The Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri is an example of Post Modernism because it focuses on the truth and interpretation of each character as it has meaning for them. The story talks about the truths of each person as individuals and not as related to the other characters in the story. Each person’s perspective stands alone, and is independent of the other character’s perspective. The short story gives different individual interpretations based on the same situation as shown when Mrs. Das and Mr. Kapasi started to talk about Mr. Kapasi’s job. Mrs. Das was impressed with his position as an interpreter for a doctor. Mrs. Das thought his job was “romantic” and important and told him so. Mr. Kapasi thought his job was a sad position to be in. An example of this is the conversation between Mrs. Das and Mr. Kapasi, where Mrs. Das stated, “Interesting. I’ve never heard of anything like that” (Lahiri 50). Mr. Kapasi replied “It’s a job like any other” (Lahiri 50).
The story is also an example of Post Modernism because it showed the different perspectives Mrs. Das and Mr. Kapasi had on his occupation. Each person’s reality showed in their individual perspectives. Mr. Kapasi saw his job as a personal failure, and a concrete example is this is when the author wrote, “He had dreamed of being an interpreter for diplomats and dignitaries. Resolving conflicts between people and nations, settling disputes of which he alone could understand both sides” (Lahiri 52). On the other hand, Mrs. Das saw his job as even more important than the doctors. This showed when she said, “In a way, more dependent on you then than the doctor” (Lahiri 51). Each character was viewing the same situation but through a different lens.
The complexity of human relationships in the story was a sign of Post Modernism. It created a new perspective for Mr. Kapasi at the end when he realized Mrs. Das wasn’t what he interpreted her to be. In the beginning, Mr. Kapasi thought “She did not behave in a romantic way toward her husband, and yet she had used the word to describe him” (Lahiri 53). Mr. Kapasi thought that she was the love of his life. At the end, he realized Mrs. Das didn’t care about him when he thought, “It crushed him: he knew at that moment that he was not even important enough to be properly insulted” (Lahiri 66). Mr. Kapasi interpreted Mrs. Das’ attention as a sign of romantic interest in him but in actuality it wasn’t.
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