Bahmanpour Summary

         This journal views the difficult transition of adapting to two cultures that Indians and Indian-American’s face in Jhumpa Lahiri’s Interpreter of Maladies. Specifically, the author looks to explore the transformation and creation of new cultural ideas of females in the short stories “This Blessed House”, “The Treatment of Bibi Heldar”, Mrs. Sen”, and “Sexy”. He evaluates the success or failure of cultural assimilation of the woman in the stories by viewing their responds to new cultural traditions and utilizing research from Bhaba, Spivak and other scholars.

            Bahmanpour first introduces key phrases that represent the different identities presented by female characters. The first is that of “hybrid” identity, described as appropriating both cultures. The second is “liminal” identity, being amid both identities not crossing the border to one or the other. A third term defined to describe Lahiri’s female characters is “mimicry”, a feeling of unease by an individual when they appropriate a new culture. Bahanpour then goes on to assess the transformation of new cultural ideas, beginning with Mrs.Sen. He states that in “Mrs. Sens” the female characters attempts to escape anytime she is faced with the process of adaption to American culture. Mrs. Sen avoids doing certain things and retells stories to feel at home. Ultimately, she ends up driving meaning there is hope in her to develop her liminal identity. The second story viewed is “This Blessed House”. Bahmanpour concludes that Twinkle is a successful second-generation Indian, she has adapted more than her male counterpart Sanjeev. She displays a hybridity identity, as she accepts aspects of American culture such as the Christian figures without a feeling of guilt. The author then evaluates Bibi Halder’s cultural transition in “The treatment of Bibi Haldar”. Bibi has to appropriate aspects of femininity typical of Indian woman, becoming a wife, a mother, and being beautiful. She is faced with mimicry, as she fails to appropriate the Indian gender roles, however she evolves into a hybridity identity by birthing a son, yet not being a wife. The last story viewed is “Sexy”. In contrast to the previous stories, this one deals with Miranda an American attempting to appropriate Indian traditions. Although she studies the culture and attempts to replicate the actions, Dev her Indian lover, doesn’t allow her to do so, and her attempt fails.

            Bahmanpour posits that each woman in the different stories deal with the transformation of cultural identities in different ways. However, he concludes identities are always in a process of transformation and “becoming”; Lahiri’s role is only to give an individual voice to portray each woman’s struggle. The journal exemplifies another form in which a literary analysis can be executed.