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Characters in „The Third And Final Continent“

This article displays a list and description of the four characters in the short story 'The Third And Final Continent'. The story was written by Jhumpa Lahiri in the year 1999 and first published in 'The New Yorker‘ Magazine and in her book of collections with nine short stories called 'Interpreter Of Maladies'.

Narrator

The unnamed narrator of the story is the central figure. He is a young man originally from Calcutta, India and in his early thirties at the beginning of the story in the year 1964. During the storyline he comes across three different continents, until he settles on the last one.

When he first came to England, after living in India, it was in order to study Economics and Political Science at the 'L.S.E.' in London. He first showed his frugal characteristics when he lived there in London under extremely modest circumstances and you can clearly see, that he is a very determined and ambitious person, due to him working an extra job to be able to afford his education. This mindset continues, when the narrator eventually moves to the USA in the year 1969, after getting a job offer in Boston to work in a University. He not only managed to safe enough money from his extra job to afford a plane ticket to Boston, but also goes on to live in the same modest circumstances as in London. He is a very frugal person, since he does not complain about his situation and still relentlessly exercises his job at the M.I.T. University. The narrator is very adaptable to new conditions and cultures as well, as he tries to apply to the US-Americans habits as fast as possible and even reads Guidebooks to be able to do it.

He also seems to be a rational and responsible person, because he takes on Bengali cultural traditions that are expected from him, such as an arranged marriage and marries his wife Mala in 1969, shortly before moving to Boston. Firstly he sees his marriage more as a matter of course and  keeps a certain distance from his wife, while still fulfilling every aspect of being a responsible husband, for example ensuring financial security and treating her with respect.

The narrator has much understanding and respectful characteristics in general and is always very polite to other people. He treats his landlord, the 103-year old Mrs. Croft with a lot of respect and always faces her with an honorable behavior, while still being very friendly and feeling responsible for the elderly lady. He shows that he cares about her in many ways and griefs her death, even though her not being the kindest person.

The narrator shows a lot of positive character traits, such as being a responsible, frugal, logical, but still loving and kind person.

Mala

Mala is the arranged wife of the narrator and the daughter of a schoolteacher, also from India. She is twenty-seven years old at the beginning of the story, which is also the reason, why her parents decided to get her married to a man, she has never met before, since twenty-seven is a rather late age to marry in the Bengali culture. She has been rejected by several possible husbands, even though she has every skill a traditional husband could ask for, like knitting, cooking, embroidery, reciting poems or sketching. This was due to her not fulfilling certain beauty standards, such as having a rather fair complexion, although she definitely cares about her appearance, as she takes of herself every night before going to bed and likes to get ready for evening walks with her husband.

She seems to be a much more emotional and attached person, than her husband. This shows in her missing her parents and crying at night for this reason.

She also clings to her traditions much more than the narrator and insists on wearing her sari and applying to her hair. She likes paying her culture justice, like sticking to traditional cooking and clothing.

She seems to be quite uncomfortable and insecure at the beginning of her marriage, as she keeps her sari on, even when being alone with her husband and therefore not having to wear it, she continues to.

Mala is a very caring wife and dutifully executes, what is expected from her as being a traditional housewife, like cleaning their home and preparing food for her husband, as she was taught back in her hometown. She seems to be looking after him and shows him a lot of kindness in small gestures, even though her being rather shy.

Her true, joyful character first shows, when they visit Mrs. Croft together, as Mala is amused by her husband using the expression "splendid". She is even more flattered, when Mrs. Croft describes her as a "perfect lady" and the narrator discovers her other side and feels sympathy for her, for the first time.

As the story goes on, the reader finds out that her and the narrator actually grew very close in their relationship and share a beloved boy, also towards him, Mala shows a very kind and caring character. She also seems to have adapted to the lifestyle in the US and actually feeling at home.

Mrs. Croft

Mrs. Croft is the narrators landlord of his first Appartement in the US and 103 years of age. She used to be a piano teacher, after her husband and father of her children died, in order to be able to raise her children. She has a 68 years old daughter named Helen, who comes to visit her from time to time to bring her groceries.

Even though she is extraordinarily old, she still lives alone in her house and mostly takes care of herself on her own. She insists on being independent and strictly sticks to her routines.

Such as, always eating canned soup or wanting the narrator to sit with her on a piano bank and talk about the Moon landing. Her ritual, declaring the Moon landing as 'splendid', also seems to be very important to her. She also has very limited views on a woman’s role in society and how a girl should dress, due to her growing up in a completely different time.

Mrs. Croft is a very commanding and demanding person, while still having her own kind of humor and showing people that she cares about them.

She takes a lot of pride in the American Moon landing and achievements and seems to be quite patriotic.

Even though she may seem like an unfriendly or rude elderly person, she still has her own kind of caring about people and grows quite attached to the narrator.

Helen

Helen is the sixty-eight year old daughter of Mrs. Croft and takes of her in bringing her groceries on Sundays. She is a short and more fuller person, with a preference for the color pink and stylish clothing. The narrator gets most of his information about Mrs. Croft during a conversation with Helen, like her age or her being a piano teacher in earlier days.

She seems to be a kind and thoughtful person, as she still takes care of her mother in such considerate way, but also not being afraid to talk back to her mother, when it comes to opinions, she thinks are out of date. For instance Mrs. Croft thinking, that a man and a woman, who are not married, can not be alone.

Even though, Helen takes care of her mother until she eventually dies, which underlines her kind character traits.

References

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1999/06/21/the-third-and-final-continent

https://www.litcharts.com/lit/the-third-and-final-continent/characters/helen

https://www.cornelsen.de/produkte/schwerpunktthema-abitur-englisch-on-the-move-migration-and-cross-cultural-encounters-text-und-arbeitsheft-9783060366606