Jhumpa Lahiris Interpreter of Maladies Summary of This...

SUMMARY When moving into a new house, newlyweds Twinkle and Sanjeev find Christian icons everywhere. The first is a porcelain effigy of Jesus found next to a bottle of malt vinegar left in the kitchen by the previous owners. Sanjeev tells his wife to throw both away, reminding her that they are not Christian. He feels that he has had to remind Twinkle of the obvious several times when moving in. But Twinkle is attached to the figurine and places it on the mantle – which Sanjeev notices needs dusting. Over the course of the week, Twinkle finds more items and places each on the mantle. Sanjeev doesn’t understand why his wife is so charmed by the snow globes, statuettes and 3D postcards. By the end of the week, Twinkle grows dismayed that†¦show more content†¦He thinks of sweeping the figurines off of the mantle and into the trash in silence. Sanjeev finds Twinkle’s discarded shoes and places them in the doorway of their master bedroom. For the first time since they married, the shoes create a pang of anticipation in Sanjeev. He thinks of Twinkle slipping her soles into the shoes, touching up her lipstick and rushing to hand out their guests’ coats at the end of the night. It reminds him of the anticipation he would feel before one of their long talks when she was still living in California. Twinkle’s voice rings out. The party has found an enormous silver bust of Jesus in the attic. She asks if they can put it on the mantle, just for the night. Sanjeev hates it, especially because she loves it so much, and he knows it will never find a home in her study as she promises. He knows she will have to explain to their guests to come, in their many years together. She rejoins the party and he follows. ANALYSIS This Blessed House is another exploration of love and marriage and the effects of communication. Sanjeev and Twinkle are newlyweds who have known each other for only a short time. Though their marriage is not an arranged one in the traditional sense, they are matched by their parents and wed after only a brief, long-distance courtship. It is this long-distance aspect to their relationship that both helps and hurts the marriage. Twinkle and Sanjeev do not