A Temporary Matter

Foreshadowing is a narrative device that Lahiri uses to signal what will happen in the story. Specifically, Lahiri uses foreshadowing to suggest that the couple is not heading toward a happy reconciliation. In the beginning of the story, Shoba returns home in her gym attire. Her makeup is worn from the predictable event of her working out before returning home from work. In the end of the story, Shoba returns home in a different attire with refreshed makeup. This altered routine suggests that Shoba’s arrival on the fifth night harbors an unexpected change.

In addition, Shukumar notes that after the loss of their baby, Shoba no longer shops for groceries, stocks the pantry with premade goods, and cooks meals. Shoba’s detachment from previously joyful domestic tasks indicates that she is no longer invested in her life with Shukumar. In turn, Shukumar en passant reveals that Shoba keeps a separate bank account for her bonuses. These instances foreshadow Shoba’s final confession that she intends to leave Shukumar.

Situational irony occurs when something does not happen as expected. Unlike dramatic irony, in which the reader knows something the characters do not, situational irony is structured to surprise both the reader and the characters. With each candlelit confession, Lahiri offers the possibility of reconciliation between Shoba and Shukumar.

The narration closely follows Shukumar, who becomes increasingly optimistic about reconnecting with Shoba. When the couple comes together to make love on the fourth night, Shukumar happily anticipates his next candlelit dinner with Shoba. However, Shukumar’s hope for marital progress is dashed during the final dinnertime conversation, when Shoba announces that she has leased an apartment. Shukumar has an epiphany: His wife has not been preparing for their life together—stockpiling goods, procuring emergency supplies—because she has been preparing for her life without him. This realization “sicken[s]” Shukumar, and he counters Shoba’s confession with one of his own: He was at the hospital and held their baby before the cremation. Just as Lahiri positions the couple’s exchanges as a progression toward reconciliation, the narration intentionally omits the truth of Shukumar’s presence at the hospital. Shukumar’s confession is another example of situational irony because the narrative led both readers and Shoba to believe that Shukumar “[wasn’t] even there.” In employing situational irony, the author allows the reader to share in Shoba and Shukumar’s epiphanies.