The Interpreter Of Maladies

“If someone does not speak English, they cannot read this.” In a world filled with over 6,500 languages, discourse can be difficult. However, even if two people share a common language, barriers to communication still exist -- cultural diversity, gender differences, status differences and physical separation, etc (Lombardo). This struggle to understand each other creates tension across cultures and in personal relationships. In her short story, “The Interpreter of Maladies,” Jhumpa Lahiri explores how people from two different cultures -- American and Indian -- attack communication barriers and dormancy in relationships, both passing and intimate. She accomplishes this task by comparing the marriage of a poor Indian man fantasizing about a
Kapasi’s relationship with his wife. In regards to Kapasi’s marriage, early on in the story, after Mrs. Das compliments Mr. Kapasi for being an “interpreter of maladies” calling it “romantic” -- Kapasi reflects on the problems in his own marriage. In contrast to the amorous diction Mrs. Das uses when describing Kapasi’s job, he views it as a “thankless occupation” and his wife does not believe it is romantic. In fact, he believes the issues he and his wife experience in their relationship stem from his job; ever since their son died and the doctor who tried to treat him gave Mr. Kapasi a job, his wife resented him and treated him with coldness. In essence, the death of their son was the impetus to the problems in their relationship which led to a massive communication barrier. Since then, the divulge has only widened; moreover, Kapasi only begins to fully acknowledge the extent of the problems when he sees how the problems in the Das’ marriage reflect his own. For example, Kapasi’s nightly routine involved speeding home and “enjoy the evening newspaper and a cup of tea that his wife would serve him in silence” (Lahiri). After meeting the Das couple, that silent cup of tea serves as a symbol of an unhappy marriage and a disappointing life, noting “The thought of that silence, something to which he’d long been resigned, now oppressed him” (Lahiri). Kapasi’s
The most prominent example of guilt in “The Interpreter of Maladies” is Mrs. Das’s. By the end of the story, the reader discovers her motivation for flirting with Mr. Kapasi stems from her misguided belief that he will be able to interpret her guilt for her. She views this guilt as a malady. Although Mr. Kapasi initially believes Mrs. Das lives her life “groomed in American culture” and “feel bored and lack curiosity” about the Indian landmarks and culture (Densingh), she admits to him that she feels guilt over the fact that one of her sons, Bobby, is the result of an affair. After this, Kapasi realizes who Mrs. Das really is; not some romanticized Indian goddess who needs saving from American life, but “a woman not yet thirty...who has already fallen out of love with life.” His imitation to her disintegrates almost entirely, but he still feels a responsibility to help her, which leads him to ask her the question -- which is arguably to climax of the novel -- “Is it really pain you feel or guilt?” (Lahiri). Up to this point, Mrs. Das has been passing her guilt off as physical pain, but Kapasi -- perhaps drawing from his own sense of responsibility over the death of his son -- implores whether or not she feels ashamed for what she did. Mrs. Das is incredibly