Question

1) Describe Shukumar. How did the baby's death change him? How does he spend his days? What does he envy about Shoba? What is his marriage like? What does he think the future holds for him?

2) Shukumar recalls seeing Shoba pregnant for the last time. Describe that scene in the story. What is the significance of the taxi ride? How does Shukumar view becoming a father? Is he representative of most men his age? Why or why not?
3) How is Shukumar an outsider, lost in his own home? By the end of the story, does he find his way?
4) The story is told from Shukumar's point of view. Discuss as a class how the descriptions of Shoba are seen through Shukumar's eyes. As he wakes much later than she does, what does he see? What does he picture Shoba doing? What does her work say about her? What does Shukumar think of her work? Is Shukumar a reliable narrator?
5) Shukumar describes Shoba's actions the day they come home from the hospital. What did she do? Why do you think she did this? What reaction does Shukumar have to what she does? What does this foreshadow in the story?
6) Shukumar is using all the supplies Shoba had filled the pantry with before the death of their baby. What does Shukumar's use of all the supplies without replenishing them represent?
7) Shoba comments sitting in the dark is like India where power is off for hours at a time. Shoba says they all had to say something during dark times as a child in her grandmother's house in India. Shoba suggests they play the game by telling each other something they have not told each other before. What do they tell each other the first night? What does this say about their personalities and their relationship?
8) Shukumar looks forward to the second night of their telling game. He is anxious about things Shoba might tell him. Discuss what they tell each other on the rest of the dark nights. What effect does what they share have on each other? What is significant about their secrets? Are they big secrets? What effect does the sharing have on their marriage? How does the telling game further the plot of the story?
9) Is this the end of their marriage? What do you think is the overall theme of the story? What is significant about the title of the story, "A Temporary Matter," and how does it relate to the telling game? Answer fully in paragraphs.
10) How would you characterize their relationship after the death of the baby? Do you think the change was gradual or happened the day they came home from the hospital? How are they both outsiders in their own home? How could that be related to the process of birth? Discuss in small groups, also comparing notes on the relationship before/during the pregnancy. Discuss what is meant by a metaphor. Then make a picture that depicts their relationship. How is the baby an extended metaphor for their relationship?

Answer 1

Shukumar is a 35-year-old doctoral student. Until somewhat recently, he’d been researching the agrarian revolts in India. Six months before the story takes place, Shukumar and his wife, Shoba, had been expecting their first child. While Shukumar was away at a conference, Shoba went into early labor and the baby was born as a stillbirth. Shukumar feels guilty for being away from Shoba during the tragedy, and he questions whether he even deserves to mourn their dead child. Shukumar’s inability to reckon with his grief causes his relationship with Shoba to become increasingly strained. Shukumar spends his days home alone, essentially abandoning his dissertation. His guilt and grief leave him unable to work, socialize, or leave the house. Since the death, Shukumar has taken on the task of cooking for the couple, which he likes for the sole reason that it makes him feel productive. Shukumar frequently reflects back on happier times with Shoba. During a blackout that occurs for one hour each night while the electric company repairs a damaged power line, Shoba suggests that they share secrets in the dark. Shukumar jumps at the chance to reconnect with his wife. Confiding in one other seems to bring them closer together, and Shukumar responds to this new habit with a cautious optimism. In the very least, Shukumar hopes that their renewed communication might allow them finally to move on their lives—regardless of whether or not they choose to do so as a couple. When Shoba reveals that she’s found an apartment and will be leaving Shukumar, he feels relief, for he admits to no longer loving his wife. But the shock of the news hurts him, and he retaliates with a secret of his own: unbeknownst to Shoba, he held their baby before it was time to cremate the body. Holding the baby and finding out details about the child was something Shoba didn’t want to do. Because he no longer loves her, Shukumar describes the baby in vivid detail. Though cruel, getting this secret off his chest seems to provide Shukumar with some sense of closure.Explanation: