Eudora Lahiri's 'Interpreter Of Maladies'

559 Words3 Pages
Thesis statement: Mrs. Croft's exceptionally advanced age, combined with her energetic, vibrant and queer personality, makes her one of the most memorable characters in Lahiri's "Interpreter of Maladies" Some old people act as if they have no life left in them, and some of them are isolated from the current world. There are some elderly people,however, such as Mrs. Croft, who are very energetic and seem to be in their prime years internally. These figures, like Mrs.Croft, are all surprising and memorable. Mrs. Croft shows her energy in her exceptionally loud voice and her commanding sentences, an example of which is shown on p.178. On p.178, Mrs.Croft says to the narrator upon his arrival at Mrs. Croft's house, "Lock up! Fasten the chain and…show more content…
While energy can be directly analyzed by one's actions, vibrancy is different in that it can be measured by the effect it leaves on the people around the person in question. Clearly, the narrator in this story is strongly influenced by Mrs. Croft, even going as far as saying that "Mrs. Croft's (death) was the first death I mourned in America, for hers was the first life I had admired..."(196). In fact, the narrator, upon learning of the death of Mrs.Croft, was at a loss of words. Why did the narrator mourn for a woman like Mrs.Croft, whom he had only known for 6 weeks? Well, the answer is that Mrs. Croft left an imprint in the narrator's mind that, if it wasn't caused by the length of their friendship, was a result of Mrs.Croft having a vibrant character. The dull, quick flashes are unmemorable, yet the vibrant and quick flashes are memorable. Similarly, Mrs. Croft must've been a vibrant character for the narrator to remember Mrs.Croft so endearingly to the point of mourning. In fact, the narrator's memory of Mrs. Croft never dies, and while this is in part because Mala and him first bonded at her house, it is also because of Mrs. Croft's vibrant

    More about Eudora Lahiri's 'Interpreter Of Maladies'

      Open Document