Interpreter Of Maladies

The situations that occur within the story “Interpreter of Maladies” by Jhumpa Lahiri describe the title of the short story perfectly. The character Mr. Kapasi’s main job is the “Interpreter of Maladies.” On Friday and Saturday, he is a guide for tourists. On this particular tour in the story, he meets the Das family. Mr. Kapasi interacts with the family and notices a disconnect with Mrs.Das and her family. He gets the impression from Mrs. Das that she may be interested in him personally after she shows an interest in his job. Mr. Kapasi fantasizes about affection from her only to find out that her interest only lies with his interpretation of her malady. Mr. Kapasi’s interpretation of Mrs.Das malady stops all of the fantasies he was having and brings about some affection from Mrs. Das for her child. Mr. Kapasi works in a doctor’s office as an interpreter for patients with a language barrier. He is also a tour guide on Friday and Saturday to make extra money to help cover the medical expenses that arose from the illness of his seven-year-old son years ago. His wife refuses to accept the fact that he took the job for the doctor since the doctor could not save their son. Mrs. Das thinks his job as an interpreter is “romantic

Das kept a secret from her loved ones for eight years about Bobby not belonging to her husband Raj. She feels as though Mr. Kapasi can assist her with the problem and relieve some of the anguish she feels about her infidelity and who truly is the father of her son. After confessing her secret, Mr. Kapasi is stunned and does not gaze at her the same way. She was hoping for suggestions on how to make herself feel better about the situation, but instead she receives a different response. Mr. Kapasi asks her, “Is it really pain you feel or is it guilt” (601)? She is insulted by his response. She gets out of the car and catches up with her family. Even though Mr. Kapasi is disappointed, he responds to Mrs. Das’s cry to save her son Bobby