Jhumpa Lahiri is a Pulitzer Prize-winning short story author, praised as one of the first to create literature for Indian/Bengali-Americans. These diasporic writings address many issues involving adaptation to new cultures, generational relationships, and traditional gender roles for both men and women. Many have declared Lahiri to be an advocate of feminism, however, a closer reading of her characters and the plot of her short stories reveals that her writings display both pro-woman and anti-woman sentiments. Jhumpa Lahiri has written two books of short stories: Unaccustomed Earth and The Interpreter of Maladies. These tales contribute to the womanizing genre but also subvert this genre in other ways by placing the masculine over the feminine. This occurs in "A Temporary Matter" from "The Interpreter of Maladies" as well as in "Unaccustomed Earth" and Nobody's Business" from his other collection. An examination of the characters and plot within these stories allows us to see the conflict that arises between the expected gender roles of male and female, the generational differences in the perspective of this dichotomy, as well as the difficulties surrounding cultural diasporization – all of which demonstrate that her stories both contribute to and detract from womanizing ideals. If many of her critics had taken a closer look “they would have known that she writes against rather than with those significant segments of feminist culture of the last half century” (Cussen 5). on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The women's movement differs from the feminist movement only in that it focuses on women of color, in this case Bangladeshi-American women. It may therefore seem to require even greater attention due to the greater persecution of women of color compared to Caucasian women, although both are often at a disadvantage. Up until this point, feminism has focused primarily on African women and their desire for greater freedoms and rights. Other forms of feminism may be developing, but in the meantime “Indian/Bangladeshi-American feminism has not yet been heard of, much less articulated, and that is a shame. Although she never explicitly addresses feminism by name in her fiction, Jhumpa Lahiri's feminine manifestations in her various works of fiction provide an in-depth point of exploration” (Kasun 8). Many of the characters in her stories are women exploring their independence in the face of traditional gender roles rooted in their culture. Indian/Bengali women face different cultural expectations than African or Middle Eastern women, and Jhumpa Lahiri seems to be making an effort to raise awareness of their situation. However, we can also see evidence that contradicts a womanizing reading of his short story collections. Her stories “highlight Lahiri's intervention in complicating and expanding feminist critical expectations” (Ranasinha 175). The first of these stories is “A Temporary Matter”. It begins with a young married couple, Shukumar and Shoba. Despite being married, due to tragedy they live as strangers until a planned power outage in the neighborhood brings them together. The four nights of darkness give them time to speak and teach others. Slowly we are given fragments of memory that make us understand the distance that separates Shukumar and Shoba. It is revealed that they are mourning the death of their stillborn child. This traumatic loss drives a wedge between them. Readers hope they can reconcile because with each dark night they confess more and moresecrets. Many of them are simple things like spending the night with a friend, a photo from a magazine, or not liking a sweater. However, this hope for their marriage quickly fades as they both reveal one final confession. Shoba admits that she is moving and found his apartment and Shukumar tells her that he saw and held their stillborn son. Finally, they “wept for the things they now knew” (Lahiri, “Interpreter of Maladies” 22). In this story, Lahiri uses her descriptions of Shoba to place the masculine over the feminine. In this line of thought, "the woman becomes the object, the body, while the male is granted the power to assert his nihilating gaze on the feminine being in itself as a passive object" (Asl 124). This idea of ​​annihilating the feminine by placing the masculine in a position of power and the metaphor of vision are both linked to constructs of sexual differences and gender roles. We see this phenomenon in advertising and how a woman's physical appearance is viewed. Men are often placed in a position of power while women are simply passive objects in the story of their lives. This is evident in Lahiri's writing in “A Temporary Matter” because Shoba is often looked at by Shukumar or described to the reader. She is reduced to a physical entity as she and Shukumar only occupy the same space physically, not emotionally. This is a method that Lahiri uses in some of her other stories as well. This undermines a feminist reading of history. His physical appearance is discussed frequently throughout the story. In one instance, Shukumar notes that “his beauty, which had once overwhelmed him, seemed to fade away. Cosmetics that seemed superfluous were now necessary, not to improve her but to define her in some way” (14). Shoba is put in the position of being looked at and relegated to being an object defined by her cosmetics. Shukumar can no longer relate to her on an emotional level and this is causing the collapse of their marriage. Even before the death of their child, Shukumar seeks some sort of attraction elsewhere. During their secret affair, he admits to her that he had cut out a photo of a woman - a sock advert - that he had found strangely attractive because Shoba was pregnant at the time and had gotten so big "to the point where Shukumar no longer wanted to touch her ” (19) Especially pregnant, Shoba was no longer attractive to him and he found himself in a position of dominance over her because of this perspective on her attractiveness “A Temporary Matter” relegates women to an object in the eyes of men and is in direct contrast to the idea that Lahiri is primarily a feminist writer who portrays strong, independent female characters who resist cultural norms. Another story that introduces the same idea of ​​objectification of women is "Nobody's Business", also introduced in the collection "Unaccustomed Earth". One of her roommates, Paul, is fascinated by her and wishes he could have a relationship with her. While Sang is visiting his sister in London, Paul receives a phone call from a woman called Deirdre who claims to be Farouk's lover. Paul decides not to tell Sang what happened. He eventually discovers a woman, but doesn't believe Paul when he tells her what he called about. Eventually overhearing a conversation between Deirdre and Paul, Sang decides to go to Farouk's house and she and Paul confront him together. Farouk and Paul argue and eventually the police arrive to calm things down. Sang then returns to London to be with his sister and Paul continues his life before Sang's arrival. Sang, like Shuma, is often described physically in the wayPaul (who wishes to have a relationship with her) senses her. At one point, he sees her with a towel after having just finished showering. “For weeks he had wanted to see her in passing like this, yet he felt completely unprepared for the sight of her naked body. Her legs and arms, her face and shoulders were damp” (Lahiri, “Unaccustomed Earth” 190). Just like Shuma, she is relegated to an object, a phenomenon that Paul hopes to glimpse. Interestingly, we never find much physical description of Paul, Farouk, or any other man in his stories. But almost every story has a description of what the woman looks like. Paul sees her again when “she went up to her room, wearing a beautiful dress he had never seen, a white cotton dress with short sleeves, tight at the waist. The neck was square and showed off the collarbones” (205). This is an example of when "the woman becomes the object, the body, while the male is granted the power to assert his nihilating gaze on the female being-in-itself as a passive object" (Asl 124). Despite the examples of feminist and independent women in her stories, Lahiri reminds her readers of the reality that women are often relegated to objects in both the Western world and Indian/Bengali culture. Another story written by Lahiri that suggests the complicated dichotomy between males and females is "Unaccustomed Earth" from her second book of short stories. This tale involves family relationships between three generations, a father, a daughter and a grandson. This adds to the discussion of cultural immersion and gender roles. However, we do not see the objectification of the female character. The father visits his daughter, Ruma, and son, Akash. After her mother's death, Ruma suddenly felt a strong desire to reprise many of the same roles her mother played. Ruma left a successful career outside the home to raise her children while her husband Adam supports her. After grieving two weeks after her mother's death, "overseeing her client's future, preparing his will and refinancing his mortgages, seemed ridiculous, and all she wanted was to stay home with Akash" ("Unaccustomed Earth" 5). She suddenly has more desire for motherhood, a womanizing trait, and Lahiri points out that "the house was her job now" (6). Since it is also his choice to stay at home, he shows more independence and ability than someone who is forced to stay at home due to cultural needs might. It is also interesting to note that although her father belongs to a more traditional Bengali culture, he encourages her to look for work outside the home. He himself begins to embrace Western ideas when he begins dating a woman who wears Western clothes, such as cardigans and trousers. However, Ruma finds it more fulfilling to stay at home with her son and doesn't seem to miss the time she spent at work. This display of choice in her desire to stay at home, Ruma is different from some of Lahiri's other characters who stay at home like Mrs. Sen or who don't actually speak much throughout the story, like Shoba. “By placing her female characters in traditional roles – as housewives and/or near-silent, often unemployed mothers – Lahiri shows, through the internal monologue and narrative of her female characters, their impact on the consciousness of other characters and their communal bond . in short, their great power… despite situating her female characters as seemingly powerless in Western society, Lahiri reveals their internal adaptability but not an overly assimilatory nature” (Kasun 20). The character of Ruma really demonstrates the contrast between the traditional gender roles encouraged by Indian/Bengali culture and the ideas of feminism and feminism that many believethat Lahiri promotes. She has the ability to choose a career for herself and be independent, but realizes that she is drawn to the responsibility of motherhood and staying at home with her child instead of seeking the Western idea of ​​success in professional life. Lahiri is presenting her audience with the idea that perhaps gender expectations can fit the ideas of feminism. We see that the subversion and support of a feminist reading of Lahirile's works exist simultaneously. Both traditional and non-traditional gender roles are demonstrated, which leads us to realize that in these stories “the configuration of gender roles for both male and female characters becomes an intertwined and ongoing process. Although there are some characteristics that can be attributed to different generations of characters, an analysis of these narratives shows that they reject stereotypical representations of male or female characters” (Marques vi). When characters are surrounded by their own culture, it becomes easier and more necessary to follow the normative approach to gender roles and traditions of their culture. Many of Lahiri's stories involve Indians/Bengalis transplanted into a new Western culture where traditional gender roles are not necessarily the norm. Their diasporic state creates a conflict between the culture of their heritage and the desire to assimilate into their new culture. This creates situations where we begin to see a rejection of typical gender roles and stereotypes. One of the examples of the rejection of these stereotypes is the way Lahiri writes her male characters. Traditionally male characters in Asian diasporic literature are oppressive figures esteemed above women. However, most of the characters in these tales “struggle in much the same way as the female characters to deal with their sense of being hyphenated subjects living between worlds. As a result, the male characters in his narratives often depart from the stereotypical portrayal of Indian male characters” (Marques 3). We can look at Shukumar as an example of a non-traditional male character. At the beginning of his marriage to Shoba it appears that she followed the gender expectations of their culture by cooking traditional foods for him and cleaning the house. However, after the child's death, their roles seem to become opposites. Shukumar starts cooking more. He stays at home and makes sure the housework gets done. Despite the fact that womanizers may choose to reject typical gender roles, they celebrate characteristics such as motherhood. After the death of her son during pregnancy, she rejects this motherly role and tries to separate herself from femininity in many ways and chooses to work more and more outside the home until Shukumar takes over the daily tasks in the house. Lahiri paints her characters in typical male/female fashion and then chooses to subvert these characteristics through small differences that separate them from the typical mold. Another example of a nontraditional male character in Lahiri's stories is Paul, Sang's roommate in “Nobody's Business.” .” He is not from the same culture as Sang but does not follow many of the gender norms imposed on males even in Western culture. We find it unexpectedly feminine. He does not have a strong, assertive personality and has retreated into something of a shell. Even though the story is written in a third-person perspective of his life, Sang is the center of attention. She wants to have a relationship with Sang but does nothing to make it a reality. In the self-analysis of a previous relationship, which had come to an end, he realized that “he hadn't argued; in the wake of shame, he became strangely efficient and.