In society, people see children as innocent and ignorant beings because they lack worldly experiences. As a result, the fact that children can cause and shed light on problems in adult relationships is often overlooked. Jhumpa Lahiri's short story collection, Interpreter of Maladies, discusses the factors that contribute to the success or failure of relationships. In the stories “A Temporary Matter,” “Interpreter of Maladies,” and “Sexy,” children directly influence the fate of every romantic relationship. Therefore, Lahiri uses children as catalysts to push relationships towards their destiny. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay First of all, in “A Temporary Matter,” the death of Shoba and Shukumar's son leads to their eventual separation. At the time of their child's birth, the two are physically distant: Shukumar is in Baltimore and Shoba is in Boston. Each of them deals with the death of their child differently and, therefore, they continue to distance themselves from each other. For example, although unreasonable, Shoba blames Shukumar for not being with her at the time of the accident. His caring attitude disappears, as evidenced by the fact that he stops cooking and dressing well. Meanwhile, the two distance themselves as much as possible despite living together. Shoba puts in extra hours at work, and Shukumar sets up his study in the nursery, "partly because the room calmed him, and partly because it was the place Shoba avoided" (Lahiri 8). When Shoba finally tells Shukumar that she is leaving, Shukumar reveals the sex of their baby to solidify their separation. Lahiri states: "These were the things he had told her. He had held her son, who had only known life inside her, against his chest in a dark room in an unfamiliar wing of the hospital. He had held him until a The nurse didn't knock and took him away, and he promised himself that day that he would never tell Shoba, because then he still loved her, and it was the only thing in his life that he wanted to be a surprise." (22). Shukumar withholds information about the child in an attempt to spare Shoba and save their relationship, but when he realizes it is doomed to fail, he releases the information and thus frees Shoba. While the child in "A Temporary Matter" causes a physical separation between Shoba and Shukumar, the children in "Interpreter of Maladies" symbolize the mental separation between Mr. and Mrs. Das. The disconnect between Mr. and Mrs. Das is evident from the beginning: the story opens with an argument over who should take their daughter to the bathroom. When Mrs. Das loses the argument, "She didn't hold the little girl's hand as they went to the bathroom" (43). Tina is the daughter of both Mr. and Mrs. Das, and their reluctance to raise her shows that they see their relationship more as a burden than a team effort. Meanwhile, Bobby is not Mr. Das's son, but the direct result of Mrs. Das's infidelity. He is constantly reminded of Mrs. Das's guilt, and she tells Mr. Kapasi, "I feel terrible looking at my children and Raj, always terrible" (65). Since Mr. Das is unaware of Mrs. Das's adultery, they have no way to resolve nor reason to end the unhealthy relationship. Therefore, Bobby and the other children hold the relationship together and at the same time destroy it internally. Unlike the children in “Interpreter of Maladies,” Rohin helps Miranda break away from her unhealthy relationship. Even though Rohin tries to act mature by drinking coffee and memorizing capital letters, he is still a child. In her naivety, she tells Miranda that sexy means “loving.