"Interpreter of Maladies"- Question 4

"When she whipped out the hairbrush, the slip of paper with Mr. Kapasi's address on it fluttered away in the wind. No one but Mr. Kapasi noticed." (pg. 166)

4. Discuss the significance of Mrs. Das's requesting, and then losing, Mr. Kapasi's address. Apart from its function in the plot, how does this suggest a resolution to the story?

When Mrs. Das asks for Mr. Kapasi's address, he is envisioning how she will send him the picture, they will begin a correspondence, and then they will leave their spouses for each other. To him, that address is a sign of hope and promise. It is also the sign of betrayal because through that, they will both cheat on and leave their spouses. However, when she loses the paper, it is a representation of how his hopes of an affair disappear. Mrs. Das doesn't notice that the paper blew away because she was never interested in Mr. Kapasi in that way. This suggests a resolution because Mr. Kapasi knows that this affair will never happen. Also, losing the paper signifies that Mrs. Das will not have an affair, but will instead be a good wife and mother to her children.