Non-Monogamy as Rebellion against Tradition in Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Namesake

Authors: Jingya Huang

Abstract:

This paper argues that Moushumi Mazoomdar has non-monogamous relationships with different men before and after her marriage as a form of rebellion against the traditional Indian culture deeply ingrained in her. Written by Jhumpa Lahiri, The Namesake (2004) features an Indian couple migrating to America who gives birth to two children, including the main character Gogol. Moushumi, like Gogol, is also a second-generation Indian American. Because of the influence of American culture, Moushumi prefers to marry for love, disdaining any thought of an arranged marriage. This paper is divided into two parts: before and after marriage which can also be seen in the light of polyamory and infidelity. First, according to Anapol (2010), polyamory is a newly created word from Greek and Latin which means “loving more than one person at a time when it comes to romantic or erotic love.” The discussion of polyamory mainly focuses on the most basic heterosexual relationship without mentioning of homosexual and bisexual love relationships. By adopting Anapol’s concept of polyamory, this paper examines the nature of the relationships between Moushumi and other men before her marriage. Afterwards, the concept of infidelity is discussed to analyze the interaction between Moushumi and Dimitri. How Moushumi rebels against tradition is shown through these two main discussions.

Keywords: Indian American, non-monogamous relationship, rebellion, polyamory, infidelity