A Temporary Matter

 In the short story "A Temporary Matter" by Jhumpa Lahiri it tells the story of a married couple and their struggles to be together. The tone of the story is extremely grim. At the beginning of the story Lahiri paints the picture of a bleak marriage. After the still birth the romance is gone and there is nothing left for the family. Shoba, once someone who cared dearly about organization has turned into a slob. The tone of the story remains bleak, but then rises once they begin this game. As this game goes on it appears to the reader that the love has been rekindled. The attitude at this time seems optimistic as this marriage may be salvaged. This is symbolized by they have sex again. This leads the reader to believe that the rough times are past them and that they have finally gotten over the pain of the still birth. However, the end crushes this hope as Shoba reveals she wants to move out and this deteriorates to Shukmar telling her the gender of the baby. The attitude is like a mountain in this story. It starts out depressing gets optimistic then spirals back to depressing. The attitude contribute to the theme of the importance of having an open dialogue with your spouse. The struggles in their marriage had been brought about by internalizing their pain. They tried to move past the still birth but they could not. The game allowed them to finally vent what was going on and talk about their worries and tell secrets. This dialogue improves their relationship again. However the communication comes back to them at the end as Shukmar in a rage drops the bomb that he knew all along the gender of their baby rehashing the pain of the death.