A Wife's Story- By, Bharati Mukherjee

The opening scene is in a theatre and begins with a man telling jokes and making comparisons to Glen Gary Glenn Ross, while also clearly making a joke. He is with a group of people that seem to find his jokes funny. An actor playing a salesman is described in great detail. We are introduced to a man named Imre, from Budapest, who isn’t very good with his English. The woman with Irme clearly feels insulted by something said in the play and says, “I didn’t pay eighteen dollars to be insulted.” She says that she doesn’t hate Mamet, but that, “It’s the tyranny of the American dream that scares me.”

She raises an interesting point when she says, “Insult, my American friends will tell me, is a kind of acceptance. No instant dignity here. A play like this, back home, would cause riots. Communal, racist, and antisocial. The actors wouldn’t make it off stage. This play, and all these awful feelings, would be safely locked up.” I though that this was a very interesting comparison and point of view. It seems like Imre doesn’t understand why she is upset and says, “Panna, what is Patel? Why are you taking it all so personally?”

We are shown a personal side to Panna when she says, “My manners are exquisite, my feelings are delicate, my gestures refined, my moods undetectable. They have seen me through riots, separation and my son’s death.” This is a very powerful quote and gives a unique view into the person that Panna is. We are told more about the character’s lives and that, “Imre’s been here over two years, but he’s stayed very old-world, very courtly, openly protective of women.” This shows an insight to the kind of person that Imre is. He has a wife who is a nurse somewhere on the Hungarian Countryside and two sons. Panna’s husband manages and mill, and they do not have any children.

We are given an interesting look into her life when Panna tells us, “I’ve made it. I’m making something of my life. I’ve left home, my husband, to get a Ph.D. in special ed. I have a multiple entry visa and a small scholarship for two years.” This shows Panna’s ambition to make something of herself and to continue her education.

Charity, Panna’s roommate, seems to be an interesting character. We are told that, “She had her eyes fixed eight or nine months ago and out of gratitude sleeps with her plastic surgeon every third Wednesday.” She is a hand model and believes that Asians should have a monopoly in the hand-modeling business. She mentions that she has an estranged husband named Eric. Apparently she still loves Eric, and Eric is smart enough to know it. Panna then quotes Mamet and says, “Love is a commodity, hoarded like any other.”

Panna on the other hand has a, “traditional Hindu marriage.” Her parents picked a groom for her. I found it interesting when she says, “Affection, love. Who can tell the difference in a traditional marriage in which a wife still doesn’t call her husband by his first name?” This shows how extremely traditional Panna and her husband are. They clearly abide by old customs and are not like most modern day couples.

Panna’s husband decides to come visit her in NYC. She feels as if she has to put on all of her jewelry and sari in order to greet him. We are also told that this is one of the few times in their marriage that they have actually been alone. She says, “So for two weeks we are to have the apartment to ourselves. This is more privacy than we ever had in India. No parents, no servants, to keep us modest.” It think it’s crazy that as a married couple this will be more privacy than they’ve ever had where they live. For couples, privacy is normally a big part of a relationship; a time when they can get away from the kids if they have them and catch up with one another. The fact that they never have time alone is another strange aspect to their unusual relationship. Later when they are shopping Panna says, “I feel I am just getting to know him.” This also shows the distance between them in their marriage.

We see a change in the dynamic of their relationship when Panna’s husband’s attitude changes. He becomes very positive and excited about the city. Panna says, “My heart speeds watching him this happy.” And later says, “This has to be love, I think.” Things change when a tour guide hits on Panna and her husband is less than pleased. He says, “I told you not to wear pants. He thinks you are Puerto Rican. He thinks he can treat you with disrespect.” This shows how he is slowly reverting to his old way of thinking. He resorted to making a rash judgement and says, “You’re too innocent. I’ve come to take you back. I have seen how men watch you.” This shows his jealousy and how uncomfortable he is when he feels like Panna is not in his complete control. He then justifies his actions by saying, “I can’t live without you.”