Interpreter of Maladies

"Mr. Kapasi observed it too, knowing that this was the picture of the Das family he would preserve forever in his mind."

Much of the story follows Mr. Kapasi's obsession with Mrs. Das and his anxiety around such a women with whom he is infatuated.  Mrs. Das confesses her unhappiness with her life as a mother and wife, and Mr. Kapasi reveals his discontent with his dull marriage.  It seemed that these two unsatisfied characters were going to form a intimate relationship with each other, as their is an apparent mutual interest among them.  Ironically, the resolution ends with the opposite.  Mr. Kapasi's contact information is lost and the only memory of Mrs. Das is the fleeting piece of paper, symbolic of the possibility of forming a relationship.  I thought this dynamic of the plot presented the mood of the story as generally unhappy and disappointing.  Mr. Kapasi and Mrs. Das never develop intimacy, but have to return to their  empty lives.