In the Interpreter of Maladies the dynamics of the Das family are explored through their tour guide, Mr. Kapasi as they visit India. The main focus is on Mrs. Das or Mina who after minimal interaction with her children, The little girl stuck out a hand. "Mine too. Mommy, do mine too." "Leave me alone," Mrs. Das said, blowing on her nail and turning her body slightly. "You’re making me mess up.", comes off as a an uncaring mother. Throughout the story Mr. and Mrs. Das seem to be more like siblings to their children rather than parents having the children refer to them by their first names. "Mr. Kapasi found it strange that Mr. Das should refer to his wife by her first name when speaking to the little girl." Later in the story while talking maybe even flirting with their tour guide, Mrs. Das tells Mr. Kapasi that her son, Bobby, isn't her husbands that he is a product of an affair she had with a friend of her husbands. Though Flirting with a married women is unethical it becomes a moot point because after Mrs. Das confession, Mr. Kapasi's crush on her and his respect for her begins to fade.
He thinks I’m still in love with him. Well, don’t you have anything to say?" "About what?" "About what I've just told you. About my secret, and about how terrible it makes me feel. I feel terrible looking at my children, and at Raj, always terrible. I have terrible urges, Mr. Kapasi, to throw things away. One day I had the urge to throw everything I own out the window, the television, the children, everything. Don’t you think it’s unhealthy?"
If Mrs. Das knows she no longer loves her husband then the ethical thing to do would be to tell him that along with the fact that Bobby isn't his son. However I don't think she ever will because it would disrupt her life more than she wants. I also think she cares at least a little about her children because she knows her son will be hurt the most by the truth coming out. I unfortunately can relate to this situation, my cousin's "father" isn't his biological father. While my Aunt was briefly separated from her long time partner she slept with another man and became pregnant with my cousin. Now I think my Uncle knows but I don't know if my cousin is aware or even the man my she slept with knows. I haven't told him myself because it is not my place to tell him but there is still some guilt I hold in not telling him. I think if my cousin ever did find out he would be that surprised but it would also make sense because when you compare him to his siblings he stands out as not looking like them. The situation reminds me of Ross and Rachel's "break" in the T.V Show Friends, but instead of Ross sleeping with someone else its the other way around and my Aunt ended up pregnant.
When Mrs. Das asks for an interpretation of her marriage, expecting to be coddled Mr. Kapasi is in turn blunt and honest with her: " Is it really pain you feel, Mrs. Das, or is it guilt?". The issue of guilt is a central theme in the story. I believe that Mrs. Das's guilt is personified through the monkeys in the story. They symbolize the guilt of her affair that she always has in the back of her mind, always lurking. And as a result of her airing out her affair to the interpreter, a complete stranger, the object of her guilt, Bobby, is attacked by the monkeys.
Even though she sometimes gets the urge to "throw away her children" there are worse mothers than Mrs. Das: 13 of the World’s Worst Mothers
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