27 pages • 54 minutes read
Mrs. Sen's
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Symbols & Motifs
Fish
Fish and its preparation symbolize tradition and family. Eliot watches Mrs. Sen prepare fish and vegetables every day for Mr. Sen. The fish that Mrs. Sen carefully takes apart and cuts into filets is one of the only physical connections that she has to India. She tells Eliot that in India she ate fish twice a day. Fish is important to Mrs. Sen’s life, and it reminds her of living in India, where she felt connected to family, friends, and community. When Mrs. Sen complains to Eliot that the fish in America isn’t as fresh and doesn’t taste as good as fish from India, she reveals how much she misses her previous life and how dissatisfied she is with her current life. The symbol of fish supports the theme of Alienation from Community that pervades the story.
Driving and Mrs. Sen’s Car Troubles
The Sens’ car symbolizes the inequality of their marriage and the labor that Mrs. Sen offers to Mr. Sen—she makes sacrifices to cater to his wants and needs. Eliot often sits in the car with Mrs. Sen when she practices driving because it makes her nervous, and his presence seems to calm her. Eliot sits with Mrs. Sen patiently. Mrs. Sen is apprehensive of and frustrated with the car. The noises it makes startle her so that she “place[s] her hands over her ears to block out the sound” (236). The car symbolizes the compromises she makes to be married to Mr. Sen, and his dismissal of her concerns. This symbol supports the theme of the damaging effects of Patriarchal Gender Roles in Marriage.
Saris
Saris symbolize Mrs. Sen’s rich inner life, which she must ignore and push down in her marriage with Mr. Sen. While Mr. Sen goes to campus for work every day, Mrs. Sen is almost always confined to the small apartment that they share. The colorful and intricate saris that Mrs. Sen owns sit in her dresser unused because she has nowhere to wear them. Eliot notices that the only time Mrs. Sen appears happy is when she receives a letter from relatives, is speaking of her life in India, or is preparing fish in the traditional Indian way. Mr. Sen does not fulfill Mrs. Sen’s emotional needs because he is uninterested in anything other than his job. Mrs. Sen knows that she will be stuck in America with Mr. Sen for the next three years due to his work responsibilities at the university, and this thought brings her intense sadness. She reflects with Eliot about how she will be a stranger to her newly born niece, whom she won’t be able to see until she is three years old. The symbol of the saris supports the themes of Alienation from Community and the damaging effects of Patriarchal Gender Roles in Marriage.
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By Jhumpa Lahiri
