Setting

The short story “The Word Love” by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruniwas published in 1997 and was probably meant to be read as contemporary to the time of publishing. This is also indicated by references to international phone calls being a common phenomen…

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Physical setting

The main physical setting is the apartment where the narrator lives with Rex, with its “sagging sofa” (p. 1, l. 14), but it also includes reference to places in and around the city: “The evening when the two of you drove up to Grizzly Peak and watched the sunset spreading red over the Bay…” (p. 2, ll. 14-15)

There are also several references to the Indian village nea…

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Social setting

The protagonist of the short story is an Indian woman who studies in the US and lives with an American man. Her life in the US is very different from her mother’s life in India. Her mother is a conservative woman who entered an arranged marriage to a man who died soon after their wedding. But she respected tradition and never remarried. Furthermore, she has never travelled, drunk alcohol, or watched movies.

The woman’s lifestyle is very different from the American lifestyle, illustrated through Rex’s character. In the US having premarital relationships, drinking, going out, e…