A Temporary Matter

“A Temporary Matter” by American author Jhumpa Lahiri was originally published in the New Yorker in 1998. Published in 1999, Lahiri’s Pulitzer Prize-winning debut short story collection Interpreter of Maladies opens with “A Temporary Matter.” The story follows Shoba and Shukumar, an Indian American married couple in their thirties, as they reconnect for one hour each evening during a planned electricity outage. Over the course of five nights, Shoba and Shukumar explore the complexities of their three-year marriage over candlelit, wine-infused dinners with a boldness that has faded during the daytime. Lahiri explores themes of Loss and Grief, Intimacy and Marriage, and Deception against a backdrop of cultural integration and identity.

This guide refers to the 1999 edition of “A Temporary Matter” as it appears in Interpreter of Maladies published by Mariner Books.

Content Warning: The source material depicts postpartum depression and the events following a stillbirth.

The story takes place in Boston and centers around Shoba and Shukumar. At 35, Shukumar is two years Shoba’s senior. The couple has been married for three years and experienced the loss of their stillborn baby six months prior. In March, Shoba receives a notice from the electric company stating that neighborhood repair work will result in a power outage for the next five nights. Residents will lose power for one hour starting at eight o’clock. Shoba works downtown as a proofreader and remarks that it would be more convenient for her if the repairs took place during the day while she is out, even though Shukumar spends his days at home writing his graduate school dissertation. Shukumar observes that Shoba looks uncomely in her gym clothes and smeared makeup. However, he has not even remembered to brush his teeth that day.

Since the loss of their child, Shoba and Shukumar have grown physically and emotionally apart. Through flashbacks and the “close third” point of view, Shukumar reveals that he was away at an academic conference in Baltimore when Shoba went into labor three weeks early. Shoba had an emergency cesarean section, but doctors were unable to save the baby. Shoba believes Shukumar did not make it to the hospital that night. When Shoba returned home from the hospital, she made a pile of their possessions—photographs, plants, books, cookware, and paintings—in the hallway and cried. In the months following, she became more detached from Shukumar and their domestic sphere. Shoba’s appearance, like her spirit, became worn and indifferent. She stopped procuring groceries, preparing their meals, and stockpiling dry goods and other homemade pantry staples. Shoba and Shukumar began to eat separately, and Shoba busied herself with work in the evenings. She took to the living room, where she “barricade[d]” herself behind files and her “arsenal of colored pencils” (7). In turn, Shukumar converted the nursery into his office because he knew Shoba would avoid the space. Their interactions became perfunctory, with Shoba offering only an obligatory kiss goodnight after retiring from her work.

Shukumar, who rarely leaves the house, has taken up the cooking. He enjoys preparing their meals because the task makes him feel “productive.” He believes that without his efforts, Shoba would resign to eating cereal every day. Over the past six months, Shukumar has used up their once abundant supply of dry goods. He uses Shoba’s meticulous recipes to prepare their meals and follows the careful annotations she once joyfully added. He finds it difficult to get out of bed and work on his dissertation, so he regularly lays around the house until noon or later. On the first day of the planned power outage, Shukumar does not start cooking dinner until late. He knows the lamb will not be ready before the outage and suggests that he and Shoba eat in the dark. While cooking, Shukumar reflects on the time Shoba’s mother came to stay with them after the baby’s death. She stayed for two months and tended to all the house duties. She cooked, cleaned, and even knit Shukumar a scarf, but her actions were rote. Shoba’s mother was devout and set up a cultural shrine for the baby lost. She regularly prayed for the good health of her future grandchildren. When Shukumar tried to talk about the baby, Shoba’s mother icily remarked, “But you weren’t even there” (9).

As Shukumar prepares the first candlelit dinner, he realizes that there are only birthday candles in the house. Shoba once prepared for every potential eventuality, positive or negative, but this quality has since faded. Shukumar admired Shoba’s practical capabilities, so much so that he didn’t mind her keeping a separate bank account for her bonuses. Shukumar reconciles the lack of emergency candles by shoving a few birthday candles into the dried-out soil of a neglected houseplant as he serves rogan josh, an Indian curried meat dish. While eating and drinking wine, Shoba suggests a game she used to play as a child when the power would go out in Calcutta. In the dark, both Shoba and Shukumar must reveal something they have never told each other. Shukumar does not entirely understand the point of the game, as he feels they already know everything about each other—even to the point of dullness. Shoba begins by saying she checked his address book the first time she was alone in his apartment to see if he had added her to it. He had not. Shukumar responds by saying that he forgot to tip the waiter on their first date. He was distracted by the thought of marrying Shoba, so he took a cab the next day to leave the tip.

The next day, Shukumar buys real candles, and they eat leftovers for dinner before the second power outage. As they finish the dishes, the lights go out. Shoba reveals that when Shukumar’s mother visited, Shoba skipped their dinner to have a martini with her friend Gillian. Shukumar reflects back to his mother’s visit. Twelve years after his father’s death, Shukumar’s mother visited for two weeks so they could honor his father’s memory. Each night, his mother prepared a dish that his father liked, but she was too overwhelmed with grief to eat. At the time, Shoba claimed that his mother’s despair was “touching,” yet Shukumar now considers she felt otherwise. Shukumar then confesses that he cheated on his “Oriental” Civilization exam in college. The question was about a ghazal, or an Indian love poem. Unlike Shoba, Shukumar rarely spent any time in his home country. He only became interested in his Indian roots after his father’s death. Although his exam transgression occurred 15 years prior, Shukumar feels relief in telling Shoba. The nightly confessions rejuvenate Shukumar; the narrative pacing speeds up, and his days revolve around the power outages.

On the third night, Shukumar reveals that he returned the sweater vest Shoba had given him as a third wedding anniversary gift. He used the money to get drunk, alone at a bar during the day. Shoba counters that at a lecture they attended, she knowingly allowed Shukumar to speak with his department chair while he had pâté on his chin. Shukumar was attempting to secure his fellowship, but Shoba let a petty annoyance supersede Shukumar’s important impression. After they finish supper, the couple moves to the sofa. With their eyes closed, they kiss awkwardly in the dark.

On the fourth night, Shukumar confesses to ripping a picture of a woman out of a magazine and carrying it around with him. It was an advertisement for stockings, and Shukumar did not even find the woman particularly attractive. However, he looked at the picture lustfully, then shamefully, for a week. At the time, Shoba’s pregnancy was showing, and Shukumar no longer desired her. Shoba reveals that she never liked Shukumar’s only published poem—a love poem about Shoba. After their confessions, Shoba and Shukumar make their way in the dark to the bedroom. They make love, and Shoba soundlessly weeps as she whispers her husband’s name. With growing excitement, Shukumar fantasizes about what to confess during tomorrow’s dinner. He asks Shoba to hold him close, and they fall asleep together in the darkness.

On the fifth day, Shukumar opens a new notice. The utility work has finished early, and the power outages are over. Shukumar is disappointed but prepares dinner. When Shoba returns, she is not wearing her gym clothes, and her makeup looks refreshed. She senses Shukumar’s disappointment and offers that they continue their new ritual. Shukumar lights candles and turns out the lights for their meal. When they finish eating, Shoba turns on the lights and tells Shukumar that she has found her own apartment and will be moving out. Shukumar has an epiphany and understands the point of Shoba’s suggested game. Shoba has been gradually building up the courage to break this news to him. The realization of his wife’s plan stings Shukumar, and he too shares a painful truth. Shoba intentionally asked to never learn the sex of the baby as a way of avoiding some of the pain of the loss, and Shukumar promised to never reveal this information “because he still loved her then” (22). For the first time, Shukumar tells her that he held their baby boy in the hospital while Shoba recovered. As Shukumar carries the dirty dishes to the sink, Shoba turns the lights back off. Shukumar joins her at the table, and together they weep.