A Seemingly Unsuitable Affair

     Throughout chapter 10 of The Namesake, Lahiri mainly focuses on Moushumi's discontent with her marriage. This leads to her affair with a former lover, Dimitri. I feel Moushimi has relations with Dimitri for one reason: he brings back fond memories from her past. Lahiri describes Dimitri as "a small, balding, unemployed, middle-aged man" (266). Lahiri creates situational irony with her description of Dimitri. It seems unbelievable that Moushumi would cheat on her husband with such an unfortunate looking man. Yet, Dimitri more or less encompasses traits that Moushumi idealized in Graham, her ex-fiancé. Like Graham, Moushumi met Dimitri unexpectedly and was immediately swept away by his charm. In contrast, Moushumi met Gogol through an arranged blind date from her parents. Moushumi has detested arranged marriages to Bengali men from a young age. Right of the bat, Moushumi felt apprehensive dating Gogol for this fact. Furthermore, Dimitri parallels Moushumi because of his love for traveling and reading. While in Europe, Dimitri sent "her books he'd read and thought she might like" (260). Moushumi keeps these books and revisits them periodically. I feel Moushumi cannot let go of previous relationships she has had in the past. I dislike Moushumi for this reason. I feel she feeds off male attention, indirectly characterizing her as promiscuous. However, I feel some sort of sympathy for her because she feels genuinely unhappy with Gogol. Dimitri does not have any jealousy towards Gogol and seems very relaxed and laid back. Dimitri represents an escape from Moushumi’s chaotic marriage with Gogol.