Structure
The structure of the short story “The Word Love” by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni is simple and f…
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Title
The title of the short story, “The Word Love”, is symbolic and indicates that the story is going to focus on the feeling of love. The story is about the love the protagonist feels for her mother and the love she feels for her boyfriend, which are in conflict because of cultural differences: “Did …
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Beginning
The short story begins in media res, with the second-person narrator introducing us to her situation: “You practice them out loud for days in the bathroom mirror, the words with which you will tell your mother you’re living with a man.” (p. 1, ll. 1-2)
As the exposition continues we find out that …
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Middle
The middle of the short story develops the rising action in which events are not strictly chronological but mixed with backstories.
During the argument between the protagonist and Rex, about telling her mother about their relationship, the author inserts the protagonist’s memories regarding her mother or her relationship with Rex up to that point: “The night in his apartment (has it only been three months?) when he took your hands in his warm string ones, asking you to move in with him, please, because he really needed you.” (p. 2, ll. 17-19)
When the protagonist’s mother cal…
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Ending
The falling action shows the protagonist alone as the rain starts, a rare thing in the area she lives. The narrator goes for a walk and contemplates suicide: “Will he press repentant kisses on your pale palm? Will she fly across the ocean to wash your stiff eyelids with her tears?” (p. 6, ll. 11-12)
The ending of the story shows the protagonist having a revelation when she sees a young woman getting her umbrella trashed by the storm but…
