This story, while longer than the others, definitely caught my attention possibly the most. The storyline was very interesting because it speaks of how at least two of the characters are unhappy with their lives but not unhappy enough to change them. Yet again, the theme of settling persists.
"Interpreter of Maladies" speaks of the commonness of the broken family throughout cultures. This seems to be a part of the central conflict in which Mr. Kapasi and Mrs. Das are upset with their lives and they both live through a short fantasy until they snap back into reality. It seems to be fate playing games with the two, bringing them together to meet and realize that they are not exactly happy with their lives. Mrs. Das, 28, has been married for years with the exact same husband as she dated in highschool and college. She had children at a very young age, one not even by her husband, and she never had the chance to travel or even live her life. The same thing happened for Mr. Das, but since he is a more minor character, we are unaware of how he exactly feels about his relationship and his family outside of the fact that he is aloof and unaware of what is going on.
Mr. Kapasi on the other hand is very happy with learning new langauges. He is not as happy with his job though because he does not feel it has the meaning that he wants to have in his life. He has also been with his wife for quite some time and he is not happy with his marriage. When Mrs. Das comes along, he sees how unhappy he actually is, and she gives more meaning to his job than what he believes. She gives him a sort of false hope though because she leads him on until she sees that her son is in harm and then snaps back into reality. The significance of Mr. Kapasi's address flying away is that she never really had the intention of carrying anything on with him even though they both had the fleeting thought of "What if my life was different..."
"Interpreter of Maladies" speaks of the commonness of the broken family throughout cultures. This seems to be a part of the central conflict in which Mr. Kapasi and Mrs. Das are upset with their lives and they both live through a short fantasy until they snap back into reality. It seems to be fate playing games with the two, bringing them together to meet and realize that they are not exactly happy with their lives. Mrs. Das, 28, has been married for years with the exact same husband as she dated in highschool and college. She had children at a very young age, one not even by her husband, and she never had the chance to travel or even live her life. The same thing happened for Mr. Das, but since he is a more minor character, we are unaware of how he exactly feels about his relationship and his family outside of the fact that he is aloof and unaware of what is going on.
Mr. Kapasi on the other hand is very happy with learning new langauges. He is not as happy with his job though because he does not feel it has the meaning that he wants to have in his life. He has also been with his wife for quite some time and he is not happy with his marriage. When Mrs. Das comes along, he sees how unhappy he actually is, and she gives more meaning to his job than what he believes. She gives him a sort of false hope though because she leads him on until she sees that her son is in harm and then snaps back into reality. The significance of Mr. Kapasi's address flying away is that she never really had the intention of carrying anything on with him even though they both had the fleeting thought of "What if my life was different..."
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