Guilt and Grief
In “A Temporary Matter,” Shukumar and his wife, Shoba, suffer from unresolved grief. Six months before the story takes place, the couple was about to have their first baby. They’d been married for only a few years and were very much in love. However, three weeks before the baby’s due date, while Shukumar was away at an academic conference, Shoba went into early labor and suffered a stillbirth. Now, both husband and wife grieve…
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The Difficulty of Communication
When their power company shuts off the electricity for one hour each night, Shoba and Shukumar are forced to dine together or eat alone in darkness. The couple chooses the former, and at Shoba’s insistence they soon find themselves trading secrets back and forth. As one night dissolves into the next, Shoba and Shukumar open up for the first time since their baby’s stillbirth, and they discover that they’ve kept many secrets from one…
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The Limits of Planning
If Shukumar’s grieving process is obstructed by his overwhelming guilt, Shoba’s is inhibited by her reliance on planning and predictability. Shoba and Shukumar’s marriage begins to unravel when the expectations they had for their life do not go as planned. Because Shoba relied so heavily on her ability to plan for the future, she finds herself unable to adapt to life after the unexpected death of their baby. This, in turn, obstructs her…
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