Jhumpa Lahiri wrote the short story “Mrs. Sen’s” as part of his book Interpreter of Melodies. The story features the difficulties that an Indian woman faces with her assimilation process into the US culture. The theme of loneliness and isolation is prevalent in the story, as the two main characters, Mrs. Sen and Eliot, are secluded and desolate. Eliot is an eleven-year-old American boy who is left under the care of Mrs. Sen since his mother works throughout the day. Mrs. Sen migrated from India into the US to accompany her husband, who works as a mathematics professor. Although Eliot and Mrs. Sen spend the afternoons together, their lives outside of one another lack social connections and community.
Both Mrs. Sen and Eliot encounter very few people every day. In the entire town, Mrs. Sen only knows Mr. Sen, Eliot, his mother, and the person who sells her fish. On the other hand, Eliot has no family or friends except his mother. The only other people in his life are the Sens. Although he goes to school, Eliot never speaks about classmates, teachers, or school friends as children of his age would do. In addition, his mother is constantly absent from his life because she is a single mother who must meet the demands of her job and raise a child at the same time.
Mr. Sen and Eliot’s mother are constantly working and only arrive home in the evenings. In one instance, Mrs. Sen asks Eliot if he ever misses his mother in the afternoons, but he does not even think about it. The fact that a child does not think about his mother’s absence indicates that Eliot is emotionally disconnected from his mother. Unlike Eliot, who seems to have accepted his loneliness and agreed to suffer in silence, Mrs. Sen expects her husband to be around and help with collecting the fish whenever it is needed. Therefore, when he cannot come, she weeps in front of Eliot. While Mrs. Sen and Eliot spend the afternoons together, Eliot does not speak much or share his life experiences with her, showing how emotionally distant he is from her.
Community life is lacking in the American neighborhood where Eliot and Mrs. Sen are living. As the summer has ended, so has tourist season, leaving the beaches and seaside towns empty and deserted. The emptiness is seen in the few bus passengers and the isolation of Eliot’s beach. In addition, many stores at the beach have closed down for the winter, and Mrs. Sen and Eliot, during their bus trip, have nowhere to sit as they enjoy their clam cakes because “the picnic tables were no longer in use” (Lahiri 144). The author contrasts the main characters’ isolation by showing a vibrant community among college students and nursing home residents.
A boyfriend and girlfriend in the bus show emotional attachment to each other by holding hands, which is a rarity in Eliot and Mrs. Sen’s world. The older women from the nursing home enjoyed one another’s company as they ate lozenges. The difference between Eliot and Mrs. Sen’s residential area and the nursing home women shows their deep loneliness and isolation. The quietness reminds Mrs. Sen of her Indian community in Calcutta, where during celebrations at their home, women would “sit in an enormous circle on the roof of our building, laughing and gossiping and slicing fifty kilos of vegetables through the night” (Lahiri 128). America’s silence and quietness leave her unable to sleep at night.
Mrs. Sen and Eliot’s isolation and loneliness are so entrenched that nothing succeeds in saving them from it. Lahiri points to the possibility of inescapable and worsening isolation for the two characters. To begin with, their staying together does not relieve the loneliness as they fail to bond and establish a relationship. On the one hand, Eliot is so used to his isolation that he accepts it as part of his being. On the other hand, Mrs. Sen only craves a reunion with his Indian family, failing to establish a warm relationship with the people in his environment in America. Their need for connection is depicted in their longing to see and speak to each other.
When comparing his mother’s house to Mrs. Sen’s place, Eliot prefers staying at the Sens. He describes their house as cold and finds it dull to play alone on the beach. On the contrary to this lonely description of his house and its surroundings, Eliot found Mrs. Sen’s apartment to be warm and even enjoyed watching her as she chopped vegetables and other things. Since Mr. Sen was not talkative, Mrs. Sen talked to Eliot more often than her husband, but their conversations were not helpful. Although they notice each other’s loneliness, they do not attempt to talk about it or eliminate the isolation. For instance, Mrs. Sen shares her mental anguish with Eliot, who lacks the emotional capability to console her. Similarly, when she inquires about Eliot missing his mother, the discussion does not enable a conversation on his feelings and needs.
As the story nears the end, the author points out that isolation and loneliness only continue and grow into the future. This indication is confirmed by Mrs. Sen when he tells Eliot, “You already taste the way things must be” (Lahiri 134). The words ‘must be’ point to the future of loneliness that they have to endure. Mrs. Sen even thinks that Eliot is better prepared for this future than his upbringing, which contrasts with her community-filled childhood. In another instance, Mrs. Sen points to the lonely future when he explains to Eliot how he will forget his mother in a nursing home later when she is old. Her forecasting of the situations that would prevent Eliot from visiting his mother every day shows that she is beginning to understand how impracticalities and long distances avoid connections. In these words, Mrs. Sen also paints a picture of little American towns and cities where community relationships are lost to solitude. During the last passage, Mrs. Sen gives up on driving and locks herself up to cry while the mother takes Eliot away, never to return to the Sens or get another babysitter. These endings show that both characters end in more isolation and loneliness.
In conclusion, Mrs. Sen’s is a story that shows the loneliness and isolation of its two main characters. Both Mrs. Sen and Eliot encounter very few people every day. Mr. Sen and Eliot’s mother, who should be their close companions, are constantly working and only arrive home in the evenings. Additionally, community life is lacking in the American neighborhood where Eliot and Mrs. Sen are living. As the story nears the end, the author points out that isolation and loneliness only continue and grow into the future.
Work cited
Lahiri, Jhumpa. “Mrs. Sen.” Interpreter of Maladies. London: Harper Collins, 2000, pp. 123-147.