Interpreter of Maladies

Sanjeev and Tanima (who goes by the nickname Twinkle) are a newly married couple who have bought their first home in Connecticut, and Sanjeev is in line for a vice-president position at his company despite being in his early thirties. While Sanjeev is working on home improvements, Twinkle finds a porcelain effigy of Christ next to an old bottle of vinegar. Sanjeev wants her to throw the effigy away, but she is hesitant, thinking it may be worth something and finding it pretty. Sanjeev says they are not Christian, and he is annoyed by her insistence on keeping it.

As they move into the house, they keep finding more Christian paraphernalia, which Twinkle keeps on the mantle. Sanjeev thinks they should throw it all away or call the realtor, but Twinkle refuses, and she is eager to find more items in the house. When she finds a poster of Christ, she insists on hanging it in her study, offering the compromise that she’ll hang it on the door so that guests won’t see it when they come over for the housewarming party.

While she does this, Sanjeev listens to Mahler and appreciates the symphony, but Twinkle says it’s putting her to sleep. Sanjeev reflects on the other things he’s finding out about his wife that he finds irritating, particularly her contentment and lack of desire for improvement. Sanjeev and Twinkle have only known each other for four months, and their marriage was arranged by matchmakers. Sanjeev found Twinkle very charming at first, but her childishness is beginning to bother him. When she makes a delicious fish stew with the vinegar she found without bothering to write down the recipe, he is further annoyed.

The housewarming party will primarily include people Sanjeev knows, as Twinkle is working on a master’s degree studying Irish poetry and knows no one in their new town. As they are preparing the yard for the party, Twinkle finds a waist-high statue of the Virgin Mary. Twinkle wants to display it on the lawn, and Sanjeev worries about what his colleagues will think. He begins to wonder if he loves Twinkle, or if he even knows what love means. Sanjeev tells Twinkle that he is going to take the statue to the dump while she is in the bath, and she declares that she hates him, puts on a robe, and begins to go outside in a state of undress. He apologizes, and they agree on a compromise: They will put the statue in a recessed place where it is not visible from the front.

As Sanjeev cleans for the party, he considers removing the items from the mantle but does not. The first guests who arrive ask if they are Christian, and Sanjeev has to clarify that they aren’t. Soon, the house is full of guests, and Sanjeev can hardly believe that all of this is to celebrate his new home. He notes that all the guests love Twinkle, and she proudly admits that she showed everyone the Jesus poster. She tells them about the items they found, and the party turns into a bit of a scavenger hunt, with the guests poking through the house looking for bits of Christian paraphernalia.

When the party heads up to the attic, Sanjeev is left alone and weary, stopping to move Twinkle’s discarded shoes into the bedroom so no one will trip on them. The music has stopped, and he can only hear the creaking of footsteps above him. He thinks of shutting the trap door to the attic on them, which would free him to do the things he wants to do, like put all the Christian items in the trash. Then, however, he sees Twinkle’s shoes in the bedroom and thinks of her excitement, and he is briefly moved by her in the way he was when they first met. That spell is broken when Twinkle comes downstairs with a large silver bust of Christ. She says she would like to put it on the mantle, just for that evening, but Sanjeev knows it will stay. He hates it, and he realizes that the primary reason for his hatred is how much Twinkle loves it. The story ends with Sanjeev telling her where he put her shoes—she doesn’t need them, as she’s decided to go barefoot—and following her into the living room to place the bust on the mantle.