Darkness and Confessions

In a Boston suburb, Shoba and Shukumar, a young Indian-American couple, are paralyzed by the stillbirth of their child. When a scheduled power outage forces them to dine together in darkness, they begin a nightly ritual of confessions—small betrayals, hidden griefs, and long-held secrets. The darkness becomes a space for honesty, but also for the revelation that Shoba is leaving. In a final act of vulnerability, Shukumar tells her the truth she never wanted to know: their lost baby was a boy. The couple, stripped of illusions, weep together, united in sorrow and the knowledge that their marriage cannot be saved.

Divided by Borders

Lilia, a ten-year-old girl in New England, observes the visits of Mr. Pirzada, a Bengali scholar stranded in America during the 1971 Bangladesh war. Though he shares language and customs with her Indian parents, political borders and Partition have made him "other." Lilia's American education ignores the traumas of South Asia, but she senses the pain of separation in Mr. Pirzada's nightly rituals and gifts. As war rages, Lilia prays for his family, learning the ache of missing someone far away. When Mr. Pirzada is finally reunited with his daughters, Lilia understands absence and belonging in a new, bittersweet way.

The Unspoken Interpreter

Mr. Kapasi, a tour guide and part-time medical interpreter in India, drives the Das family—Indian-Americans visiting from New Jersey—to the Sun Temple. The Dases are disconnected from both India and each other, their marriage marked by indifference. Mrs. Das, seeking absolution, confides in Mr. Kapasi about her infidelity and the secret that one of her sons is not her husband's. She hopes Mr. Kapasi can "interpret" her pain, but he is left powerless, his fantasies of connection dashed. The slip of paper with his address, symbolizing hope, is lost to the wind, leaving only the memory of a failed attempt at understanding.

The Gatekeeper's Lament

Boori Ma, an elderly refugee from Partition, sweeps the stairwell of a Calcutta apartment building, regaling residents with tales of lost grandeur. When the building installs a new sink, envy and ambition disrupt the fragile community. Boori Ma, scapegoated for the theft of the sink, is cast out, her only possessions her broom and her stories. The residents, eager for progress, lose their human gatekeeper, revealing the cruelty and instability that can accompany social change and the ease with which the vulnerable are sacrificed.

Seduction and Secrets

Miranda, a young American woman, becomes the mistress of Dev, a married Bengali man. Their affair is paralleled by the marital collapse of Laxmi's cousin, whose husband has left her for another woman. Miranda's infatuation with Dev is both intoxicating and isolating, as she tries to understand his world and her own desires. When she babysits Rohin, a precocious boy whose father has also left, he innocently defines "sexy" as "loving someone you don't know." The phrase shatters Miranda's illusions, prompting her to end the affair and seek a more authentic self.

Exile in a Sari

Mrs. Sen, a recent immigrant and professor's wife, babysits Eliot, a lonely American boy. Her inability to drive and her longing for the tastes and sounds of India—especially fresh fish and communal life—highlight her alienation. Eliot observes her struggles with assimilation, her nostalgia, and her eventual breakdown after a minor car accident. When Mrs. Sen can no longer care for him, Eliot is left to fend for himself, and Mrs. Sen's isolation deepens, a poignant portrait of the immigrant's struggle to find belonging in a foreign land.

Relics in the Suburbs

Sanjeev and Twinkle, newlyweds of Indian descent, move into a Connecticut house filled with Christian paraphernalia left by previous owners. Twinkle delights in these relics, while Sanjeev is embarrassed and frustrated. Their differing responses to the objects—and to each other—reveal the tensions of an arranged marriage, cultural identity, and the search for meaning. During a housewarming party, Twinkle's charm and the guests' enthusiasm for the "treasures" force Sanjeev to confront his own rigidity. He realizes that love may require embracing the unexpected, even if it means living with a silver bust of Christ on the mantel.

The Outcast's Cure

Bibi Haldar, a young woman in Calcutta, suffers from mysterious seizures and is shunned by her family and community. Doctors and neighbors alike believe marriage is her only cure, but no one will marry her. After being abandoned and assaulted, Bibi becomes pregnant. Motherhood, rather than marriage, brings her stability and purpose. She starts a small business, raising her son and supporting herself. The community, once pitying and dismissive, now marvels at her transformation, but the story lingers on the question of who fathered her child and the resilience required to survive as an outcast.

Three Continents, One Heart

The unnamed narrator, a Bengali man, journeys from India to England and finally to America, where he marries Mala in an arranged union. Their early days in Cambridge are marked by awkwardness and distance, as both struggle to adapt to a new country and to each other. The narrator boards with Mrs. Croft, a 103-year-old American widow, whose routines and eccentricities become a touchstone for his own adjustment. Over time, small acts of kindness and shared experiences draw the narrator and Mala together, transforming their marriage from duty to genuine partnership. The story ends with the narrator reflecting on the ordinary yet extraordinary achievement of building a life across continents.

Losses and Longings

Throughout the collection, characters grapple with the losses—of children, countries, identities, and dreams—that shape their lives. Whether it is the death of a child, the separation from family, or the erosion of tradition, these losses are met with longing, adaptation, and, sometimes, quiet resilience. The stories suggest that while loss is inevitable, it can also be the ground from which new connections and understandings emerge.

Children of Two Worlds

Children in these stories—Lilia, Eliot, Rohin—navigate the complexities of bicultural existence. They are often caught between the expectations of their immigrant parents and the realities of American life. Their innocence and curiosity expose the gaps between generations and cultures, but also offer hope for new forms of belonging and understanding.

Rituals and Ruptures

Rituals—religious, familial, culinary—anchor the characters, but are also sites of tension and change. Whether it is the rice ceremony that never happens, the fish that cannot be found, or the housewarming party that becomes a treasure hunt, these rituals are both comforting and destabilizing. The stories explore how traditions are maintained, transformed, or abandoned in the face of migration and modernity.

The Weight of Guilt

Many characters carry secrets—infidelities, betrayals, hidden griefs—that shape their relationships and self-understanding. The act of confession, whether in darkness or daylight, is both cathartic and destructive. Guilt lingers, unresolved, but the stories suggest that honesty, however painful, is necessary for growth and connection.

Small Mercies, Great Distances

Acts of kindness—sharing a meal, offering a prayer, helping a neighbor—punctuate the stories, often bridging the distances between people. Yet misunderstandings and cultural gaps persist, reminding readers of the fragility and necessity of empathy. The collection honors the small mercies that sustain individuals in the face of great distances, both literal and emotional.

The Search for Home

At its core, the collection is about the search for home—geographical, emotional, and spiritual. For immigrants and their children, home is both a place left behind and a place to be built anew. The stories trace the ways in which characters create, lose, and reclaim a sense of belonging, often in unexpected ways.

Characters

Shoba

Shoba is a meticulous, independent woman whose life is upended by the stillbirth of her child. Her grief manifests as emotional withdrawal and a need for control, but also as a longing for honesty and resolution. Her relationship with Shukumar deteriorates as they avoid each other, but the enforced darkness of the power outage allows her to confront their shared pain. Ultimately, Shoba's decision to leave is an act of self-preservation, but also a recognition that some wounds cannot be healed within a broken relationship.

Shukumar

Shukumar is an academic struggling with inertia and guilt after the loss of his child. He is passive, introspective, and haunted by what might have been. His love for Shoba is complicated by resentment and a sense of failure. The nightly confessions force him to confront uncomfortable truths, culminating in his revelation about their son. Shukumar's journey is one of reluctant acceptance, as he learns that love sometimes means letting go.

Mr. Kapasi

Mr. Kapasi is a middle-aged Indian man whose work as a medical interpreter and tour guide leaves him feeling unfulfilled. He is sensitive, observant, and quietly desperate for connection and validation. His brief, imagined intimacy with Mrs. Das exposes his own disappointments and the limits of empathy. Mr. Kapasi's inability to "interpret" Mrs. Das's emotional pain underscores the chasms between people, even those who share language and culture.

Mrs. Das

Mrs. Das is a young Indian-American woman, emotionally detached from her family and haunted by an affair that resulted in her son Bobby. She seeks absolution from Mr. Kapasi, projecting onto him the role of confessor and healer. Her self-absorption and inability to connect with her husband or children reflect a deeper malaise, one that cannot be resolved by confession alone.

Boori Ma

Boori Ma is an elderly refugee whose identity is rooted in the stories of her lost past. She is both a caretaker and an outsider, valued for her vigilance but ultimately expendable. Her eviction from the building she guards is a commentary on the precariousness of those who live on the margins, and the ease with which communities turn on the vulnerable in times of transition.

Miranda

Miranda is an American navigating her own loneliness and longing through an affair with Dev, a married Bengali man. She is curious, impressionable, and searching for meaning in cross-cultural experiences. Her interactions with Rohin, the child she babysits, force her to confront the emptiness of her relationship with Dev and the need to define herself outside of it.

Mrs. Sen

Mrs. Sen is a recent arrival from India, struggling to adapt to American life. Her inability to drive, her attachment to Indian food and customs, and her loneliness are palpable. She forms a tentative bond with Eliot, the boy she babysits, but her sense of exile is never fully alleviated. Mrs. Sen embodies the pain of displacement and the difficulty of forging new roots.

Sanjeev

Sanjeev is a methodical, achievement-oriented man who struggles to adapt to his wife Twinkle's spontaneity and embrace of the unexpected. His discomfort with the Christian relics in their home mirrors his discomfort with ambiguity and change. Through his relationship with Twinkle, Sanjeev learns that love and happiness may require flexibility and acceptance of difference.

Twinkle

Twinkle is exuberant, imaginative, and open to the mysteries of life. Her delight in the Christian artifacts found in her new home is emblematic of her approach to marriage and identity—curious, inclusive, and irreverent. Twinkle's charm and resilience challenge Sanjeev's rigidity, suggesting that joy can be found in embracing the unknown.

Bibi Haldar

Bibi Haldar is a young woman ostracized due to her mysterious illness. Her longing for marriage and normalcy is met with indifference and cruelty. After being assaulted and becoming a mother, Bibi finds purpose and stability, defying the expectations of her community. Her story is one of survival, resilience, and the possibility of self-reinvention in the face of abandonment.

Plot Devices

Interconnected Short Stories

The collection is structured as a series of short stories, each with distinct characters and settings but united by recurring motifs: migration, cultural hybridity, loss, and the search for connection. This mosaic approach allows for a multifaceted exploration of the immigrant experience, highlighting both individual struggles and shared dilemmas.

Confession and Revelation

Several stories use confession—often in literal or metaphorical darkness—as a means of exposing hidden truths. The power outage in "A Temporary Matter" and the private conversation in "Interpreter of Maladies" create spaces where characters confront secrets and guilt. These moments of revelation are both cathartic and destabilizing, forcing characters to reckon with the consequences of honesty.

Symbolic Objects

Objects—Christian relics, a medical interpreter's address, a sari, a silver bust—serve as symbols of cultural negotiation, memory, and identity. They are sites of both connection and conflict, embodying the tensions between past and present, tradition and adaptation.

Foreshadowing and Irony

Lahiri employs subtle foreshadowing to build emotional resonance, as in the gradual unraveling of Shoba and Shukumar's marriage or the community's betrayal of Boori Ma. Irony pervades the stories, particularly in the ways characters' hopes are subverted by circumstance or misunderstanding.

Narrative Distance and Intimacy

The stories often employ close third-person narration, allowing readers intimate access to characters' thoughts and feelings while maintaining a degree of narrative distance. This technique fosters empathy but also highlights the isolation and miscommunication that define many relationships in the collection.

Analysis

Jhumpa Lahiri's Interpreter of Maladies is a masterful exploration of the immigrant experience, the fragility of human connection, and the enduring ache of displacement. Through a series of nuanced, interlinked stories, Lahiri examines how individuals and families navigate the spaces between cultures, languages, and generations. The collection is marked by its attention to the small, often unspoken moments that define relationships—confessions in the dark, the sharing of food, the discovery of forgotten relics. Lahiri's characters are shaped by loss—of home, of loved ones, of certainty—but also by resilience and the capacity for adaptation. The stories challenge simplistic notions of assimilation, revealing the complexities of identity and belonging in a world marked by migration and change. Ultimately, Interpreter of Maladies invites readers to consider the ways in which we seek and offer understanding, and the quiet, everyday acts of empathy that make survival—and even joy—possible in unfamiliar lands.

Last updated: May 13, 2025