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“The notice informed them that it was a temporary matter: for five days their electricity would be cut off for one hour, beginning at eight P.M. A line had gone down in the last snowstorm, and the repairmen were going to take advantage of the milder evenings to set it right.”

At the outset of the story, the narrator describes the “temporary matter” immediately: for the next five nights, Shoba and Shukumar will have one hour of darkness. Each night the lack of electricity ironically sparks the ritual of confessions that make up the bulk of the story, so that just as the repairmen work to fix the wire problems, the couple talks in order to solve their marriage woes.

“The baby had been born dead. Shoba was lying on a bed, asleep, in a private room so small there was barely enough space to stand beside her, in a wing of the hospital they hadn’t been to on the tour for expectant parents.”

Near the beginning of the story, the narrator describes the tragedy that changed the lives of Shoba and Shukumar in stark detail. After Shoba gives birth to a stillborn baby, she is placed alone in a room so small no one else can fit inside, which is symbolic of the isolated mental space she inhabits afterward, where not even Shukumar can reach her. The couple had prepared for everything, even touring the hospital, so the unfamiliarity of the wing and room reflect the unexpected turn in the couple’s lives.

“Let’s do that,” she said suddenly.
“Do what?”
“Say something to each other in the dark.”
“Like what? I don’t know any jokes.”
“No, no jokes.” She thought for a minute. “How about telling each other something we’ve never told before.”

In this quote, Shoba introduces the idea of confessing something to each other in the dark and the resulting confessions between her and Shukumar make up the bulk of the story. The power outages remind Shoba of a tradition in India that she experienced at her grandmother’s house when the power went out. Each family member told a story or a joke in the dark. Now, Shoba wants to confess secrets with her husband, but her clarification of “no jokes” foreshadows the seriousness of the information that will later be uncovered.

“Something happened when the house was dark. They were able to talk to each other again. The third night after supper they’d sat together on the sofa, and once it was dark he began kissing her awkwardly on her forehead and her face, and though it was dark he closed his eyes, and knew that she did, too.”

On the third night of their confession game, Shukumar and Shoba find it easier to speak to each other, as if the darkness is a kind of magic place where they can be honest without hesitation or judgement. In this way, the five days serve as a quick encapsulation of their relationship, from familiarity to awkward kissing, to sex. This physical intimacy is a breakthrough moment for them because they have been estranged for many months. It seems reminiscent of a first kiss when the narrator reveals that they both close their eyes and there’s some awkwardness. At this point in the story, it seems as though the couple is on the mend, and they will find a way to be together, which makes the conclusion all the more devastating.

Next section Quotes that Reveal the Setting

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