Mr. Kapasi’s Desperate Escape from Marital Boredom, a.k.a. Mr. Kapasi is a Pig

In Jhumpa Lahiri’s short story “Interpreter of Maladies,” the limited omniscient narrator writes from the perspective of tour guide Mr. Kapasi. Mr. Kapasi, as we learn through his conversation with Mr. Das, is also a language interpreter for a doctor. From the moment Mr. Kapasi mentions his other occupation and Mrs. Das reacts until the end of the story, there exists this assumption within Mr. Kapasi—one that the reader shares as well because of the narration style—that Mrs. Das is sexually drawn to him. Although we learn later that this preconception was entirely false, it is undeniable that attraction seemed the only explanation for Mrs. Das’s behavior. Mrs. Das insists that Mr. Kapasi sit with her (and her family) at lunch, she wants to know more about his job, she asks for his address, and she even stays in the car with him at the caves. Even though there are a couple obscure signs that suggest that Mrs. Das is not interested in sex, Mr. Kapasi and we the readers ignore them and jump to conclusions.

Mrs. Das is very interested in this alternative aspect of Mr. Kapasi’s life, because she believes that Mr. Kapasi can “cure” her of her guilt. She does not intend in any way to have an affair with Mr. Kapasi. Mr. Kapasi, however, completely misinterprets Mrs. Das’s actions and fascination with his career. When she says that his job is romantic, Mr. Kapasi feels flattered by her praise and assumes that she is suddenly attracted to him. The narrator does not even leave the readers to wonder why Mrs. Das enchants Mr. Kapasi. The narrator explicitly dictates all of the tour guide’s thoughts about his now-tedious marriage with his wife, how they are not the perfect match; then Mr. Kapasi thinks about how there also seems to be a lack of devotion between the two Dases. Throughout the rest of the story, Mr. Kapasi concentrates on Mrs. Das and trying to spend some time alone with her to continue their “friendship.” He becomes incredibly anxious about his appearance, about whether he has written the correct address, about his proximity to her, and, most of all, about pleasing her. It is ironic that Mr. Kapasi spends so much of his energy on gratifying Mrs. Das, because she really doesn’t want him for sex or even for making her husband jealous. Mr. Kapasi’s career as an interpreter is an ironic aspect of the story, because he utterly misinterprets Mrs. Das’s actions and motive.

I read this story twice. After each time that I read the story, there was always something bothering me, something that lingered hours after I read the story. As I was walking into school Friday morning (the day the reading was due), it suddenly occurred to me what the issue was: Mr. Kapasi. I detested him. Firstly, he reminded me of someone I know, someone who had an extramarital affair. Secondly, his desperation in getting alone time with Mrs. Das is both extremely pathetic and downright immoral. Marriage, and life for that matter, will always be a roller coaster with its ups and its downs. No matter how fast, how slow, or what direction the roller coaster is headed, you are on that roller coaster with your spouse and have made a promise to stay on it for good, ignoring any and all distractions. (562 words)