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Similes
Situational Irony
Explanation and Analysis—Mrs. Das’s Reveal:
Near the end of the story, Mrs. Das finds a way to be alone with Mr. Kapasi in the car, sitting close to him and revealing to him that her son Bobby is the result of an affair. While readers interpret this intimate reveal as a sign of Mrs. Das’s interest in having an affair with Mr. Kapasi as well, it becomes clear that she actually sought alone time with him in order to seek his advice on how to rid herself of guilt and pain (given his part-time job as an “interpreter of maladies”), making this an example of situational irony.
The following passage—which opens with Mrs. Das speaking—captures the way that Lahiri subtly builds the tension between Mrs. Das and Mr. Kapasi in this scene, encouraging readers to believe that Mrs. Das is interested in Mr. Kapasi sexually or romantically:
“[N]o one knows, of course. No one at all. I’ve kept it a secret for eight whole years.” She looked at Mr. Kapasi, tilting her chin as if to gain a fresh perspective. “But now I’ve told you.”
Mr. Kapasi nodded. He felt suddenly parched, and his forehead was warm and slightly numb from the balm. He considered asking Mrs. Das for a sip of water, then decided against it.
Here, Mrs. Das reveals that she has told “no one at all” this secret before “tilting her chin” in a way that is easy to read as flirtatious. That Mr. Kapasi “suddenly” feels “parched,” his forehead “warm and slightly numb,” also suggests that there is an erotic energy to their interaction and he is, as a result, nervous.
When Mrs. Das reveals, later in the scene, that she is only telling Mr. Kapasi this because of his professional experience as an “interpreter of maladies,” he tells her, “I don’t understand,” communicating that, like readers, he believed her to be seeking intimacy with him for another purpose. This is one of the many times in the story when Mr. Kapasi’s fantasies keep him from seeing reality for what it is. After this interaction, however, he lets go of his delusion about their potential love affair, resigning himself to living an unhappy life with his current wife.
Related Themes:
