A Dark Secret

"Interpreter of Maladies" by Jhumpa Lahiri

Lahiri depicts natural human selfishness with "Interpreter of Maladies".  In the story, Mr. Kapasi, an Indian tour guide, accompanies the Das family as they travel around India and see many beautiful sights including sacred primates and a Hindu temple.  Almost immediately, Kapasi observes the poor relationship between Mr. and Mrs. Das and begins to envision himself with his eldest female passenger.  Kapasi acts selfishly, thinking not of how his actions could ruin the Das family and his own, but of how personally gratifying living with the young Mrs. Das would be.  His motivation for admiring Mrs. Das, her recognition of his intellectual ability and the difficulty of his career, can be seen as selfish as well.  Later in the novel, Mrs. Das acts even more self-centered than Kapasi's musings paint him out to be.  She recalls a dark secret, "He's [Bobby] not Raj's son", to Mr. Kapasi, a complete stranger, and thus places an incredible burden on him (Lahiri).  Should he inform Mr. Das of his wife's infidelity?  Should he try to help Mrs. Das divorce her husband and move on with her life?  Is any interference in the situation justifiable?  All of these thoughts and more must have raced through Kapasi's head, but Mrs. Das was only concerned with how Kapasi could help her fix this "eight years . . . in pain" she had gotten herself into (Lahiri).  These selfish human acts, centered around depreciated love and affection, that Lahiri depicts reinforce the need for selflessness in relating to others.  If one wishes to experience long-lasting positive relationships, he must overcome his selfishness and instead behave selflessly in caring for others and maintaining his affection for them.