Bloomed or Doomed? Relationships can be rewarding, yet they can cause frustration and hardship as well. Though there are many types of relationships, each requires a dependency or interaction between counterparts. Many people have a different perspective of what ingredients are needed for a successful relationship or marriage. Some people think they can be compatible only with someone who is very similar to themselves, while others feel that opposites attract. Even though there are many variables to a successful relationship and marriage, there are some crucial elements that need to be constant. If those elements are ignored, the connection may be lost. Jhumpa Lahiri’s stories “A Temporary Matter” and “The Third and Final Continent” demonstrate the need for communication and adaptation between two individuals to have a successful marriage. Communication is mandatory in almost every aspect of life where more than one person is involved. It can mean the difference in any outcome if there is too little or more than enough. Communication can come in many forms such as verbal, non verbal, and physical. As every relationship begins with two strangers who come to know each other better through communication, a lack of communication can cause those who once knew each other to become strangers once more. In Lahiri’s story “A Temporary Matter,” Shukumar and his wife Shoba become very distant from each other after the tragedy of their stillborn child. They create as much space as possible from one another, “he thought of how he and Shoba had become experts at avoiding each other in their three-bedroom house, spending as much time on separate floors as possible” (4). Communication between individuals helps during such a tragic time in life, not only helps the healing process, but shows concern for the significant other. Shukumar explains the fade of communication by the distant memory of Shoba’s smile and physical touch. He finds it difficult to interact with his wife and find ways to grab her attention. Instead of making the effort he simply gives up (11-12). Lack of communication in this story demonstrates the negative effect on happiness in marriage. Though in some situations it may be hard to communicate, it is necessary for the survival of relationships. In Lahiri’s story “The Third and Final Continent,” she demonstrates a successful outcome when relationships flourish by means of greater communication. This story involves two complete strangers in an arranged marriage. The story is told from the point of view of the husband. In the story he describes the distance between himself and his wife, Mala. Neither of them knows anything about each other beside a few characteristic facts. They also know that marriage is expected of them. Through the beginning of their marriage, they remain strangers until they begin to communicate with one another. The Narrator takes Mala on a walk in which they revisit his past. They stop by Mrs. Croft’s house, where the Narrator rents a room before his wife arrives in the United States. The influence and inspiration from Mrs. Croft on the Narrator is so strong that Mrs. Croft’s approval of Mala begins their first bond. Lahiri describes the Narrator’s feeling as, “the moment when the distance between Mala and me began to lessen” (196). From that moment on, the Narrator and Mala take evening walks, communicating and learning about each other. The once strangers find themselves growing closer to each other, sharing intimate moments. As the story comes to an end, the Narrator reflects on the journey of his marriage. He is astonished by the time in which he and his wife were bound by marriage, yet distant from love and communication. A lack of communication makes it difficult for a significant other to understand and adapt to new ways of living a life with someone else. Adapting is necessary for a successful marriage. It is a new way of thinking and behaving in a different environment. It is taking consideration for not only oneself, but for another as well. Making changes in daily routines or taking extra steps to include the other person. Lahiri describes how Shukumar and Shoba cannot adapt to the tragedy of their stillborn child six months previous. They avoid each other as much as possible. Shukamar sets up a desk in the same room that was intended for their child knowing that Shoba could not bare to occupy that room (8). Shukamar comments on Shoba’s inability to adapt to the loss as her personal appearance, personality, and character begin to fade. In the end, Shoba cannot adapt to a life with Shukamar any longer and confesses she is moving out on her own, “They’d been through enough” (21). Lahiri shows the negative effect refusing to adapt to certain situations or new environments in relationships. She shows the negative effect of refusing to make the necessary positive changes, forcing this couple to adapt to a new life without each other. Though adapting may be difficult, it is possible in almost every situation. In Lahiri’s “The Third and Final Continent,” a different perspective is portrayed of the ability to adapt to unfamiliar surroundings and life. As the Narrator moves through his journey for a better life, he is constantly exposed to new environments in which he must adapt to in order to stay on path. He adapts to new cultures as he travels to new continents, learns to live off very little money, and lives with complete strangers, one of them is his wife. As the Narrator and Mala begin their new lives with each other in a new country, they find adapting to each other a difficult task, “I waited to get used to her, to her presence by my side, at my table and in my bed, but a week later we were still strangers” (192). The Narrator shows Mala no sympathy during their first nights together as she cries for her parents because she misses them (181). Mala is unable to adapt to her new life without her family, and the Narrator is unable to feel for her because he sees her as a stranger. As Mala quickly learns her new lifestyle, she takes the steps to adapt from her old ways. Instead of serving her husband the typical Bengali breakfast, she learns he prefers a bowl of cornflakes instead, “I told her cereal would do, and the next morning when I came into the kitchen she had already poured the cornflakes into my bowl” (192). They become closer to each other with time as they learn to adapt to fulfill each other’s needs. Jhumpa Lahiri’s stories “A Temporary Matter” and “The Third and Final Continent” show the elements of love and relationships and their negative and positive impacts. Sometimes it can be difficult to achieve those things, but it is possible with effort. Communicating with each other is vital to understanding each other’s expectations within a relationship. Once those expectations are understood, it may require adapting to new ways, ways which will allow the relationship to continue to bloom.

Works Cited
Lahiri, Jhumpa. Interpreter of Maladies. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1999. Print.