Mrs. Sen's

“Mrs. Sen’s” follows 11-year-old Eliot as he forms a relationship with his day-care provider, Mrs. Sen. These two characters form a bond because they are both thoughtful, introverted, and caring, and they both have primary relationships (mother and husband, respectively) that are emotionally distant. Eliot and Mrs. Sen have empathy for each other. Mrs. Sen is open to Eliot about her life in India and how much she misses it. Eliot’s mom is unnamed, which adds to the distance of her character from the story and Eliot’s life.

Mr. Sen is absorbed in his job as a professor at the university and does not take an interest in Mrs. Sen’s emotions and needs. Their marriage is rooted in the patriarchy in that Mr. Sen makes the major decisions and dominates his wife. He also prioritizes his career at the of cost Mrs. Sen’s isolation and lack of fulfillment as a stay-at-home wife and caregiver. The themes of the story include Alienation from Community, Patriarchal Gender Roles in Marriage, Memories and the Past, and the importance of language.

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