Moushumi Desires Single Life in Chapter 10

In Chapter 10 of The Namesake, I never brought up in discussion my thoughts on Moushumi’s clinging thoughts to old boyfriends and flings. Throughout the time she and Gogol dated, were engaged and now in their marriage, subtle comment about Graham and her single lifestyle came up and made me wonder if she truly was over all of that.  Her thoughts on Graham, though not intensely frequent, stuck in my mind and made me question her commitment to Gogol. Moushumi brings up her annoyance at having to work while married and believes, “It would have been different with Graham” (254). At first, I thought it was Graham she missed and regretted the split, yet when Dimitri came into the picture my thoughts changed.  Graham’s name no longer came up and she became obsessed with memories of Dimitri until she found a way to reconnect with him. At the end of Chapter 10, she describes Dimitri as “small, balding, unemployed, middle aged” (266). The negativity of the description shocked me; I assumed Dimitri was some suave, tall, dark and handsome guy who Moushumi couldn’t resist. But when she directly characterizes him in an unfortunate way I realized she merely wants the younger version of him she had built up in her mind.  I do not understand why she would go through all the secrecy and lies to have an affair with someone she doesn’t even seem to like.  In her determination to not end up dependent on her husband as her mother had, Moushumi commits adultery and lies. She turns to past loves as a way to feel independent and free from her structured life. I believe she does not miss Graham and Dimitri as much as she misses her single life and her freedom to go from guy to guy without guilt or second thoughts.