Lahiri’s “Interpreter of Maladies” is a short story that deals with the stereotypes and cultural differences between Americans and Indians. Lahiri noticed these stereotypes as a Bengali woman raised in America. “Interpreter of Maladies” is just one part of her book, called Interpreter of Maladies consisting of nine short stories that deal with correlating themes. This particular story is about a middle-aged Indian man, Mr. Kapasi, who is giving a tour of India to an American family, called the Das family. As the characters interact, the reader learns that both Mr. Kapasi and Mrs. Das have been living unhappy marriages and Mrs. Das confides in him when she learns his job is to literally translate people’s problems. Mrs. Das reveals to Mr. Kapasi that she cheated on her husband and tries to find support and justification from him. The interactions of these characters express the stereotypes that Lahiri observed during her time in India and America. These interactions convey the reason for Mrs. Das’s behavior and her detached from her children because of the pressure of her stereotype as a mother. The gender theory criticism can be used to analyze the use of feminism and the role of women in this story. The stereotypical mother takes care of the children while the father works. This is how Mr. Kapasi’s family…show more content… Das and Mr. Kapasi’s wife have noticeably different cultures and problems but still tend to fall into similar behaviors. Mrs. Das and Mr. Kapasi’s wife are both Indian but Mrs. Das was raised in America so she was conformed to the American way of living. For example, there are distinct clothing differences between them. Mr. Kapasi realizes these differences at the temple,
“Though Mr. Kapasi had been to the temple countless times, it occurred to him, as he, too, gazed at the topless women, that he had never seen his own wife fully naked…He had, of course, seen plenty of bare limbs before, belonging to the American and European ladies who took his
