"This Blessed House" Jhumpa Lahiri

In Jhumpa Lahiri's Interpreter of Maladies, "This Blessed House" was one of the most powerful stories to me. It exemplified the respect for a religion that people have whether they actually believe in it or not. Sanjeev and Twinkle were Indian Hindus who were certain that they weren't Christians. Lahiri presents Twinkle, the female character, as the dominate force in the relationship. Twinkle has all of the masculine traits in the story such as the bad habit of smoking, laziness, a wild side, and is the decision maker of the relationship. Although Sanjeev insists on getting rid of all the Christian paraphernalia, Twinkle simply replies to him with, "No, we're not Christian. We're good little Hindus" (137) as she kissed the head of the Christ figure.

The inclusion of music symbolism helped highlight the role reversal between Sanjeev and Twinkle. The music is playing in "adagietto" at the point when Sanjeev first began to question his love for Twinkle. He references Mahler and the 5th Symphony to relay to the reader that slow, funeral-like music is being played. This music was supposed to symbolize "love and hapiness" and Sanjeev was not happy at that moment. An example of the role reversal is evident when , "a few ashes had fallen to the floor where she'd been standing. He bent down, pinched them between his fingers, and deposited them in his cupped palm" (140).

"This Blessed House" included a lot of themes including: love, sacrifice, respect, etc. Sanjeev's love and respect for Twinkle made it possible for him to sacrifice his personal beliefs and hold the Christ's head at the end of the story, "Sanjeev pressed the massive silver face to his ribs, careful not to let the feather hat slip, and followed her [Twinkle]" (157).