Mr. Kapasi and Mrs. Das's Strange Dynamics

Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri has proven to be an interesting book so far, much different than the rest of the collections of short stories we’ve read in class. The stories are less heavy yet still have very complex characters, and I find them to be a breath of fresh air after we’ve been delving into so much material about child abuse, pain, and trauma. I especially enjoyed “Interpreter of Maladies”. Lahiri does an amazing job of fleshing out Mr. Kapasi’s character through subtle observations and thoughts, and the strange relationship/tension between him and Mrs. Das is fascinating to me.

What I found strangest about Mrs. Das and Mr. Kapasi’s relationship was how fast it could change, and how drastically for two people who just met. At the start of the tour, it’s clear that Mr. Kapasi is just going through the dreary motions and as he deals with Americans all the time, nothing’s new to him. Still, I believe that he judges the Das family with more intensely than his other customers. He’d be used to white Americans and English, but I noticed that Mr. Kapasi takes special notice of the ways that the Das family isn’t very in tune with their Indian culture (Mrs. Das not understanding the Hindi song is the example that sticks out most in my mind), which leads Mr. Kapasi to judge them more strongly. Because of the family’s lack of connection to their culture, the parents’ sibling-like relationship with their children, and Mrs. Das’s superficiality, Mr. Kapasi begins the story not very fond of Mrs. Das.

It’s surprising how quickly their dynamic switches when Mrs. Das shows a special interest in Mr. Kapasi’s work. Languages are something that he has always been passionate about and since his wife associates his job as an interpreter with the death of their child, she doesn’t ever mention his work. Feeling like a failure for not living up to his linguistic dreams, Mr. Kapasi is overjoyed when he’s shown the slightest bit of appreciation. He suddenly develops a genuine interest in Mrs. Das, wanting to pursue an emotional connection with her that he lacks in his own marriage. On the other hand, Mrs. Das’s interest in Mr. Kapasi is based on herself and what she believes he can do for her. She wants him to interpret her biggest problem and tell her how to fix it, living up to the selfishness and superficiality that Mr. Kapasi initially attributed to her character. Although there’s a major disconnect in each person’s interest in the other, they form a connection nonetheless-- such a connection that Mr. Kapasi fantasizes about their future being carried on through letters.

Yet again, their relationship changes once Mrs. Das reveals her secret. We can assume that Mr. Kapasi’s reversion to disliking her again stems from him finding out the true nature to her interest, but I believe it goes deeper than that. Mr. Kapasi never fantasizes about pursuing a physical or outwardly romantic relationship with Mrs. Das, but instead an emotional relationship. He wants an emotional vulnerability and confidant that he should be able to find in his wife, but clearly cannot. Once his eyes are reopened to Mrs. Das’s superficiality, all hope of the connection he seeks disappears. In addition, I think it speaks to his values that he never thinks of cheating on his wife with Mrs. Das, so learning that she has cheated on her husband leaves a bad taste in his mouth. He realizes that he can’t find what he desires in this woman, so his interest evaporates, which is where the story ends.

I’m not entirely sure what the true point to this blog post is, but after class I developed a different understanding on Mr. Kapasi and Mrs. Das’s dynamics that I knew I wanted to explore further. What do you guys think about my analysis?