"A Temporary Matter" by Jhumpa Lahiri by Traci Mitchell

"Tonight, with no lights, they would have to eat together"(3).

tmitchell79 — 2025-09-16 11:44:23 UTC

Already co-existing in a strained and uncommunicative relationship, the lack of lighting, which sets the framework of the plot--a temporary electrical crisis for 5 days, both Shukumar and Shoba are forced to awkwardly connect over familiar circumstances such as having dinner. Significantly, their behaviors of avoidance are challenged as they use the reoccuring temporary matter of having no lights on in the home to engage in intimate discussions that ultimately and ironically progress into the dissolution of their marriage. --Mrs. Mitchell

"Her labeled mason jars lined the shelves of the kitchen, in endless sealed pyramids, enough, they'd agreed, to last for their grandchildren to taste. They'd eaten it all by now (3)."

2603885 — 2025-09-18 12:36:22 UTC

Early in their relationship, Shoba and Shukumar begin to create a nourishing environment, the stores of food representing the fulfillment they felt in their marriage which they expect to last for a long time. However, following the loss of the baby, the emotional fulfillment and love they had in their marriage begins to run out. The emptiness of the jars exemplify how their intimate connection has "run out" and their life as a couple has nothing left to offer either of them.

Allyson Ruder, Alexandra Vazquez-Gutierrez, Aryan Vora, Victoria Neverauskis

"...for five days their electricity would be cut off for one hour, beginning at eight P.M. A line had gone down in the last snowstorm..."

2025-09-18 12:37:17 UTC

The story begins with an automatic setting shift, since the couple is usually in light, which is viewed as a warm, comforting setting, but has now transitioned to the dark, which is more ominous. This shows irony, since the couple develops a deep connection and welcoming environment in the dark, opposed to the light where they rarely spoke and were simply coexisting. The snowstorm serves as a contrast to the season of Spring, since Spring typically represents rebirth, however the snowstorm threatens that renewal of their marriage. This also demonstrates irony, since the rebirth of their marriage is occurring, due to their new frequent talks and secrets being shared, after it was damaged when their baby had passed. The pattern of their electricity being cut for five days can be perceived as a nuisance, however during this time they begin exploring more of each other and developing their relationship that was abandoned when their baby had died. -Adam, Matthew, Layan

Something happened when the house was dark. They were able to talk to each other again.(9)

260224_13 — 2025-09-18 12:41:25 UTC

In the beginning of the story, the characters were distant and avoided each other despite being married. Shoba was deliberate and selfish while Shukumar was insecure and insensitive. However, when the setting shifts and the lights turn off it allows the characters to express their feelings together of community and authenticity. It is important to note that darkness typically is a setting seen as evil or isolation, however, as we see in the story it actually brings them together and allows for communion. The dark also allows the characters to be more intimate and authentic which was caused by the shared struggle that they had to work through together. Additionally, it is important to note the time in the year which is march, and march is the transition period between grief and rebirth. The characters have to endure this situation of losing the baby which is their grief and the darkness allows them to take a step forward into rebirth, demonstrating their shift in traits from distant to close.

2025-09-18 12:43:59 UTC

"They weren't like this before. Now he had to struggle to say something that interested her, something that made her look up from her plate, or from her proofreading files. Eventually he gave up trying to amuse her" (5)

It's clear their relationship has shifted over time from loving and understanding each other to distant and non conversational. We see this when he admits they weren't always this awkward and rigid and over time he has stopped trying to interact with her in typical married ways. The events leading up to this separation included a still born that was devastating for both of them, and they avoided conversation about it which further divided them and allowed them to get to this point. A pattern throughout the story is his lack of empathy towards her, seen here when he thinks he should've been amusing her all this time rather than addressing her feelings. The extent to their incompatibility increased over the course of the story and their lives, due to both grief and lack of communication.

-Vivian, Jacob, Myles

"Outside the evening was still warm, and the Bradfords were walking arm in arm."

2025-09-18 12:45:31 UTC

As the external environment demonstrates the ideal relationship with the Bradfords, Lahiri creates a contrast with the interior setting representing Shukumar and Shoba's relationship. Simultaneously giving them a temporary relief, reminding them of what could've been, as their relationship comes to a conclusion.

"Since September their only guest had been Shobas mother." (4)

260417_7 — 2025-09-18 12:48:45 UTC

As a representation of losing the baby, the year shifts towards Winter with the come of September, which is a time of inactivity and lack of energy. This begins to dissolve the couple's connection as they isolate themselves from society as a coping mechanism after the baby's death. Their dying relationship is exemplified by their lack of socialization as seen through only having Shoba's mother visit them as opposed to many guests-- a mother being the most basic human connection.

"'Let's sit outside,' Shoba said. 'I think it's still warm.'" (Q. 8)

2025-09-18 12:51:02 UTC

After enduring a cold, isolating marriage since the death of their baby, Shoba and Shukumar typically stayed inside, rarely leaving their house together. This shift in setting from the still environment of their house to the warm outside (after they've reconnected through their sharing of secrets in the dark) demonstrates a shift in setting, and a progression in their relationship. Shoba and Shukumar's marriage is also mirroring the other couples', who previously served as a contrast to the main character's marriage that was dull and lifeless, and the alternate couples' that was intimate and welcoming. The transition to the outside also highlights Shoba and Shukumar's rediscovery of their comfortableness with being seen by others and as a couple. -Layan

"As he watched the couple the room went dark, Shoba had turned the lights off. She came back to the table and sat down, and after a moment Shukumar joined her"(11).

260335_9 — 2025-09-18 14:16:30 UTC

The central themes of sadness, isolation, disappointment, and trauma are emphasized during this scene, specifically in the setting. Although both people have come together and are crying over their shared trauma, they are still isolated because their marriage has fallen apart due to the fact that secrets had been revealed that broke each others trust. Saying that the baby was a boy was the ultimate act of betrayal. The fact that the main characters are sitting at a table and crying is ironic because a table represents communion and bonding with each other thorough food. Shoba and Shuckmar could not be further apart even if they are sitting right next to each other, and the lack of food in the scene makes a tension feel more present. - Victoria

"He was relieved and yet he was sickened. This was what she'd been trying to tell him for the past four evenings. This was the point of her game. Now it was his turn to speak. There was something he'd sworn he would never tell her (...) 'Our baby was a boy' (10)."

2603885 — 2025-09-19 00:21:30 UTC

Shoba and Shukumar had begun to communicate again, and Shukumar's nervousness trying to find things to tell Shoba during their dinners exemplifies her control over the situation. Shoba tells Shukumar she is leaving him during the last night, making him realize her motive in sharing these things every night, which ultimately puts her in a position of power over Shukumar. He attempts to reverse the power structure that is put in place by Shoba's revelation by sharing the sex of their unborn child. The shift in their power dynamics and struggle over who has control of the situation illustrates how their relationship has fallen apart.

"'Shouldn't we keep the lights off? [...] I want you to see my face when I tell you this,' she said gently. His heart began to pound," (10).

2025-09-19 02:45:59 UTC

Up until this moment, the dark was seen by the couple as a safe space where intimacy could cautiously return. Slowly reconnecting during these power outages, Shoba and Shukumar had seemingly been making progress towards a rekindling of their relationship. However, as Shoba places an importance on seeing her face during this moment of vulnerability, she upends the temporary comfort they had in place and escalates the conflict that had been secretly bubbling under the surface. Although Shukumar may have believed his unemotional confessions were working to regain the depth of their relationship, Shoba understood the lack of intimacy in his responses as a clear depiction of his lack of interest in their marriage. In this time of confrontation, she delivers the devastating blow that ends their marriage. Shoba takes control of their marital situation by revealing she has found an apartment, changing the setting once again and shifting the circumstances of their relationship for good.

" 'The lamb won't be done eight,' Shukumar said. 'We may have to eat in the dark' "

2025-09-19 03:25:53 UTC

The setting begins to shift as soon as the power begins to cut out. Specifically, This moment depicts a shift in the setting as it went from the couple tolerating each other and remaining distant to being forced into a shared experience because of the blackout. Before, Shukumar ate his dinner alone at his desk while Shoba took hers to the living room. Meanwhile, they continued to avoid speaking and interacting with each other. But now with the darkness looming, they cant hide behind separation. The setting shifted from separation at two different areas of the house to having a community aspect of eating together at the same dinner table all fueled by the darkness. Additionally, The dark becomes a bridge of connection for the two, forcing them to be together. This allows space for conversation, tension, and confession. The setting, ultimately, changes and allows for the relationship of the couple to be mended.

"Something happened when the house was dark (...) By the time the lights came back on downstairs, they'd fallen asleep." (9)

260130_8 — 2025-09-19 03:44:37 UTC

Previously stuck in a resentful and strained relationship, the lack of lighting in the setting is proven to be the "temporary matter" where Shoba and Shukumar's relationship returns back to somewhat normal. The shift of their relationship from passionless to yearning is exemplified through the availability of electricity; Shoba and Shukumar previously avoided each other's touch beforehand, but are now entangled within each other, lost in the emotion from the darkness and seemingly forgetting their previous circumstances and apathy toward each other.

"Shoba had turned the lights off. She came back to the table and sat down, and after a moment Shukumar joined her. They wept together, for the things they now knew."

260835_3 — 2025-09-19 03:49:30 UTC

The setting constantly shifts throughout the story between light and darkness and this is the final shift that ends the story. In the light, Shoba and Shukumar are isolated from each other and in denial of their indifferent relationship. In the dark however, they are more open and honest with each other, reviving their relationship temporarily. This final shift at the end of the story is after Shoba tells Shukumar that she is leaving him. She finally makes the move that ends their relationship, exemplifying the inadequate connection and intimacy in their relationship. Then she turns the lights off, letting the darkness take over once again in order to grieve together one last time and ignore the detriments of their history. This shift in setting removes any conflict between Shoba and Shukumar, even after their relationship was just ruined, highlighting the power in the darkness. The darkness they experienced together was only temporary, symbolizing that all good things must come to an end.

"it wasn't the same, he thought, knowing that the lights wouldn't go out. In the store the shrimp looked gray and thin." (9) q.9

2025-09-19 03:52:28 UTC

The setting shifted especially near the end of the story, when the short period of nightly dinners in the dark came to end with a notice in the mail. Before this point, it seemed like they were getting along and reconnecting during dinners. However, once the lights came back on reality sets in as well, that because of their avoidance of their trauma they had grown apart and couldn't continue living on in such a dreary way. Having the lights off was a way for them to finally address each other and the abnormality of it allowed them to break their normal habits of isolation. We then see a setting shift to light, which contrasting darkness usually suggests happiness and hope. This choice of having them in the light during the last moments of their marriage aligns with it being a new beginning for both of them, the loneliness left behind where they can move on and emerge from their stagnant depression. The middle of the story starkly contrasts the ending, as they shifted from having dark dinners together and being romantic to letting the light reveal the truth and separating for good.

They wept together, for the things they now knew" (11).

260139_6 — 2025-09-19 03:55:13 UTC

Overcoming a relationship based on pure coexistence and a closed-off communicative style, which Shoba and Shukumar have struggled in since the death of their child, proves reality can be devastating and that proper communication was absolutely necessary for the long-term well being of them. As the lights return, -- representing confessions and harsh truth -- the balance of power shifted: Shoba chooses separation, while Shukumar's only act of power is to reveal what he saw at the hospital, leaving the two with nothing but sorrow.

Quote: “The room was dark. They had not lit candles; it was something they used to enjoy together.” (Q7)

2025-09-19 04:23:38 UTC

This setting detail showcases a shifting circumstance in Shoba and Shukumar’s relationship. At first, the darkness of the power outage symbolizes the grief and emotional distance between them, a reminder of the “darkness” that entered their marriage after their baby’s death. But as the blackouts continue, the same setting becomes a catalyst for change — the darkness transforms into a space where they can finally speak openly, sharing secrets that had been hidden in the light. The shift from silence to confession, made possible by the blackout setting, escalates the underlying conflict in their marriage: the tension between what is revealed and what has long been suppressed. Ultimately, the setting foreshadows the devastating truths that will emerge, pushing their fragile relationship toward rupture. -Aryan

"He had the candles...standing in brass holders shaped like lotuses, but they ate under the glow of the copper-shaed ceiling lamp that hung over the table" (7).

2025-09-19 05:27:19 UTC

After the couple first begin to confess their secrets they kept from each other, in hopes of reconnecting with Shoba, the husband Shukumar brings large, fancy candles that contrast the small birthday candles they originally had in their first conversation. Reflected in the candles that are intricately "shaped by lotuses," these candles ultimately reflect his growing desire to impress his wife and hold on to these small conversations in their relationship. Here, Shukumar feels guilty because he was not present for the death of the baby and thus could not support his wife. Therefore, he externally tries to impress her and make up for his failure of not meeting the expectation of a supportive partner. However, like the new candles that "ate under the glow of the copper-shaded ceiling lamp," he ultimately can't address the root of their relationship issue: his unwillingess to communicate his sincere beliefs. He fails to recognize that larger candles do not compensate for his lack of communication to his wife. In essence, although the candles may seem to demonstrate them getting closer together, similar to how candles eventually burn out, the inability of Shukumar to open up simulteanously leads to their inevitable seperation.

-Sam

"In the dimness, he knew how she sat, a bit forward in her chair, ankles crossed against the lowest rung, left elbow on the table" (4).

260358_4 — 2025-09-19 11:16:22 UTC

At this point in the piece, the blackout setting continually reinforces the theme of fragile intimacy between Shoba and Shukumar. This is reinforced as Shukumar uses the absence of light to notice details about Shoba. The absence of light symbolizes both the distance in their relationship, as well as the fleeting moments of connection they still have as a result of the blackouts.

"The woman laughed, slipping her arm through the crook of her husband's elbow. 'Want to join us?' 'No thanks,' Shoba and Shukumar called out together. It surprised Shukumar that his words matched hers" (7).

260457_1 — 2025-09-19 11:39:06 UTC

When Shoba and Shukumar are on their porch outside, they are exposed not only to the uncertainty of the winter climate, but also the influence of others--mainly the couple walking by. The couple serves as a reminder of what the two once had, thus, their refusal to let in the outside couple's influence by going with them, is also a rejection to mend their own relationship. Shukumar's inner dialogue reveals, that this is the first time they have simultaneously agreed in a while, further demonstrating the disunion between the two and creating tension. This scene is also suggestive of the ultimate end of the story, where, though the two are together, their relationship has come to an end and only some conflicts are resolved.

“Something happened when the house was dark. They were able to say things they had kept to themselves” (10).

2025-09-19 11:50:08 UTC

In this moment the blackout creates a setting that shifts the couples circumstance, as silence gives a way to hidden truths. The lack of light becomes a condition that both encourages confession and heightens conflict, revealing the fragile balance between connection and distance in their marriage.

"They each took a candle and sat down on the steps...A small parade of neughbors passed by with flashlights." (7)

260777_4 — 2025-09-19 12:12:56 UTC

Following Shoba's desire to experience the outside together with Shukumar, they discover that many neighbors and couples had stepped outside with flashlights. This creates a shift in the setting and provides reinforcement of controlling/central themes of disappointment and listlessness because of their direct regard of each other contrasting with the love that they should inherit happening around them. The initial scene taking place indoors then outdoors represents the desire to understand one another with the help of an outside reference point and also silently addresses their dysfunction. They become aware of the dying relationship yet through the wanton of normalcy, they internally compare themselves to others which serves both a healthy yet troublesome reminder of the effects their insecurities have had on the relationship. -Alex

"Ive been looking for an apartment of my own and I've found one." (10)

260417_7 — 2025-09-23 04:17:37 UTC

Shoba announces to Shakumar about how she found an apartment and is ready to leave him. She treats the idea like it's not a big deal as she makes a very big decision. She is exemplified as powerful and uses her opportunity to take it and prove how much power she has over Shakumar. She sees this as a way to get back at him after he fails to share any actual deep secrets with her. Apartments are associated with more of an isolated and not connected feeling paralleling how she feels in her "home" with Shakumar.

"She used to put her coat on a hanger, her sneakers in the closet, and she paid bills as soon as they came. But now she treated the house as if it were a hotel. The fact that the yellow chintz armchair in the living room clashed with the blue-and-maroon Turkish carpet no longer bothered her." (2)

260275_8 — 2025-10-13 16:31:42 UTC

Shoba used to take care of the house and leave it in pristine condition. However she now lets things go and even allows the bills to not get paid. This reflects Shoba's and Shukumar's on and off relationship. Shukumar struggles with the conflict having the loss of his baby and deteriorating relationship with his wife. He is mourning the loss of the baby and struggles to communicate with his wife. His wife's nonchalant attitude towards him reflects the setting in the apartment of the way she takes care of the house.

Outside the evening was still warm, "Outside the evening was still warm, and the Bradfords were walking arm in arm. As he watched the couple the room went dark, and he spun around. Shoba had turned the lights off.She came back to the table and sat down, and after a moment Shukumar joined her. They wept together, for the things they now knew." (9)

260275_8 — 2025-10-15 00:35:09 UTC

The central theme of Shoba and Shukumar is his struggle with grieving and communication and their relationship. The temporary outage reflects their relationship when the power is out they are able to communicate and share their secrets and thougnts. When the lights go on they aren't able to communicate and the temporary power outages foreshadow the story's ending when Shoba leaves Shukumar.