Intricate Facts and Literary Devices in a Temporary Matter by Jhumpa Lahiri’s

A persons life revolves around the little thingsa moment of silence, a time filled with laughter, a period of hope. It is this theme that is conveyed in Jhumpa Lahiris short story, A Temporary Matter. Through the selected passage, the reader connects with the theme: Life is too short; life is a temporary matter. This theme is supported through three elements in the passage: the title, the baby and the concept of leaving. Each of these facets is seen through the use of the literary elements of metaphor, irony and foreshadow.

A Temporary Matter follows the deterioration of a marriage. This journey happens over a period of one week where Shukumar hopes that he and his wife, Shoba, will rekindle their love. The passage that is to be analyzed is reflective of a time in their marriage that is distilled and almost frozen to the reader. However, this passage emphasizes the importance of the theme in this short story, through the inclusiveness of the three key aforementioned literary elements.

The title of this short story, A Temporary Matter, is a metaphor for life and, in particular, the life of the married couple: Shukumar and Shoba. While the title is a metaphor for life, it also foreshadows the past and present relationship between Shukumar and Shoba. Specifically, it highlights how their marriage was, and always will be, a temporary matter. The title of this work is also ironic. This is demonstrated through its questioning of a fundamental value in society that life and marriage is full of happiness and an asset that is worthy of celebration. This convention is challenged through the title and presents a contrary view of marriage namely, that from the outset it is temporary and doomed to failure. While this may be an increasingly typical feature of marriage in a contemporary sense, it is rarely a view that is taken into the relationship by consenting couples. Lahiri also explores the idea that life is a temporary experience through the use of the literary element, foreshadow. In essence the author is preparing the reader to understand that what lies in the pages before them is but a temporary journey for her characters. The title, therefore, significantly emphasizes the thematic concept of the story: Life is too short; it is a temporary matter.

A further convention that is challenged is creation. While new life is typically portrayed as bringing joy and happiness into many peoples lives, the baby in this passage of A Temporary Matter could not contrast more distinctly with these emotions. The depiction of the baby is metaphoric and, again foreshadows the relationship of the couple. The sanctity of a couples union is through their children. The concept of a stillborn child, therefore, challenges convention that children should not predecease their parents. It also exemplifies that the marriage was never alive to begin with. It was dead, limp and lifeless like the baby. The more Shoba stayed at work...the more [Shukumar] wanted to stay in (Lahiri 2). Happy endings never quite work out as planned. In this case, the marriage was over, almost before it started. Marriage is a strong bond between two people. Its place in society is protected and considered sacred. Lahiri, however, challenges its perception of permanency through life is too short; life is a temporary matter.

Foreshadow is also used to tie together the critical themes of this passage through the notion of departure. The concept of leaving is another societal norm that attracts strong emotions and, usually, a sense of lossin this context, abandonment. The passage being examined is a composite of flashbacks, which illustrate to the reader the sense of a persons inability to let go. This is portrayed when Shukumar travels in the cab and leaves Shoba. Each time Shukumar thought of that moment, the last moment he saw Shoba pregnant, it was the cab he remembered most (3). This sense of abandonment reoccurs during an important flashback, and signifies how life can change quickly from Shoba standing with her arm resting on the mound of her belly as if it were a perfectly natural part of her, to Shoba ...lying on a bed, asleep (3). The motif of leaving also foreshadows Shukumar and Shobas relationship and how one will leave the other. The illustration of the trees still heavy with bronze leaves (3) foreshadows the drooping of the relationship and the approaching feeling of death.

Jhumpa Lahiris, A Temporary Matter, conveys the theme of Life is too short; life is a temporary matter This theme is depicted through literary devices, such as metaphor, irony, and foreshadow. These aspects, in turn, emphasize certain parts of the short story that support the theme: the title, the baby, and the concept of leaving.