In his short story “The Third and Final Continent,” Jhumpa Lahiri barrows the perspective of a 36-year-old Indian man to tell the story of immigrants’ assimilation to the United States, a new home with new opportunities. In the unfamiliar surrounding of Cambridge, Massachusett , the narrator interacts with two women who become quintessential to his life; his landlord Mrs. Croft and his wife Mala.
Mrs. Croft, a 103-year-old and old-fashioned woman, slowly becomes a mother figure to the narrator. Although she is physically very weak (understandably so, given her advanced age), not being able to properly walk without canes nor open cans, she still remains strong, independent, and mentally able. In her first encounter with the narrator, she demands him to “Say ‘Splendid’” and agree with her sentiments about the moon landing. The narrator becomes more attached to Mrs. Croft during his stay at her house. He regularly spends time with her, sitting on the piano bench together and chatting. When the narrator hands her the envelop of rent money, Mrs. Croft seems to be impressed with his manners and kindness. The narrator feels compassionate towards Mrs. Croft after he learns from Helen, Mrs. Croft’s daughter, that she had been widowed a long time ago, yet remained a strong figure who provided for the family as best as she could; a complete opposite to the narrator’s mother who becomes irreparable after being widowed. He constantly worries about the Mrs. Croft's fading health.
The narrator’s relationship with Mrs. Croft does not end even after he moves out of her house in order to find a new home to accommodate Mala. After an awkward beginning to their marriage, Mala and the narrator visits Mrs. Croft who has broken her hip and is bedridden. Mrs. Croft is pleased by the way Mala dresses and approves her; “a perfect lady.” It is through Mrs. Croft’s approval and presence that Mala and the narrator shares a meaningful moment that bonds them together as a couple.
The dynamic between Mala and the narrator is slightly different from that between Mrs. Croft and the narrator. Mala and the narrator gets married through an arranged marriage in India, right after which the narrator leaves to take a job in America, leaving Mala separated from her husband for the first weeks of their marriage. Therefore, Mala and the narrator are a married couple, yet complete strangers.
Despite her angst over marriage (she cries because she misses her family), Mala tries extremely hard to please the narrator. Although they barely talk, she still attempts to make the narrator feel at home at their new house as she furnishes it. After sharing a moment at Mrs. Croft’s house, the couple finally connect, and lead a happy life together in the beautiful suburb of Boston.
Although the way the characters interact is a bit different, both Mrs. Croft and Mala are invaluable to the narrator’s journey to find a new life in America, the third and final continent where he searches for his happiness.
I like how you bring up the narrator’s developing relationship with “two women who become quintessential to his life; his landlord Mrs. Croft and his wife Mala.” I find it interesting how, though these two women have almost nothing in common, the narrator grows relationships with them in similar ways—through sympathy. You say “the narrator feels compassionate towards Mrs. Croft after he learns… that she had been widowed a long time ago, yet remained a strong figure who provided for the family.” The narrator’s bonds with Mrs. Croft stems from a strong sense of sympathy and respect. His affection towards women stems from sympathy. While previously completely indifferent towards his wife Mala, he first feels any emotion toward her when she adjusts “her sari over her head” and he recalls his cultural adjustments when he first moved to America (195). He relates Mala because he experienced the same acculturation process of moving to America.
ReplyDeleteI also felt as though how the narrator chose to describe building relationships was an extremely strong part of this story. I liked how you pointed out the differences in what could look like a simular situation.
ReplyDelete"The dynamic between Mala and the narrator is slightly different from that between Mrs. Croft and the narrator. Mala and the narrator gets married through an arranged marriage in India, right after which the narrator leaves to take a job in America, leaving Mala separated from her husband for the first weeks of their marriage. Therefore, Mala and the narrator are a married couple, yet complete strangers. "
I think in general, The third and final continent was an interesting commentary on what it means to be a stranger. In an arranged marriage you are married to a stranger and yet expected to act as though you were made for each other. And this style of relationship and marriage worked for thousands of years, so clearly there must be something to it. To me it brought up the idea of duty and happiness, and how love is such a modern construct. We live in a culture where love is idealized, and yet the divorce rate is over 50%. Perhaps the institute of marriage was meant to be built on duty and not love.