Rachel Schleeter
on
Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri
Attempting to interweave old traditions with contemporary values is a theme seen in much of literature, and this theme becomes even more complex when the old traditions are those of another land. In her compilation of short stories entitled Interpreter of Maladies, Jhumpa Lahiri investigates the lives of transcendents of the Eastern world in the new land of America. With her sensitivity and insight, Lahiri is able to successfully interpret the thoughts and feelings of contemporary Americans, immigrated from the Eastern world, dealing with the conflicting ideals of longstanding Eastern traditions and present-day American priorities.Lahiri utilizes a menagerie of characters within her nine stories. Her characters range from recently immigrated citizens to first-generation Americans. All of these characters are facing the dilemmas of integrating the traditions they have been taught, passed down from ancient days, with the new world in which they are surrounded by. However, Lahiri is sure to point out that not all of the characters are successful in combining the two sets of standards, and some barely make it by. In each case, Lahiri is able to express to the reader the complexities of mixing old world and new world and life’s twists on both. In her stories "When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine," "The Treatment of Bibi Haldar," and "The Third and Final Continent," Lahiri explores the intricacies of her characters conflicts in integrating old traditions with new world values.
One of the most blatant mixtures of the two conflicting realms is "When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine." This short tale is told from the viewpoint of a young girl whose parents were from India, and it describes the weekly dinners her family has with a family friend, Mr. Pirzada. This family friend is originally from Pakistan and has much to teach the young girl, much more than she initially realizes. During their dinners, the young girl learns of Mr. Pirzada’s family back in Pakistan, and she loves to here of his daughters. One of the activities the young girl’s family and Mr. Pirzada engage in is watching the nightly news. By doing so the young girl learns an important lesson, that although they may live in America, the turmoil occurring in other lands may have a substantial impact to one’s she loves. During the time her family is sharing time with Mr. Pirzada, Pakistan was engaged in a civil war, and times were worrisome. And because of this none of them are able to separate the old world from their lives in America. The girl describes the reactions of her parents and Mr. Pirzada as the war escalated, "Most of all I remember the three of them operating during that time as if they were a single person, sharing a single meal, a single body, a single silence, and a single fear" (41). That single fear was for the family that Mr. Pirzada had left behind in Pakistan, for his wife and his seven daughters. Fortunately this short story ends in happiness; Mr. Pirzada is able to reunite with his family, who thankfully survived the war. However, the girl, her family, and Mr. Pirzada will surely not forget those nights of worry, nor those who were not so fortunate in the war.
Another important tale in within this collection is "The Treatment of Bibi Haldar." This story follows the life of a woman facing the fate of spinsterhood and investigates the role of a woman and the responsibility of the community within traditional morals. Her family is living in America and strictly adheres to the family traditions of India. Bibi is expected to marry; however, due to a mysterious, incurable condition, the eligible bachelors have shunned Bibi, and because she cannot find a husband to care for her, her cousin and his wife look after Bibi. Since Bibi’s illness cannot be cured and is such a mystery to those around her, it is seen as a kind of curse. With her curse, Bibi feels as if she will never be able to fulfill her obligations as a woman; she will never be a loving wife, and she will never be a nurturing mother, "She bemoaned her fate and challenged her stars as we hung our laundry or scrubbed scales from our fish. She was not pretty. Her upper lip was thin, her teeth too small. Her gums protruded when she spoke" (160). After her cousin’s wife becomes heavy with child, Bibi’s presence is seen as a bad omen, and the wife fears Bibi will infect the child. Because of this, Bibi is alienated by the family and is sent to live in the shed on the roof. The citizens in the community feel that this is unfair and intolerable treatment of Bibi, and they set out to put the cousin out of business, and they are successful. After this, Bibi’s family is forced to move away, and she is left to herself; fortunately, the community is happy to help her survive. However, being now completely alone, Bibi soon becomes a hermit, and stays completely to herself. The twist to the story comes now; Bibi’s wish in a sense comes true. To every one’s amazement, Bibi gives birth and is now a mother. Although she never is married, and is left in shame without a husband, Bibi is able to fulfill her role as a caring mother, and curiously her illness disappears.
The last story in this compilation is essentially the capstone to the collection. "The Third and Final Continent" epitomizes the conflict between new world and old world. This tale is about a young man who is juggling the traditional roles of supporting a new wife, of which he has just met, and dealing with a new life in America. This young man decides to seek out a life in America while his new bride stays in India with his family. During his stay in his new land, this man happens upon a proud old woman renting rooms. While living with this old woman, Mrs. Croft, the young man discovers that Mrs. Croft was born in 1866 and she is utterly amazed by the moon landing; this intrigues the young man. Although both of these characters are extremely different on the surface, the two are remarkably similar in the problems that they face. Both these characters are attempting to deal with the strange new world around them; while the young man is dealing with the new land, the old woman is dealing with the changing times, and both feel frightened and awed by these new surroundings. Meeting this inspirational woman deeply affects the young man, and impacts almost every aspect of his life. As time goes on, the man eventually moves out and continues with his life; his wife moves to America and they begin their life together, and even begin their own family. However, no matter how much time passes, the man never forgets the woman that touched him so deeply:
Even though the young man and Mrs. Croft appeared to have nothing in common, they were both overwhelmed with the traditions of old and the differences of the new. Whenever we make that drive, I always make it a point to take Massachusetts Avenue, in spite of the traffic. I barely recognize the buildings now, but each time I am there I return instantly to those six weeks as if they were only the other day, and I slow down to point to Mrs. Croft’s street, saying to my son, here was my first home in America, where I lived with a woman who was 103. (197) All of the stories within Interpreter of Maladies enable the reader to connect with these estranged characters. Each character is forced to deal with the conflicting ideals of tradition and the present. No matter which tale is told, there is one underlying theme that unites them all. Combining the past with the present, and the new world with the old dictates every aspect of these characters lives, and impacts the choices they make. In "The Third and Final Continent" the main character summarizes these feelings by saying:
With these few simple sentences, the feelings of all the characters are described by one. Jhumpa Lahiri masterfully explores human emotion, and the complexities of life, especially one trying to balance the traditions of the past with a new world. While the astronauts, heroes forever, spent mere hours on the moon, I have remained in this new world for nearly thirty years. I know that my achievement is quite ordinary. I am not the only man to seek his fortune far from home, and certainly not the first. Still, there are times I am bewildered by each mile I have traveled, each meal I have eaten, each person I have known, each room in which I have slept. As ordinary as it all appears, there are times when it is beyond my imagination. (198)