Mrs. Sen's

“She wore a shimmering white sari patterned with orange paisleys, more suitable for an evening affair than for that quiet, faintly drizzling August afternoon.”

Eliot immediately notices the color of Mrs. Sen’s sari because she is dressed so differently from his mom. The colorful saris that Mrs. Sen wears are attached to her identity as an Indian American. She longs for occasions to wear her saris since she often only stays inside the apartment cooking for Mr. Sen.

“The mention of the word [India] seemed to release something in her. She neatened the border of her sari where it rose diagonally across her chest. She, too, looked around the room, as if she noticed in the lampshades, in the teapot, in the shadows frozen on the carpet, something the rest of them could not. ‘Everything is there.’”

The word “India” triggers nostalgia and feelings of homesickness in Mrs. Sen. She misses her life and loved ones in India and feels sad when thinking about her life in America with Mr. Sen. This quote shows how the mention of India causes a change in her mood and behavior, as the person who lived in India is a different person from the current Mrs. Sen.

“‘Whenever there is a wedding in the family,’ she told Eliot one day, ‘or a large celebration of any kind, my mother sends out word in the evening for all the neighborhood women to bring blades just like this one, and they sit in an enormous circle on the roof of our building, laughing and gossiping and slicing fifty kilos of vegetables through the night […] Here, in this place where Mr. Sen has brought me, I cannot sometimes sleep in so much silence.”

Mrs. Sen connects with Eliot by sharing the customs of her previous life in India, where community was very important to her. While Mrs. Sen experienced noisiness and lively company in India, she is overwhelmed by the silence of her apartment in America. This quote highlights her feelings of Alienation from Community and nostalgia for her past life as well as Lahiri’s use of dialect as a characterization tool.

“‘Is it Beethoven?’ she asked once, pronouncing the first part of the composer’s name not ‘bay,’ but ‘bee,’ like the insect.”

Mrs. Sen and Eliot have conversations in the car when Mrs. Sen is practicing driving. Driving makes Mrs. Sen anxious, but she feels better when Eliot is in the car with her. This quote highlights Lahiri’s use of dialect. Lahiri’s inclusion of Mrs. Sen’s pronunciation of Beethoven adds to the sounds and imagery of the scene, and it shows the language barrier that Mrs. Sen faces.

“Subsequently she spoke in her own language, rapid and riotous to Eliot’s ears; it was clear that she was reading the contents of the letter, word by word. As she read her voice was louder and seemed to shift in key. Though she stood plainly before him, Eliot had the sensation that Mrs. Sen was no longer present in the room with the pear-colored carpet.”

Eliot sees a change come over Mrs. Sen as she reads a letter that she received from her family in India. The noise of Mrs. Sen’s native language is unusual to Eliot’s ears, but he can tell that she is overjoyed to receive news from home. By transporting her away from her current life, the letter revitalizes Mrs. Sen, who is typically melancholy performing her daily routines.

“My sister has had a baby girl. By the time I see her, depending if Mr. Sen gets his tenure, she will be three years old. Her own aunt will be a stranger. If we sit side by side on a train she will not know my face.”

Mrs. Sen is deeply regretful for missing important moments in her family’s life. She makes sacrifices because of Mr. Sen’s job and knows she will not be able to see her family for a long time. Mrs. Sen longs for her life in India, which seems too far away from her small apartment in America.

“When I was your age I was without knowing that one day I would be so far. You are wiser than that, Eliot. You already taste the way things must be.”

Mrs. Sen notices that Eliot is a sensitive and observant boy, and she tells him that he is wise. Mrs. Sen and Eliot form a bond because they both lack emotional connection in their most important relationship. Lahiri uses this passage of dialogue to develop Mrs. Sen’s character, suggesting she did not know what marrying her husband and moving to America would involve.

“A few minutes later Mr. Sen would arrive, patting Eliot on the head but not kissing Mrs. Sen.”

Mr. Sen ignores his wife but greets Eliot. Mr. Sen upholds rigid gender roles in his marriage with Mrs. Sen, whom he expects to do all the cooking, cleaning, and emotional labor of the marriage. Mr. Sen comes off as callous to Mrs. Sen.

“She flung open the drawers of the bureau and the door of the closet, filled with saris of every imaginable texture and shade, brocaded with gold and silver threads. Some were transparent, tissue thin, others as thick as drapes, with tassels knotted along the edges. In the closet they were on hangers; in the drawers they were folded flat, or would tightly like thick scrolls. She sifted through the drawers, letting saris spill over the edges. ‘When have I ever worn this one? And this? And this?’”

After Mr. Sen chastises his wife for calling him at work, Mrs. Sen shows Eliot her collection of saris. The robes are intricate and beautiful, and Mrs. Sen longs for an occasion to wear them. She feels trapped and isolated in her marriage with Mr. Sen. The saris represent Mrs. Sen’s rich but unexpressed inner life and her desire to return to India.

“‘They think I live the life of a queen, Eliot.’ She looked around the blank walls of the room. ‘They think I press buttons and the house is clean. They think I live in a palace.’”

Mrs. Sen opens up to Eliot about the embarrassment she feels about the apartment she shares with Mr. Sen. She does not want to disappoint her relatives with honest descriptions of her life in America, and she mourns over the reality of her life with Mr. Sen.

“In November came a series of days when Mrs. Sen refused to practice driving. The blade never emerged from the cupboard, newspapers were not spread on the floor. She did not call the fish store, nor did she thaw chicken. In silence she prepared crackers with peanut butter for Eliot, then sat reading old aerograms from a shoebox. When it was time for Eliot to leave she gathered together his things without inviting his mother to sit on the sofa and eat something first. When, eventually his mother asked him in the car if he’d noticed a change in Mrs. Sen’s behavior, he said he hadn’t.”

Mrs. Sen has a depressive episode and refuses to cook or practice driving. Eliot sits with her as she listens to music and reads old letters from home. When Eliot’s mother asks Eliot about Mrs. Sen’s behavior, he says there has been no change in an effort to protect Mrs. Sen. With no circle of friends and no emotional intimacy with her husband, Mrs. Sen has no outlet for her frustration and disappointment. She represses her emotions, and the result is a period of depression that highlights the story’s theme of Alienation from Community.

“When Mr. Sen arrived, driven by one of his colleagues, he spoke at length with the policeman as he filled out some forms, but he said nothing to Mrs. Sen as he drove them back to the apartment. When they got out of the car, Mr. Sen patted Eliot’s head. ‘The policeman said you were lucky. Very lucky to come out without a scratch.’”

Mr. Sen doesn’t check on Mrs. Sen when arriving at the scene of her car accident. He talks to Eliot and gives his wife the silent treatment because he is angry that she has still not learned how to drive. Mr. Sen’s callousness toward his wife is noticed by Eliot, who feels unable to help her.

“As he wrote out the check he apologized on behalf of Mrs. Sen. He said she was resting, though when Eliot had gone to the bathroom he’d heard her crying. His mother was satisfied with the arrangement, and in a sense, she confessed to Eliot as they drove home, she was relieved.”

Mr. Sen apologizes to Eliot’s mom while writing her a check to refund the money for Eliot’s care. Mr. Sen seems indifferent that his wife is crying in the other room. Mr. Sen is more concerned with Eliot and his mother’s potential inconvenience than his wife is in pain. Eliot gives more attention to Mrs. Sen than her husband.