Gogol remembers having to do the same thing when he was younger, when his grandparents died...He remembers, back then, being bored by it, annoyed at having to observe a ritual no one else he knew followed, in honor of people he had seen only a few times in his life...Now, sitting together at the kitchen table at six-thirty every evening, his father's chair empty, this meatless meal is the only thing that seems to make sense.
In "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri, Gogol reflects on his past experiences with rituals surrounding death, especially during the time of his grandparents' passing. He recalls feeling disinterested and frustrated by the obligation to participate in a custom that seemed foreign to him and was not practiced by his peers. The rituals felt insignificant, given his limited interactions with his grandparents, as he grappled with the meaning of these traditions.
However, as time passes and Gogol faces the absence of his father, the significance of these rituals takes on a new dimension. Sitting alone at the kitchen table at six-thirty each evening, he finds some solace in the meatless meal they used to share. This meal becomes a cherished connection to his family's traditions, offering him a sense of stability and continuity in the midst of his grief. The ritual that once felt burdensome is now a grounding presence in his life.
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All the things you can talk about in anyone's work are the things that are least important.
Race of Cain, ascend to heaven, And cast God down upon the earth!
