Detachment Between Two Cultures
In Jhumpa Lahiri’s “Interpreter of Maladies,” written in the 1980s, the clearly illustrated disconnection between the American as well as Indian cultures, displays the distant and oblique communications between the two countries. According to Lahiri, this disconnection occurs in the appearances, attitudes, and even the opinions characters exhibit. Not only this, but Lahiri puts forth a reintroduction idealism, in which people of a different culture, yet the same race, attempt to reconnect with each one another. This effort for inner bondage concurrently agrees with the fact that “families… [face] confusions and problems every day, between the Indian traditions and the modern free world” because they are not able to develop the common association to their culture which born Indians have the capability of doing over the span of their lives (Interpreter of Maladies: Stories of Bengal, Boston and Beyond).
Throughout the story, Lahiri illustrates how people of common heritage behave differently based on the cultural influences of where they were raised. The difference in greetings demonstrates severed connections between different cultures across the world. Mr. Kapasi, a native born Indian, offers his hands in prayer, whereas the American Mr. Das extends a handshake “that Mr. Kapasi [feels] in his elbow” (Lahiri 325). “The compulsion of proximity [by shaking hands] refers to humans’ need for face-to-face interaction” which is very uncommon in the etiquette of the Indian world (Kevin Andrew: The Handshake). The Das’s were born and raised in America and do not maintain mannerisms of the common Indo-Asians. Lahiri provides detailed and in depth descriptions comparing life in America to India from the initial greeting and throughout the tour, while the American family are introduced to various aspects of Indian culture and wildlife, such as the monkeys. Because the story told is primarily from an Indian perspective, it may appear there is a bias against the American culture, not so much as by what is said, but the overall context and actions through the novella.
An obvious contrast between the American and the Indian culture is the way each culture dresses. While in America, an Indian woman dressed in the traditional Indian Sari would stand out in a crowd, so do Mina and Raj in their American attire whilst visiting India. Mina’s outfit is described as “red-and-white checkered skirt the stops above her knees, slip on shoes with a square wooden heel, a close-fitting blouse styled like a man’s undershirt…decorated at chest level with a calico appliqué in the shape of a strawberry” (Lahiri 326-327). The outfit could be interpreted to be an indication of Mrs. Das’s internal conflict with her youth and how she still clings to it, more than a wife and mother of three children should.
The Das family’s decision to tour India confirms the desire of an American family seeking to reconnect to the roots of their racial origin, while also revealing a dysfunctional family. Mr. Kapasi observes this dysfunctional behavior over and over and is confused by the interpersonal strife that appears to exist between Mr. and Mrs. Das. They acted as though they were not adults, and married with children. Mr. Kapasi views their approach to the problem solving as though they are still in high school, not married, for “they were all like siblings, Mr. Kapasi though” (Lahiri 328). Acting as if they are all siblings, shows the American tourism in the dysfunctional family. A contrast between culture and the obviousness of a family’s tourism is in the way they dress, such as Mina and Raj Das. Mina is supposed to be a motherly figure to her children. But, she dresses as though she were still a teenager with her “red-and-white checkered skirt that stopped above her knees, slip on shoes with a square wooden heel, and a close-fitting blouse styled like a man’s undershirt…decorated at chest level with a calico appliqué in the shape of a strawberry” (Lahiri; 326-327). The outfit is an indication of Mrs. Das’s internal conflict with her youth and how she still clings to it, more than a wife and mother of three children should. In other cultures, there are arranged marriages between certain families, but when the two are joined in matrimony, they seem to be prepared for what is to come, the Das family, were not so much as readied. Mr. Kapasi observes this child-like behavior over and over and is confused by the actions Mr. and Mrs. Das make. They do not take action as though they are adults and have children, but views their problem solving skills as though they are still in high school, not married, for “they were all like siblings, Mr. Kapasi thought” (Lahiri; 328). Acting as though they are siblings, though, isolates each family member from the others. In Mr. Kapasi’s culture, it is not unusual to arrange marriages between certain families, but, when two are joined in matrimony, they seem to be prepared for what is to come. From a cultural perspective, this is because the culture drives the expectations, whereas the culture the Das family grew up and became accustomed to, places more of that burden on the individual, vice imposing a cultural norm. Therefore, by Mr. Kapasi’s observations, it is apparent Mina and Raj were not ready; by Indian cultural expectations, for marriage and to raise children.
Because Mr. Kapasi is so supportive and a sympathetic listener, Mrs. Das feels secure that no one else would know about her telling him her adulterous sin. Once she does finally come to the decision to confess her disloyal affiliations resulting in an illegitimate child, Mrs. Das is only searching for an answer she could not find in America. According to Dominik Güss, “Knowledge about different decision-making strategies in different countries can help people be more sensitive towards those from other cultures, to understand the embeddedness of psychological behavior in a specific cultural surrounding, and to work together more happily and efficiently.” This psychology makes Mrs. Das have two decisions: to either discuss her adulterous sin to Mr. Kapasi, or it could have led to another decision, such as telling Raj that one of his two “sons” was not his (Güss, Decision Making in Individualistic and Collectivistic Cultures). Some interpret this isolated assertion of personal identity as a generalizable assertion of the Indian-American experience, a problem of cultural essentialism if ever one existed. Thus, the danger lies in the extent to which readers take highly personalized statements. Although she literally did not have a manifest of physical illness, Mina’s somatic complaint is that she is unhappy with her life. Her guilt of her confession has the somatic affect as described by the Adolescent Identity Exploration: a test of Erikson’s theory of transitional crisis, “cognitive destructuring, generally, and the view of the self, in particular, was seen to result in reduced ego, strength, and impairment of coping. Moreover, a variety of symptoms were said to occur with the transition; these included: subjective discomfort, confusion, mood swings, ego defenses, impulsivity, acting-out, and heightened physical and somatic complaints” (Jeannie S. Kidwell , Richard M. Dunham , Roderick A. Bacho , Ellen Pastorino , Pedro R. Portes).
The evident extrication between the ethnicities, are evident for the difficult ways of socializing economically, politically and socially. People of the opposite descent often try to participate in the habits of the other but fail in the attempt because they take traditions from their present lives with them, and consequently not maintaining the ability to create the bond they seek.
Citations:
Güss, C. Dominik. “Decision Making in Individualistic and Collectivistic
Cultures .” Online Readings in Psychology and Culture. Güss, C. D., Jan. 2004. Web. 4 Apr. 2010. <http://orpc.iaccp.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=
30%3Aguss43&catid=22%3Achapter&Itemid=15>.
Interpreter of Maladies (Stories of Bengal, Boston and Beyond). SHVOONG, 4 June
2009. Web. 25 Apr. 2010. <http://bit.ly/aHz8WQ>.
