenting on what he sees. At no point does he overstep his boundaries and instead is left to interpret what this family is doing with their free time.
There’s Mr. Das, Mrs. Das, and Bobby. Bobby is the impatient child who causes a familiar string of rambunctiousness. He even cries to go to the bathroom at one point. It’s here that the magic of the story starts to unfold. When one or more parties are out of the car, there is an understanding of who each person is. They treat Mr. Kapasi like a therapist that they can be honest with. He never leaves the vehicle. His perspective is limited.
Before diving into The Dases in any meaningful way, I thought that I’d begin by giving a greater sense of Mr. Kapasi. He is a translator who mostly now speaks English. He also works at a hospital where he interprets for a doctor. The only difference is that it’s not just a language barrier but physical maladies. Why is someone’s stomach aching? Why do they have headaches? He considers himself a failure, but it’s a useful tool and inspires The Dases to overstep their boundaries with hopes that he can explain their problems. After all, he clearly sees things in people that they can’t in themselves.
Among his observations is the belief that Mr. Das and Mrs. Das (whom he never refers to by first name) treat their child more like a sibling than a parent. This shows an unwillingness to embrace a martial connection. The older Dases are both clearly struggling to find any greater intimacy and only find joy in the casual, impersonal nature of playing with each other. To them, this is a game where they actively yell and annoy each other. It’s true that siblings can love each other, but it doesn’t seem likely that this is the type of relationship that Mr. Kapasi is seeing. They are having fun, but it’s ultimately a meaningless one.
This is perfectly contrasted with the world outside of the car. Mr. Kapasi acknowledges that there are a lot of feral monkeys who roam around. Bobby must be protected. Maybe this is symbolized by the fact that Bobby isn’t actually in a safe environment. They’re likely to hurt the poor child, and it seems suspicious as to whether The Dases are capable of being parents. A sibling is keener to let them fend for themselves and laugh.
Another symbol of Mr. Das is his use of a camera. When he enters India, he is seeing the world through an artificial lens. He isn’t engaging with it straight on, and it creates something impersonal. None of the pictures he takes necessarily present something authentic to his own visit. Still, he observes and becomes curious about the pictures. He’ll look at them later and try to form memories attached to them. When it comes time to take a family photo, there’s disagreement on how they can get everyone in the frame. There’s the suggestion of Mr. Das just having them think he’s there as the person taking the picture. Again, the divides become abundantly clear.
At a later stop, Mrs. Das decides to stay in the car while Mr. Das visits the temple. There is an interesting correlation between what they see. Mr. Das is looking at erotic statues. He acts like he hasn’t seen any woman in quite suggestive poses. He focuses on their legs, which he recognizes as one of the least erotic parts of the statues. Cutting to the car, Mrs. Das complains that her legs hurt and is sitting down. Maybe that’s why she’s stuck in this relationship in general. She’s tired of running and needs to slow down. Still, it becomes clear by her unwillingness that she doesn’t want to deal with Mr. Das in any intimate way.
Before diving into Mrs. Das’ big revelation, it feels important to notice a detail Lahiri keeps returning to. She is obsessed with Mrs. Das eating a rice puff. It may not seem like much to the reader, but why focus so much time on her consumption of this snack? Maybe it ties into indigestion or something greater? My assumption is that it’s more designed as a commentary on the old “you are what you eat” rhetoric. A rice puff has little to no substance and maybe even less flavor. It doesn’t seem like eating it will satisfy the consumer, and yet she eats it. Maybe Mrs. Das herself believes that she feels empty. She has no power. She is brittle, crumbling way too easily under the pressure of intimacy. It all adds to the hollowness of her characterization, especially as it exists alongside her motherhood.
So, what grand revelation does Mrs. Das have? She’s unwilling to sacrifice her comfort for her husband and maybe puts in the bare minimum for her child. However, she turns to Mr. Kapasi with the belief that he can interpret her malady. She reveals that Bobby is the byproduct of another relationship. Like Mr. Das, it was an unfulfilling relationship and there is some guilt over even having the child. With that said, she wonders if anything in her life is meaningful. Everything feels quite the opposite, and it gives Mr. Kapasi a lot to think about. Given that he dreams about being a diplomat between countries, he could very well be using this instance as his chance to connect two people who are themselves as distant as they can be within the same vehicle.
It becomes clear that the real victim here is Bobby, who ends the story surrounded by monkeys. As The Dases won’t do anything to protect him, Mr. Kapasi oversteps his boundaries to rescue him. As a paper falls to the floor and flies away, he claims that this is the picture he will most associate with them. There is a divide among them. They are willing to hurt each other just to feel a little piece of personal comfort. Whereas Mr. Kapasi sees the need to be compassionate to others, likely from his doctor job, everyone else has been so consumed in their own worlds that they never learned compassion.
Over the course of three stories, Lahiri has cleverly shown the various ways that Indian Americans have felt divided among two continents. This is the first time that we have seen her tackle this from an America to India perspective. They are in an environment that is not their own yet is inherent to their identity. There is curiosity in the iconography and the discomfort of being in a strange land. That perfectly conveys the struggle of The Dases’ interpersonal standings. Everything looks strange to them. They don’t speak a similar love language. They are immature and can’t begin to tell you how to be supportive. It’s not the greatest symbol, but it does work to show the differences between Mr. Kapasi’s moral values as an Indian to The Dases as Americans.
Even if this story doesn’t seem dense, it feels slight at times. I struggled to connect the dots, though that may also be that I misunderstood where she was taking us. The idea of sightseeing felt like would reveal something greater than it did. Instead, it’s as simple as the other ones. There is a need to stop and look at what’s around you. If you’re not having fun with those in your life, how could you hope to get anything out of these trips? There is something impersonal to The Dases, and it’s only when they open up that it becomes clear why. It’s tragic for very different reasons than what we’ve seen. And Bobby. Poor Bobby. Someone needs to protect that child from the monkeys who are likely to hurt him. He’s too young and defenseless to know how to do it for himself. One can hope that Mr. Kapasi keeping a close eye on the family will have positive impacts somewhere down the line.
Coming Up Next: "A Real Durwan"
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