"Interpreter of Maladies" (1999) is a short story from an award-winning collection of the same name by Indian American author Jhumpa Lahiri. It explores the clash of cultures between an Indian American family on vacation in India and their local tour guide. The short story collection has sold over 15 million copies and has been translated into more than 20 languages. Keep reading to find out more about the characters, cultural differences and more.
"Interpreter of Maladies": by Jhumpa Lahiri
Jhumpa Lahiri was born in London, the United Kingdom, in 1967. Her family moved to Rhode Island when she was three. Lahiri grew up in the United States and considers herself American. As the daughter of Indian immigrants from the state of West Bengal, her literature is concerned with the immigrant experience and their subsequent generations. Lahiri's fiction is often inspired by her parents and her experience visiting family in Kolkata, India.
When she was writing Interpreter of Maladies, a short story collection that also features the short story of the same name, she did not consciously choose the subject of culture clash.1 Rather, she wrote about the experiences that were familiar to her. Growing up, she often felt embarrassed by her bicultural identity. As an adult, she feels she has learned to accept and reconcile the two. Lahiri said that having the two cultures mingle on the written page has helped her process her experiences.2
Jhumpa Lahiri served on the board of an art committee in the Obama Administration. Wikimedia Commons
"Interpreter of Maladies": Characters
Below is a list of the main characters.
Mr. Das
Mr. Das is the father of the Das family. He works as a middle school teacher and is more concerned with amateur photography than tending to his children. It's more important to him to present his family as happy in a holiday photograph than provide protection for them from the monkeys.
Mrs. Das
Mrs. Das is the mother of the Das family. After marrying young, she is dissatisfied and lonely as a housewife. She doesn't seem interested in the emotional lives of her children and is consumed with guilt over her secret affair.
Mr. Kapasi
Kapasi is the tour guide that the Das family hires. He curiously observes the Das family and becomes romantically interested in Mrs. Das. He is dissatisfied with his marriage and his career. He fantasizes about having a correspondence with Mrs. Das, but upon realizing her emotional immaturity, he loses his affection for her.
Ronnie Das
Ronnie Das is the eldest of Mr. and Mrs. Das's children. He’s generally curious but mean to his younger brother Bobby. He has no respect for his father’s authority.
Bobby Das
Bobby Das is the illegitimate son of Mrs. Das and Mr. Das’s visiting friend. He is curious and adventurous like his older brother. He and the family, other than Mrs. Das, are unaware of his true paternal lineage.
Tina Das
Tina Das is the youngest child and only daughter of the Das family. Like her siblings, she is very curious. She seeks the attention of her mother but mostly is ignored by her parents.
"Interpreter of Maladies": Summary
The Das family is taking a vacation in India and hired Mr. Kapasi as their driver and tour guide. As the story begins, they wait by a tea stand in Mr. Kapasi's car. The parents debate over who should take Tina to the bathroom. Ultimately, Mrs. Das takes her reluctantly. Her daughter wants to hold her mother's hand, but Mrs. Das ignores her. Ronny leaves the car to see a goat. Mr. Das orders Bobby to look after his brother, but Bobby ignores his father.
The Das family are on their way to visit the Sun Temple in Konarak, India. Mr. Kapasi notices how young the parents look. Although the Das family looks Indian, their dress and manner are undoubtedly American. He chats with Mr. Das while they wait. Mr. Das's parents live in India, and the Dases come to visit them every few years. Mr. Das works as a science middle school teacher.
Tina returns without their mother. Mr. Das asks where she is, and Mr. Kapasi notices Mr. Das refers to her first name when speaking with Tina. Mrs. Das returns with puffed rice she bought from a vendor. Mr. Kapasi gives her a closer look, noticing her dress, figure, and legs. She sits in the back seat and eats her puffed rice without sharing. They continue towards their destination.
The Sun Temple serves as a symbol of the cultural differences in "Interpreter of Maladies." Wikimedia CommonsAlong the road, the children are excited to see monkeys, and Mr. Kapasi brakes the car suddenly to avoid hitting one. Mr. Das asks to stop the car so that he can take photos. Mrs. Das begins to paint her nails, ignoring her daughter's wish to join her activity. Once they continue, Bobby asks Mr. Kapasi why they drive on the "wrong" side of the road in India. Mr. Kapasi explains that it's the reverse in the United States, which he learned from watching an American television show. They stop again for Mr. Das to take a photo of a poor, starving Indian man and his animals.
While waiting for Mr. Das, Mr. Kapasi and Mrs. Das strike up a conversation. He works a second job as a translator for a doctor's office. Mrs. Das describes his work as romantic. Her comment flatters him and ignites his developing attraction to her. He originally took the second job to pay for his ill son's medical bills. Now he continues it to support his family's material lifestyle because of the guilt he feels of losing their son.
The group takes a lunch stop. Mrs. Das invites Mr. Kapasi to eat with them. Mr. Das has his wife and Mr. Kapasi pose for a photograph. Mr. Kapasi delights in the closeness to Mrs. Das and her scent. She asks for his address, and he begins to fantasize about a letter correspondence. He imagines sharing about their unhappy marriages and how their friendship turns into a romance.
The group reaches the Sun Temple, an enormous sandstone pyramid adorned with chariot statues. Mr. Kapasi is intimately familiar with the site, but the Das family approaches as tourists, with Mr. Das reading a tour guide aloud. They admire sculpted scenes of nude lovers. While looking at another statute, Mrs. Das asks Mr. Kapasi about it. He answers and begins to fantasize more about their letter correspondence, in which he teaches her about India, and she teaches him about America. This fantasy almost feels like his dream of being an interpreter between nations. He begins to dread Mrs. Das's departure and suggests a detour, to which the Das family agrees.
The temple monkeys are usually gentle unless provoked and agitated. Wikimedia CommonsMrs. Das says she's too tired and stays behind with Mr. Kapasi in the car while the rest leave, followed by monkeys. While they both watch Bobby interact with a monkey, Mrs. Das reveals to the stunned Mr. Kapasi that her middle son was conceived during an affair. She believes Mr. Kapasi can help her because he's an "interpreter of maladies." She's never shared this secret before and begins to share more about her dissatisfied marriage. She and Mr. Das were childhood friends and used to feel passionate about each other. Once they had children, Mrs. Das became overwhelmed with the responsibility. She had an affair with a visiting friend of Mr. Das, and no one knows except her and now Mr. Kapasi.
Mrs. Das asks for guidance from Mr. Kapasi, who offers to act as a mediator. First, he asks her about the guilt she feels. This upsets her, and she angrily exits the car, unconsciously eating the puffed rice while steadily dropping a trail of crumbs. Mr. Kapasi's romantic interest in her quickly evaporates. Mrs. Das catches up with the rest of the family, and only when Mr. Das is ready for the family photograph do they realize that Bobby is missing.
They find him being attacked by monkeys who have become excited after eating the puffed rice crumbs. Mr. Kapasi uses a stick to beat them away. He scoops up Bobby and hands him to the parents, who tend to his wound. Mr. Kapasi notices the piece of paper with his address drift away in the wind while he watches the family from a distance.
"Interpreter of Maladies": Analysis
Jhumpa Lahiri wanted to juxtapose on the written page an intermingling of Indian American culture with that of Indian culture. Growing up, she felt straddled between these two cultures. Lahiri uses symbols in the story to draw attention to the superficial similarities between the characters, such as their physical ethnic features and the deeply embedded cultural differences in behavior and presentation.
Symbols
There are four key symbols in "Interpreter of Maladies."
The Puffed Rice
Everything about Mrs. Das's actions around the puffed rice represents her immaturity. She carelessly leaves a trail that endangers one of her sons. She doesn't offer to share it with anyone. She anxiously eats it when she experiences undesirable emotions. In essence, the puffed rice represents her self-centered mindset and corresponding behavior.
The Monkeys
The monkeys represent an ever-present danger to the Das family due to their negligence. The Das family generally seems unaware or unconcerned. For example, both parents seem unfazed when the monkey causes Mr. Kapasi to brake. Their negligence leads their son Bobby to danger, quite literally; Mrs. Das's trail of food leads the monkeys to Bobby. Earlier, Bobby plays with a monkey, foreshadowing his courage yet lack of safety or ability to ascertain present dangers. While Mr. Das is distractedly taking photos and Mrs. Das is angrily eating the puffed rice, monkeys are attacking their son Bobby.
The Camera
The camera symbolizes the economic disparity between the Das family and Mr. Kapasi and India in general. At one point, Mr. Das uses his expensive camera to photograph a starving peasant and his animals. This emphasizes the gap between Mr. Das as an American now and his Indian roots. The country is poorer than the United States. Mr. Das can afford to take vacations and have expensive devices to record the trip, while Mr. Kapasi works two jobs to support his family.
The Sun Temple
The Sun Temple is merely a tourist attraction for the Das family. They learn about it from tour guides. Mr. Kapasi, on the other hand, has a closer relationship with the temple. It’s one of his favorite places, and he is quite knowledgeable about it. This serves to highlight the disparity between the Indian American Das family and the Indian culture of Mr. Kapasi. They may share ethnic roots, but culturally they are quite different and strangers to each other.
"Interpreter of Maladies": Themes
There are three main themes in "Interpreter of Maladies."
Fantasy and Reality
Compare and contrast Mr. Kapasi’s fantasy of Mrs. Das versus the reality of Mrs. Das. She’s a young mother who refuses to take responsibility for her actions and her children. Mr. Kapasi notices this at first but becomes enchanted at the possibility of their written correspondence.
Accountability and Responsibility
Both the Das parents exhibit behaviors that one would expect between siblings. Both seem averse to taking responsibility for their children. When their attention is requested, like when their daughter Tina asks to go to the bathroom, they either delegate the task to the other parent or ignore them. The children, in turn, do the same to the parents of their requests, such as when Mr. Das asks Ronnie to watch Bobby. It becomes a vicious circle where everyone's relationship becomes locked in a stasis of sorts. The children can only learn from others, and the behaviors they imitate from their parents reflect Mr. and Mrs. Das's immaturity as adults. Mr. and Mrs. Das may carry jobs and roles as adults, but their lack of growth becomes apparent in their interactions with family and others.
Cultural Identity
Author Jhumpa Lahiri remarks that she felt caught between two worlds as a child.1 "Interpreter of Maladies" is literally an interplay of this on the written page. Mr. Kapasi frequently notices strange behavior between the Das family. Their lack of formality and their unwillingness to perform parental duties strike him as childish. This strangeness to the family culture also emphasizes his place as an outsider. One’s cultural identity can be a barrier to connecting with another culture, especially if there is a lack of shared values in communication.
Cultural Differences in "Interpreter of Maladies"
The most prominent theme in "Interpreter of Maladies" is culture clash. The story follows the perspective of a native resident of India as he observes acute differences between his culture and that of an Indian American family on vacation. Front and center are the differences between the Das family and Mr. Kapasi. The Das family represents Americanized Indians, while Mr. Kapasi represents the culture of India.
Formality
Mr. Kapasi immediately notes that the Das family addresses each other in a casual, familiar way. The reader can assume that Mr. Kapasi would be expected to address an elder with a particular title, such as Mister or Miss.
Mr. Das refers to Mrs. Das as Mina when speaking to his daughter, Tina.
Attire and Presentation
Lahiri, through the perspective of Mr. Kapasi, details the manner of dress and appearance of the Das family.
Bobby and Ronny both have big shiny braces, which Mr. Kapasi notices. Mrs. Das dresses in a western manner, revealing more skin than Mr. Das is used to seeing.
The Meaning of Their Roots
For Mr. Kapasi, India and its historical monuments are highly revered. He's intimately familiar with the Sun Temple, one of his favorite pieces of his ethnic heritage. However, to the Das family, India is a place where their parents live, and they come to visit as tourists. They're completely disconnected from commonplace experiences like the starving man and his animals. For Mr. Das, it's a tourist attraction to photograph and share with friends back in America
"Interpreter of Maladies" - Key takeaways
- "Interpreter of Maladies" is a short story written by Indian American author Jhumpa Lahiri.
- The subject of her work tends to focus on the interplay between immigrant cultures and their subsequent generations.
- "Interpreter of Maladies" focuses on the culture clash between local Indian resident Mr. Kapasi and the Das family from America who are visiting India.
- Major themes are fantasy and reality, responsibility and accountability, and cultural identity.
- The main symbols are the puffed rice, the Sun Temple, the monkeys, and the camera.
1. Lahiri, Jhumpa. "My Two Lives". Newsweek. March 5, 2006.
2. Moore, Lorrie, editor. 100 Years of the Best American Short Stories (2015).
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