Interpreter of Maladies

Eliot is an 11-year-old boy living in a small beach community who, for the past month, has been in the care of Mrs. Sen in the afternoons while his mother is at work. His mother usually has a sitter come to the house, but Mrs. Sen cannot drive a car and relies on her husband for transportation; he teaches math at the local university and is teaching her to drive.

Eliot enjoys his time in Mrs. Sen’s care; the Sens’ apartment is more comfortable in the colder months than his small beach house, and he likes to watch Mrs. Sen prepare the vegetables for dinner, as she sits on the floor and chops them skillfully with a curved blade. She notes that on wedding days in India, the women all do this work and stay up all night; in America, she struggles with isolation and silence. Eliot learns things about India from Mrs. Sen, including why she puts crushed vermillion in her scalp to denote her marriage, and comes to appreciate her, though his mother finds Mrs. Sen’s Indian identity (and the treats she serves every day) strange.

Every afternoon, Mrs. Sen waits for Eliot at the bus and they then practice driving in the apartment complex parking lot.