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Characters
Events
Miscellaneous
100
Dark
The dark allows them to hide, since they now can't hide behind their secrets they share.
100

Comes to stay with Shoba and Shukumar after the baby passes.

Shoba's Mom

100

What do they do when the lights go out?

Have dinner and tell each other things they've never told each other before.

100
Why wasn't Shukumar there for the birth of their child?
He was on a business trip.
200

Food/Cooking

Represent their past as a happy couple and the present as Shukumar tries to recreate their happy life.

200
Husband, Passive, 35 year old student
Shukumar
200

What is their reaction to the baby dying?

Shoba is very upset, becomes very quiet and depressed, can't be in the baby's room after. Shukumar is upset, but less so. He is able to think about it without over reacting.

200
What's the name of their neighbors?
The Bradfords
300
Light
The light exposes the flaws in their relationship.
300
Wife, Strong/Independent, Always prepared
Shoba
300
Significance of Shoba leaving.
Shows that their relationship is most likely coming to end. The death of their child has torn them apart.
300

What is Shukumar's last secret that he reveals to Shoba?

That he got to hold the baby, and that the baby was a boy.

400
Shoba's carelessness and not cleaning up her things
Shows her grief, and how after the baby dies, she doesn't care anymore.
400
Couple, happy neighbors
The Bradfords
400
What does Shoba do when Shukumar's mother comes?
She gets a martini with Gillian.
400
Whose father died?
Shukumar's
500

The title "A Temporary Matter"

The power outage is temporary, and so is their ability to trust each other.

500
Get's a martini with Shoba and drives Shoba to hospital when she's pregnant
Gillian
500
What does Shoba do that is significant before she tells him that she is leaving?
She turns the lights on in their house.
500
Where does Shukumar go in the summers?
Calcutta