In dealing with the question on whether or not it is impossible to bridge the gap between two people Jhumpa Lahiri’s collection of short stories “Interpreter of Maladies” may be used to help find the answer. In Lahiri’s stories there is often a gap between two people, due to many reasons, and there is often varying amounts of success in dealing with these gaps.
The story “A temporary Matter” details the gap that emerges between a married couple, who have just had a stillborn. The two characters, Shukumar and Shoba, soon have trouble communicating with each other as a result of this event, this is the gap that they are experiencing, and their own personal reasons. Shoba has trouble coping with her past life that she had before the tragedy, instead she has found distractions to stop her remembering this previous life. As a result of Shoba’s unwillingness to return to her past life her relationship with Shukumar suffers as well and it is here that they start to become more distant from one another “Instead he thought of how he and Shoba had become experts at avoiding each other in their three-bedroom house” (pg.4). However the gap between Shoba and Shukumar appears to be eventually bridged through the chance event of an electrical company repairing damaged wires, and cutting the lights out in the process. In the dark Shoba suggests a game she used to play in India, in a similar situation, where each person would tell a story about themselves that the other did not know. As a consequence Shoba and Shukumar seem to able to communicate with other more easily and begin to become more close. Shoba does, however, reveal that she plans on moving out which would seem to prove that the gap is still there however once Shukumar reveals his final secret they cry together in understanding. Thus the gap is bridged as Shoba finds out that Shukumar shares her burden and that he understands how she feels about it They wept together, for the things they now knew” (pg. 22). Through...