"Interpreter of Maladies" by Jhumpa Lahiri

"He decided to begin with the most obvious question, to get to the heart of the matter, and so he asked, 'Is it really pain you feel, Mrs. Das, or is it guilt?'"


       To be completely honest, this is the first limited third person story I can say I have noticed. However I also see how effective this point of view can be. We follow Mr. Kapasi throughout the story, as he observes and studies the Das family. This is very effective, because on the surface they seem to be just another tourist family. We know nothing of the dark secret Mrs. Das carries. Furthermore, we see that Kapasi "interprets" Mrs. Das' comments as flirtatious and complimentary. However, we later discover she is merely interested in easing her own conscience with his help. We see that although he too is unhappy in his marriage, he is horrified with what he hears. Finally, we see that he sees his paper flying away with the wind and not caring, because he now knows the secret.