A Temporary Matter

The “close third” narration focuses on Shukumar’s point of view. He is the connection between the reader and the events of the house. As a deeply insecure, 35-year-old “mediocre student,” Shukumar is hardly ever awake to see Shoba leave for work. The narration depicts him as experiencing depression. For the past three months, he has been struggling through the final bits of his dissertation, a project that he is not optimistic about completing. Shukumar feels emasculated by Shoba’s professional determination and has isolated himself in their Boston home. Shukumar is also jealous of Shoba’s connection to her cultural past, and he struggles with his own cultural identity. After coming down with a case of dysentery on his first trip to India as a young boy, his parents opted to leave him home in Massachusetts when they returned to India moving forward. He never had the same opportunity as Shoba to develop his Indian identity. It was not until Shukumar’s father died during Shukumar’s final year of college that he developed an interest in his background. He envies Shoba’s upbringing in India and laments that he was unable to have his own cultural experiences in his homeland: “He wished now that he had his own childhood story of India” (12).