Interpreter Of Maladies

The Eyes Are The Windows To The Soul Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Interpreter of Maladies is a story whose theme revolves around the danger of romanticizing reality. The characters Mrs. Das and Mr. Kapasi have certain expectations of each other that they both cannot meet, and these expectations were borne out of something lacking in each of their lives. Their distorted views of reality are further shown through objects that they see through, for example Mrs. Das’s glasses and the rear view mirror in Mr. Kapasi’s car. Therefore, Mrs. Das and Mr. Kapasi have romanticized views of each other that are shown by their vision being distorted by objects that are always in their line of vision. Sunglasses are typically used to help people see in bright light, however for Mrs. Das they distort her views of the world and the people in it. The author describes her sunglasses as “pinkish brown” (Jhumpa Lahiri, 50), and they can be seen as ‘rose-colored glasses’. ‘Rose-colored glasses’ are typically used to show people who only
Kapasi, with no sunglasses, instead looks at Mrs. Das through the rearview mirror and this is the main object that distorts his view of her. As Mrs. Das begins to act on her romanticized views of Mr. Kapasi, acting more interested in his job and even offering him gum (50), he begins to romanticize her and thinks that she could be the companion he needs to abate his loneliness. (53) This is his reaction to her romanticized views of him, showing that this has started a dangerous chain reaction of idealization.
The windows of the car are other objects that alter their vision of the world. Mrs. Das sits with Tina, and the window beside them is described as “broken and could not be rolled down” (49). Mr. Kapasi, as the driver, also looks mostly through the windscreen at the family. This means that there is always a physical object in their line of vision, and these represent their inability to look at things or people without twisting them to their own