Analysis of Jhumpa Lahiri’s Book, Temporary Matter

In the same fashion, Shoba and Shukumar share a similar lack of honesty in A Temporary Matter,” therefore causing their marriage to crumble. Their bond degrades to the point where Shoba prepares for a life without her other half. As the beginning of where things go awry, a stillborn baby strikes them, causing their relationship to expand infinitely greater. At a time where they had needed each other the most, an unbreakable tension forms instead. The inability between them two to address what was happening, had ultimately resulted in the loss of their marriage. They became deceptive with each other, and with themselves. Without cooperation to stabilize after a traumatic event, the lack of interaction and veracity between them creates a crack in their bond. This rift leads to minimal interactions, where neither are motivated to change the issue before them. Perhaps they thought the other person was too far gone to do anything about the problem at hand. With deceitfulness and an absence of communication, Shoba soon decides to move out, the ending point of their marriage. However, the sudden power outage results in communication, that was however awkward at first, grew heartwarming. WIth conversation being such an anomaly, the two are both fearful though excited of what was to follow. The darkness somehow strips away the fear and the distance for them, leaving them able to leave their secrets in the air. Their ability to only act with genuity, was in the darkness, though this displays the brokenness and distance within their partnership. The confessions and crimes the divulge to one another depict the real foundations of their marriage. Toxicity is extremely apparent here, therefore indicating how damaged and terminating it is. With fractured interactions being the medium of their relationships, there would be difficulty in recrafting what had been done before.

Finally, the interactions between people reveal the stability, and mutual support within a relationship, as the characters have emphasized. This can lead to a weak and toxic relationship, built on the pillars of insecurity. Events can trigger distance between two person. Without either person being completely honest, or being able to communicate their feelings properly, the vulnerable continue onto their destructive courses, until it finally ends completely. Without communication driven by honesty, aren’t all relationships doomed for failure?