The Namesake: A Literary Analysis

While The Namesake primarily focuses on Gogol’s point of view throughout his experiences into adulthood and maturity, chapter 10 abruptly introduces Moushumi’s thoughts as she begins an affair with Dimitri. This dramatic shift in perspective reflects on Lodge’s analysis of writers using a specific point of view in a story; however, unlike Lodge’s first indication that a change in point of view represents “a lazy or inexperienced writer,” Lahiri’s shift instead represents Lodge’s view of masterful writers operating “according to some aesthetic plan or principle” (Lodge 28). Lahiri most directly indicates her design with the words directly before the affair, as Gogol’s thoughts end on Moushumi’s book about an “unhappy love story” that only features the characters as “He and She,” revealing a severe contrast from the work’s focus on names and …show more content…
These aspects particularly reveal themselves with Moushumi’s nickname of “Mouse,” as her retreat into the past allows her to forget the present and her commitment to Gogol (Lahiri 263). Additionally, the constant referral to the adulterers only as “he” and “she” during the act reveals a connection to the foreshadowed unhappy ending from Moushumi’s book, and Moushumi calling Gogol only as “my husband” further emphasizes her disconnect with reality as she apathetically dismisses her union in marriage (Lahiri 263-264). Highlighting the detachment from the present, the dispassionate use of names allows the reader psychologically analyze Moushumi, creating a mood of disgust from the reader as one sympathizes for Gogol’s unknown suffering. However, the differing point of view serves to reveal that Moushumi also undergoes misery, as while she revels in sin, her comments about the cracked ceiling and her tears metaphorically suggest Moushumi’s guilt from her actions (Lahiri