Analysis of the Lady from Lucknow
James Beamish does not seem to have as much invested in their affair as Nafeesa does
To James, the affair with Nafeesa is probably no difference to his previous affairs. However, to Nafeesa, this affair is her chance to have perfect love. Therefore, it is understandable that James does not invest as much in their affair as Nafeesa does both financially and emotionally. It can be seen from a few details such as they had lunch “in a Dekalb County motel lounge” (Mukherjee 324). If James had taken the affair seriously, he would have chosen a better place rather than a motel lounge for their first date. Also, he was wearing “grey wool slacks and tweed jacket” (Mukherjee 325) outside, and “an old T-shirt and lemon-pale boxer shorts” (Mukherjee 325) inside. Even James “hadn’t planned on seducing a Lucknow lady that afternoon” (Mukherjee 324) as Nafessa thought, he could have worn more decent clothes. James did not bother to dress up on their first date, in strong contrast to Nafessa’s plan to buy some new underwear afterwards. Furthermore, for the first a couple of months, they only had affairs in Nafessa’s house instead of a fancy hotel which is a typical place to have affairs, and with less chance to get caught. It is not that James cannot afford the fancy hotels, but he had not carefully planned for their affair. After the discovery of their affair, James was not very affected and tried to call Nafessa as usual; however, Nafessa killed herself as the bubble of perfect love burst. Again, this echoes with what is mentioned at the beginning — James made his routine investment for an affair on his affair with Nafessa while Nafessa invested her
To James, the affair with Nafeesa is probably no difference to his previous affairs. However, to Nafeesa, this affair is her chance to have perfect love. Therefore, it is understandable that James does not invest as much in their affair as Nafeesa does both financially and emotionally. It can be seen from a few details such as they had lunch “in a Dekalb County motel lounge” (Mukherjee 324). If James had taken the affair seriously, he would have chosen a better place rather than a motel lounge for their first date. Also, he was wearing “grey wool slacks and tweed jacket” (Mukherjee 325) outside, and “an old T-shirt and lemon-pale boxer shorts” (Mukherjee 325) inside. Even James “hadn’t planned on seducing a Lucknow lady that afternoon” (Mukherjee 324) as Nafessa thought, he could have worn more decent clothes. James did not bother to dress up on their first date, in strong contrast to Nafessa’s plan to buy some new underwear afterwards. Furthermore, for the first a couple of months, they only had affairs in Nafessa’s house instead of a fancy hotel which is a typical place to have affairs, and with less chance to get caught. It is not that James cannot afford the fancy hotels, but he had not carefully planned for their affair. After the discovery of their affair, James was not very affected and tried to call Nafessa as usual; however, Nafessa killed herself as the bubble of perfect love burst. Again, this echoes with what is mentioned at the beginning — James made his routine investment for an affair on his affair with Nafessa while Nafessa invested her