Interpreter of Maladies One of the most prevalent themes in this collection of stories is the danger of romanticism and loneliness.

Understanding and sympathizing with Mrs. Das about her faltering marriage, Mr. Kapasi sees her as a lonely housewife who he wants to be his companion in his time of loneliness. Likewise, Mrs. Das wants Mr. Kapasi to become a confidante to her and, by using his knowledge as an interpreter, solve her marital problems. However, she fails to notice that he is uncomfortable with her personal revelations, especially concerning the conception of Bobby. When he offers Mrs. Das his only answer to her question, instead of receiving some remedy for her distant relationship with Mr. Das, Mr. Kapasi pinpoints her exact feelings which to her is such a judgmental statement, that she cannot forgive him. Mr. Kapasi then knows even before his address floats away in the wind that any chance of a relationship between them is now gone. A Temporary Matter Before the death of their only child, Shobi and Shukumar felt very close to one another, but after their babys death, much like their child, their relationship died. They are unable to deal with their emotions and the sad truth of their relationship. The candlelit meals bridge the gap between the growing differences between them, but it only led to the bittersweet sadness of their break-up. Shukumar fails to see the discomfort the marriage is causing Shobi, and while he believes that the game of hers is helping them to put their secrets behind them, Shobi uses the

game as a way to tell him that their relationship is over. Shukumar is extremely hurt by this revelation and decides to retaliate back with the only thing that she wanted to be a secret: the gender of their dead child. When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine Mr. Pirzada, a man from India who left to come to America on the generosity of a grant for the purpose of studying foliage, yearns to see his seven children and wife again. However, his trip couldnt have come at a worse time; a war was making its way through the area where he lived with his family. Out of loneliness, he watches the news every night with Lilia and her family searching for something that could tell him if his family was okay. Mr. Pirzada also tries to alleviate his loneliness by giving the love he would have shown to his daughters to Lilia instead, underscored by his pressing desire to go with her during Halloween, should anything happen to her. Despite his desire to assimilate, the ruined carving of the Jack-o-Lantern illustrates his attachment to his old life which he desperately longs for. A Real Durwan Boori Ma, a victim of Partition, is a poor woman forced to sweep stairwells in her old age, and tells the residents of the building tales of her previous riches. Whether they are true or not, they provide her with a semblance of peace, and they allow her to escape the true reality of her life, however inside she longs for her lost comforts, including a life with her husband, two daughters, and a home. When the Dalals buy

basins to install in the building they live in, and one day, one of the basins disappears, they accuse Boori Ma of stealing the basin. She tries to convince them that she wasnt the one who stole the basin, but after all of her lies, they toss Boori Ma on the street. Her obsession with falsifying stories about herself ultimately led to her downfall and has also left her even lonelier than before. Sexy Miranda who does not have a husband or children finds herself very lonely. Only when she meets Dev does she feel connected on a personal level for the first time. When she learns that Dev secretly has a wife and she is a mistress, she feels guilty. When her friend Laxmi asks Miranda to babysit her cousins son for them, she agrees. When the cousins son, Rohin, finds a silver dress bought to wear for Dev, Miranda realizes that she will never wear that dress for him. She knows that it was dangerous to fall in love with him and to carry on a life that she was guilty of, so she tells Dev not to come over anymore. Even though she overcomes her guilt, her loneliness is still present. Mrs. Sens The relationship between Mrs. Sen and her husband is very strained. She longs for her life back in India, but Mr. Sen could not be more oblivious to this fact. Mr. Sen does not attempt to console her in any way and wont even show her any affection, as illustrated by his apparent lack of emotion and love for Mrs. Sen when Eliot takes a picture of them on the beach. The letters she gets illustrates her longing to be with her true family

again in India. When Mr. Sen tries to teach her how to drive, she often promptly says no. This demonstrates her thoughts on assimilation. She believes that trying to assimilate to a live in America is futile and without purpose, as her real purpose and life is in India with the rest of her family which she so desperately wants to be with. This Blessed House The main cause of Twinkle and Sanjeevs growing separation from one another is caused by the constant statuettes and Christian icons. Sanjeev believes that because they are not Christian, the icons should not be shown in their house. Twinkle decides that they should be shown which baffles Sanjeev because he cannot even begin to understand Twinkles actions. When Sanjeev decides that he wants to get rid of the Virgin Mary statue and bring it to the dump, Twinkle is immediately angered, and she declares her hate for him. He is surprised by this sudden emotion and compromises with her. Sanjeev is constantly angered by the fact that his desires wont be met, and this causes uneasy thoughts about his relationship with Twinkle to start, which ultimately instills a sense of loneliness in Sanjeev. The Treatment of Bibi Haldar Bibi is affected by a strange malady that no doctor can put his finger to. She wonders constantly why it was her cursed to this fate, to be alone and jealous of other wives and mothers who are perfectly healthy. She desires to be married and start a family, and she is deeply saddened when no man desires to be

with her on account of her ailment. When Haldars wife gets pregnant she even refuses to go near Bibi, saying that the disease could make its way to their baby. Ultimately, Bibi is left alone. Later in the spring, she is found to have a baby; however, Bibi doesnt know who fathered the baby, still leaving an uncertainty in her life and something that weighs on her heart. The Third and Final Continent The narrator who comes to America looks back on his time with his wife, Mala. He realizes that he hasnt spent much time with her, and even with the miniscule amount of time he has spent with her, he knows that the marriage is not working out. Even Mala wept every night for her family. During his time in America, he finds a place for rent, run by a very elderly woman named Mrs. Croft. After his wife comes to America, they live at their own place together for a while. One day, they find Mrs. Crofts obituary in the paper and the narrator is deeply saddened to hear of her death. He notices that she was the first person he cared for in America, and now shes gone from his life. For the narrator, it is a death that leaves him saddened and longing for a companion.