First off, I have to say that I really liked this couple ,and I was rooting for them all they way through! Shukumar is the "mediocre," procrastinating, and "elusive" student and Shoba is the disciplined worker (Lahiri 4). I found Shoba to be a woman who thrived on order and the "specificity of her task" (Lahiri 4). Prior to the loss of their child, Shoba felt she had control over her life. In her mind, she was doing everything right. She had a husband, home, and career. Their marriage appeared solid, loving, and ideal for the creation of offspring; but, that was a temporary matter. The title of this piece is what intrigued me the most (apart from Shukumar's hatred towards sweater vests). On the surface it appears that the short-term absence of electricity is the only temporary matter, but I thought about it and I believe there are a lot more things that can be labeled as temporary matters. Their current life together has become a temporary matter. They used to be in love but that has been temporary put aside because of their grief. Shukumar used to be "diligent if not dedicated" to his educational objectives, but he has temporarily abandoned those objectives (Lahiri 4). Shoba used to be disciplined and tidy, but that was only temporary, because she now treats "the house as if it were a hotel" and drops her belongings anywhere (Lahiri 6). The pregnancy itself was only a temporary matter. I know it seems a bit cold to refer to a baby as "temporary," but the condition of pregnancy is a temporary condition (thankfully).
It is the death of the baby that derails this couple from their contented marriage. I believe their separation may be necessary for healing, but I view it as another temporary matter. I see them reconciling again. I do wish I knew for sure though. The ending I would hope for is that several weeks after Shoba moves into her new place she finds out she is pregnant (obviously from their wild night of sex, in the dark). Shoba and Shukumar find a renewed spirit for life, and each other, and reconcile a couple months later. Shukumar is there when Shoba gives birth to a healthy baby boy and two years after that they have a healthy baby girl. I can see them walking down the sidewalk with their little boy on Shukumar's shoulders and Shoba pushing the baby girl in a jogging stroller as they wave hello to the Bradford's. A little sugary, I know, but I do believe that Lahiri ended her story, the way she did, to show that all things have the possibility of being temporary matters, including a separation.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with your assessment of Shoba's need for control and her feeling that she was in control until the baby died. Your proposed ending made me smile! I actually checked fanfiction.net to see if anyone had written any sort of a sequel to "A Temporary Matter," but the single Jhumpa Lahiri fanfic was just a retelling of this story from Shoba's POV. Wouldn't it be lovely if it ended this way, though? It would take a really talented author to pull it off without making it come across as too "sugary," as you put it.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I made you smile, Bethany! Unfortunately, if Lahiri had actually ended the story my way, we would have all been sitting in class discussing how predictable it was!
ReplyDeleteYou got me curious. I'll have to check out fanfiction.net to read Shoba's POV. That should be interesting!
I agree that ending would have been satisfying, and I honestly don't think I would have seen it as predictable. Considering how sad most of the stories we read end, something happy would have been nice.
ReplyDeleteI also believe that Shoba and Shukumar will eventually get back together, their marriage is indeed the strongest and most loving that I think we have seen all semester.
I don't see them getting back together, actually. It seemed like things were working out, their relationship slowly mending over the course of the story...and then Shoba threw everyone a fastball when she said that she was planning on moving out. At that moment, there was still the possibility of things eventually working out between them, but then I think Shukumar dealt their marriage a mortal blow when he told Shoba about their son.
ReplyDeleteI like your observation about specificity and elusiveness. They aren't exactly opposites, are they? Shukumar talks about his ability to "absorb details without curiosity" in regards to his academic career, but doesn't Shoba's job involve the same kind of banality? Just a much more anal retentive version? It puts the sting back into Shukumar's confession about the baby. There's a granularity of detail in his account that that goes against the grain of his character.
ReplyDelete