Cultural Displacement In T. Eliot's Mrs. Sen

Before analyzing the text further it is important to know what cultural displacement is and what it implies in terms for a woman who feels displaced from a culture for another culture. According to Raymond Williams, a Welsh theorist culture is "an individual habit of mind; the state of intellectual development of a whole society; the arts; and the whole way of life.” But if we expand the definition given by Williams, we have two definitions of Culture with relation to women as in the fourth definition which is “…the whole way of life.” can be used in order to understand ‘cultural displacement’ of women migrants in an alien culture, whereas the second definition of culture "the state of intellectual development of a whole society" can be applied …show more content…
Sen’s” story the boy, Eliot highlights Mrs. Sen’s inability to assimilate into American culture. Although Mrs. Sen is the protagonist of the story and pretty much dominates the story but Eliot becomes a figure who not only illustrates the balance between the cultures but his perception also helps us in understanding the pathos of a traditional Indian wife who feels isolated and lost in the foreignness of American culture. Interpreter of Maladies has many characters ranging from children who try to make a sense of their home lives versus their school lives, to young adults unsure of being American and their connection to their heritage, and finally older adults who continually struggle to accept their new lives and forget their old. The children in these stories not only show how patriarchy rules the life of immigrant women but they will also show the cultural displacement faced by women characters in Interpreter of Maladies. But this chapter will focus only on selected women characters and how children help in presenting their diasporic experiences: Mrs. Sen, Mina and Shobha from the stories “Mrs. Sen’s”, “Interpreter of Maladies”, and “A Temporary Matter” respectively. It will reflect on their tales of alienation, nostalgia, displacement, estrangement, suffering and struggle within an alien culture and that too while they’re being stifled by patriarchal notions and …show more content…
Both of them could not recover from the loss and gradually their relationship starts falling apart. Each one felt uncomfortable in each other’s presence and it was only because of a forced blackout for eight consecutive nights that happened to repair damage done by an ice storm that compelled them to share and confess their deepest fears and thoughts to each other. The loss of their baby did irreparable damage to both of them for instance before the birth of the baby, Shukumar used to love his work but the trauma of the death of his infant makes him lose interest in his work as before the incident “…he had been diligent if not dedicated, summarizing chapters, outlining arguments on pads with yellow lined paper. But now he would lie in their bed until he grew bored…” (A Temporary Matter.