The Third and Final Continent by Jhumpa Lahiri
"The Third and Final Continent" is a poignant short story by Jhumpa Lahiri that explores the immigrant experience through the eyes of a young Indian man adjusting to life in the United States. The narrative begins with his departure from India, detailing his experiences in London before he settles in Cambridge, Massachusetts, for a job at MIT. Initially, he lives alone in a YMCA but later rents a room from an eccentric elderly widow, Mrs. Croft, who plays a crucial role in his transition.
Through their interactions, the narrator learns to navigate his new environment and reflect on his own feelings of loneliness and disconnection. He is preparing for the arrival of his wife, Mala, whom he barely knows, and their marriage is initially marked by a sense of distance and duty rather than affection. Mrs. Croft's quirky behavior and insistence on routines provide comfort and perspective for the narrator, ultimately influencing his outlook on his relationship with Mala.
As the story unfolds, the narrator’s connection with Mrs. Croft and the gradual blossoming of his marriage with Mala highlight themes of adaptation, cultural identity, and the passage of time. By the end, the couple evolves from strangers to a cohesive family unit, illustrating the complexities and rewards of the immigrant journey in a new land.
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The Third and Final Continent by Jhumpa Lahiri
First published: 1999
Type of plot: Domestic realism
Time of work: The 1960's to 1990's
Locale: London, England, and Cambridge, Massachusetts
Principal Characters:
The narrator , an immigrant from IndiaMala , his wifeMrs. Croft , his 103-year-old American landladyHelen Croft , her daughter and caregiver
The Story
"The Third and Final Continent" is the story of how a young immigrant adjusts to his new home and new bride. The heroine of the work is an eccentric, elderly widow, who manages to help the young man feel less lonely. She shows him qualities in his wife that he had not noticed and provides him with a model for his future life.
The narrator's account starts with his departure from his native India and continues with a summary of his five-year stay in London. After obtaining a job at a library at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he returns to Calcutta, marries, then flies to the United States, leaving his bride behind, with the understanding that she will join him six weeks later. In the meantime, he intends to stay in a room at the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) in Cambridge, Massachusetts. However, when he happens across an advertisement for a room in a much quieter area, he decides to look it over and ends up renting it.
At first, he is puzzled by the eccentric behavior of Mrs. Croft, his elderly, widowed landlady. Every evening, she announces that there is an American flag on the moon, pronounces the fact "splendid," and insists that her roomer repeat the word loudly enough so that she can hear it. This becomes a ritual. So does his presenting his rent envelope personally, rather than leaving it on a ledge. To his amazement, this considerate act elicits an expression of gratitude from the crotchety old woman. When her daughter Helen Croft makes her weekly visit, she tells the narrator that he is the first tenant her mother has ever referred to as a gentleman. He also learns from Helen that Mrs. Croft is 103 years old and so fiercely independent that she insists on eating only soup and heating it herself. From that time on, the narrator takes a little more time conversing with Mrs. Croft, and he often checks to make sure that she has not fallen.
During his six weeks with Mrs. Croft, the narrator often thinks back to his wedding and to the five unsatisfying nights he and his wife, Mala, spent together before he left India. He feels no affection for his wife and does not look forward to her arrival. He thinks back on the years he spent caring for his mother, who went insane after becoming a widow. However, he will be a dutiful husband just as he had been a dutiful son. He rents an apartment, meets Mala at the airport, and installs her in her new home. However, they remain strangers.
On one of their walks, they stop at the home of Mrs. Croft, who is now bedridden in the parlor. When the narrator responds to a comment by Mrs. Croft with his usual "splendid," for the first time, he sees Mala laugh. He wonders what the old lady will make of his wife, dressed as she is in a sari, with a red dot on her forehead. However, after looking her over, Mrs. Croft pronounces Mala a lady. Not long after their visit, the narrator is saddened by the news of Mrs. Croft's death.
Thirty years later, the narrator and Mala have a happy marriage, a comfortable home, and a son at Harvard. They have become American citizens and plan to spend their remaining years in the United States.