Conflict in the home

The story "Mrs. Sen's" by Jhumpa Lahiri is a very sad tale indeed. Mrs. Sen is unfortunately unhappy with her new life and home in the United States and misses India dearly. It appears that she is saddened not only by her homesickness, but the inability for her husband to show the compassion that she desires. It appears by the way that Mr. and Mrs. Sen's presented is that it is more of a required relationship then a loving. This would lead one to believe that their marriage could of been earlier arranged and they had no choice. Although some arranged marriage's work and the two people become loving to one another it seems that this as yet to happen, which is one of the many reasons I believe Mrs. Sen wants to begin babysitting so she is able to have someone to talk to and possibly relate with. I think that Eliot is very similar to Mrs. Sen in that he doesn't always receive the tender loving care that he both desires and needs.

One passage in the story gives off a very awkward vibe and I think describes Mr. and Mrs. Sen's relationship. When the author describes the Sen's apartment when they finally received company it appears that they are trying to promote an ideal image of a family and home. However, it is my belief that this is all just a cover up to hide what the real emotions and conflicts are in their relationship. One particular sentence I believe is a good metaphor to describe what is really going on in their home, "White drum-shaped lampshades flanking the sofa..." The author's word choice is very important here, the drums could be a symbol for the drums of war and she uses the word flanking, which is another description of a war tactic. I think this relation to war is trying to describe the awkwardness of their relationship and marital conflicts that are taking place. (Shawn Parkhurst, 1)