Thursday, March 19, 2009

Tables Turn..

"This Blessed House" by Jhumpa Lahiri reminded me in a way of "The Yellow Wallpaper". At first, Sanjeev looked down upon Twinkle for wanting to keep her "treasures" and thought she was childish. This was similar to how the husband in "The Yellow Wallpaper" treated his wife. Telling Twinkle what he will and will not tolerate in his home, it shows the domination and superiority Sanjeev thinks he has over his wife.
Another part that showed male domination and women's inferiority was when Sanjeev expected Twinkle to unpack boxes, sweep the attic, and repaint the windowsill, etc. because she was home all day while he was at work. It made no difference to him that she was working on her Masters' thesis, if she was home, he expected her to do housework.
As the story went on however, the tables are somewhat turned. This is where the story differs from "The Yellow Wallpaper". Twinkle becomes the dominant person, with everyone at the party following her and going on her treasure hunt. Sanjeev becomes disgruntled and pouts when Twinkle gets all the attention. I thought this was a perfect way for the story to end, with Sanjeev going along with Twinkle, and becoming the inferior person in the relationship.

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