Yesterday
in class we talked a little about how all of the stories in the collection fit
together. What some people said, is that they have similar themes and plots but
not so much as to make the book repetitive. One common pattern that I noticed
throughout the stories was found in the endings. We joke about how there haven’t
been many happy endings this semester, and that is also true in this collection
where many of the endings are about people splitting up. Splitting up whether
it be a relationship, a friend leaving, or simply two people never seeing each
other again. Thus, because the finale to many of this story is an ending of
some kind of relationship, I believe that this collection could in fact be
titled “A Temporary Matter”.
Now let’s
look at a couple of the stories and see how they would fit in this newly titled
collection. The first of course has to be “A Temporary Matter”. In this short
story, which is now the title story, there are a lot of possible examples of a
temporary matter. In class we named a few: The electricity being out, the two
character’s relationship, and their game. All of these, but especially the
ending of a relationship would fit very well under this new title.
The next
story that has the common ending of something splitting would be “When Mr.
Pirzada Came to Dine”. In this story, we are shown the young life of a girl as
her relationship with Mr. Pirzada grows. The majority of the plot focuses on
their interactions and the end of the story is when the war ends and the Mr.
Pirzada leaves to be with his family. Near the end of “When Mr. Pirzada Came to
Dine”, the narrator receives a letter Mr. Pirzada saying that he and his family
were ok, and the narrator’s response is: “Though I had not seen him for months,
it was only then that I felt Mr. Pirzada’s absence.” This is just one example
of how this story’s relationship was temporary.
Another
story in this collection that fit into the theme of relationships being
temporary is “A Real Durwan”. This story which focuses on Boori Ma, features a
number different relationships that are central to the plot. The most important
of these relationships though, is that of the apartment building as a community
and Boori Ma. You can in essence group all the tenants in the building together
with respect to how they treat Boori Ma. As we said in class, they are nice to
Boori Ma, and they act like they care about her well-being, which counts as
some form of relationship. Yet once again it all falls apart at the end of the story.
The people of the apartment like Boori Ma as long as everything goes well, but
as soon as the sink is stolen, she is blamed and the relationship breaks apart.
The community feels that Boori Ma is not worth keeping around, and she is cast
out with no money, which is one of the more severe endings to a temporary
relationship.
The final
story that I will talk about that features this common theme is “Mrs. Sen’s”.
If you don’t remember, in this story a young boy stays with an Indian woman
throughout the day, and they become pretty good friends. Throughout this story
we see a stark contrast between the boy’s life at home vs his (Elliot’s) life
at Mrs. Sen’s house. Mrs. Sen’s is much nicer, warmer, and more loving and so
naturally Elliot forms a relationship with Mrs. Sen. The end of the story
though, just like the previous ones, will break apart the bond that they had.
It ends with a “minor car crash”, and after that Elliot’s mother gives him a
key and lets him stay at his own home after school. We assume that he never
sees Mrs. Sen again, marking once again the end to a temporary matter, that being
their friendship.
I think
that if the title was changed to “A Temporary Matter” then the collection would
still work, only our focus on what is important might change, but I’d like to
hear if you guys think the same thing.
This is a really good post, Alexandre! I agree; the title "A Temporary Matter" would fit this collection very well. The stories aren't about people getting in fights and breaking up; they're about people slowly drifting away. For example, in "Sexy," Dev just gradually disappears from Miranda's life; he is certainly a temporary matter. However, I still think that the title "Interpreter of Maladies" has such a mysterious and nice ring to it :)
ReplyDeleteI agree as well! I didn't realize how nicely "A Temporary Matter" as the title of this collection would fit. Even in the title story, "Interpreter of Maladies", the relationship between Mr. Kapasi and Mrs. Das was an interpreter matter. The majority of the story is a build up towards their relationship, but it ends when Mr. Kapasi learns the truth of Mrs. Das pass. It doesn't quite fit into Mr. Kapasi's fantasy image that he painted of Mrs. Das. Though Mrs. Das was the one to "initiate" the relationship, Mr. Kapasi is the one that let's it go.
ReplyDeleteGreat and creative post! I also really like how you go through so many stories in the book and write out why this title works. I agree that “A Temporary Matter” could have been a good title for the collection and made it have a different feel. I was just writing a post about “The Third and Final Continent,” and maybe that’s the only story with a relationship that’s not temporary? I’m thinking it could be kind of funny to have that last story titled something like “More than a Temporary Matter.”
ReplyDeleteThis title would also work well for my somewhat optimistic reading of "This Blessed House," as I believe the tension and ill communication between Twinkle and Sanjeev is indeed a temporary matter, a period of adjustment and getting to know one another. The successful arranged marriage in "Third and Final Continent" encourages this reading, since we see what look like even more insurmountable hurdles in their case, which they get past as they start to warm to each other.
ReplyDeleteI also like the "Temporary Matter" title as it has an existential weight as well--a question of time, of lives stuck in time, playing out through these small, daily interactions. It's *all* a "temporary matter," in this sense.