Aspects of Shukumar’s character are revealed and developed mainly through his relationship to Shoba. He is sometimes bitter toward her, and sometimes he pities her. Clearly, he takes the death of their child hard because he has trouble focusing on his work after the tragic event. However, it’s also evident that the tragedy has not affected him as much as it has Shoba. For instance, he turns the baby’s room into a study, proving that the room haunts Shoba more than it haunts him. Shukumar learns to cook from Shoba’s cookbooks because she is no longer interested in cooking even though she once loved it. Shukumar cooks dinner because he worries otherwise Shoba will just eat cereal, which shows that he still cares for her and that he can return to daily tasks more easily than she can. 

The nature of Shukumar’s confessions shows that he is overall an honest person. He does not reveal any big, shocking secrets in their nightly sessions until the fifth night when he shares the sex of their baby, but even that secret had to be dragged out of him. Shukumar tries to protect his wife by not sharing his experience with the baby with her, but by holding back this information, he only manages to drive a wedge between them. Shukumar passively deals with his pain for most of the story and only voices his truest confession when confronted with his loss of love and the breakup of his marriage.