Eliot’s mother is likely a busy woman in Mrs. Sen’s story who is unavailable to take care of her son after school. Notably, Eliot’s mother employs strangers to look after her child. This is because one of the caretakers was a vegetarian who refused to cook meat for the boy (Lahiri, 2000). Additionally, another babysitter was an alcoholic and lost her job. There is also a possibility that Eliot and his mother are isolated from family members; therefore, they struggle to find people to create strong bonds. The questions asked to Mr. and Mrs. Sen by Eliot’s mother seem unfair, bearing in mind that she leaves her only child with the couple.
It is also likely that the relationship between Eliot’s mother and her neighbors is sour. This is proved by the fact that she confronts them and asks them to lower their volume when partying (Lahiri, 2000). The bond between Eliot and his mum might also be questionable because they do not spend quality time together. For example, after spending a whole day in the workplace, she drinks wine, eats bread, and orders a pizza for Eliot, then goes out to smoke a cigarette (Lahiri, 2000). I think that Mrs. Sen’s description of being kind and responsible characterizes her as a person whose identity is centered around her household chores.
This can enable her to take good maternal care of Eliot, which his mother or other caregivers cannot provide. Mrs. Sen is a responsible person and knows how to take care of children. For example, she does not allow Eliot to walk near the blade to avoid injuries (Lahiri, 2000). It is possible that Mrs. Sen lives a lonely and isolated life because of her inability to drive. The reason is that she gets distracted and nervous during driving classes, but Eliot intervenes and explains what his mother does.
Reference
Lahiri, J. (2000). Interpreter of Maladies. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.