Summary:
"Fathering" is about an American Vietnam Veteran
who is divided between his present American life and his past Vietnam
life. After the war, Jason tries to forget the Vietnam War by putting
it behind him "in marriage and fatherhood and teaching high school" (115).
The war, however, comes back to Jason through the appearance of his
daughter that he had with "the honeyest-skinned bar girl with the tiniest
feet in Saigon" (114). Although his girlfriend Sharon thought it would
be good for him to deal with the past, Eng's presence in their lives was
not what they expected. Sharon thinks Eng is crazy and is "possessive
about Jason," which leads her to seek medical advice (122). Eng, on
the other hand, is distrustful of Sharon. Jason becomes caught in the
middle of Sharon and Eng. Both demand Jason to choose. Sharon states
in the doctor's office, "If you love me, send her back" (121). Eng quickly
defends herself when she states to Jason, "She's bad, Dad. Send
her
back" (121). In the end, Jason chooses Eng over Sharon: "My Saigon
kid and me: we're a team" (122).
Analysis:
Mukherjee's short story "Fathering" includes many
themes, some of which are Modern characteristics. One important
theme of this story is identity. Jason is torn between two identities:
holding onto the peaceful life with Sharon or trying to be a father for
a daughter that is suffering from the war. By the end of the story,
Jason resolves his identity conflict by choosing the new identity of being
a father for Eng. Sharon also sets up a conflict of identity, but
the conflict occurs in Eng. For instance, Sharon prepares for Eng
a room with "white girlish furniture" (117). On one level, the adjective
white can just mean the color of the furniture, but, as I think it is really
meant, the adjective refers to the culture the furniture comes from and
is intended for. Hence, Sharon is imposing on Eng an American identity.
Eng, though, holds dearly to her Vietnamese identity. This
is present when she refers to the Americans as "Yankees" (122). In
addition to the theme of identity, the theme of alienation appears frequently
in this story. Although he chooses to be with Eng, Jason still alienates
himself from his daughter by referring to her as his "Saigon kid" (122).
Eng even alienates herself when she refers to the doctor, Sharon,
and Jason as "Yankees" (122). She not only refers to them as
another culture, but Eng also asks to be left alone when she yells to Jason,
"Scram, Yankee bastard!" (122). Moreover, the story also has the modern
theme of dislocation. Jason, for example, becomes dislocated in the
story when he steps back from the situation to realize that "[s]omething
incurable is happening to [his] women" (122). Jason's rescue of Eng
from the doctor also reveals dislocation since Jason separates from the American
tradition of healing and allows Eng to use her method of coins.
The writing perspective of the story is just as
complex as the themes. Mukerjee was born in India and eventually
became a citizen of the United States. However, Mukerjee rejects a
hyphenated ethnicity; instead, she claims she is an American of Bengali-Indian
origin. Interestingly, though, Mukherjee criticizes the very culture
she claims to be hers. In that case, Mukherjee is writing from the
center and criticizing the dominant culture. The criticism of the
culture is apparent in the political allegory of the story. Jason's
wanting to help his Vietnamese daughter represents the desire of the United
States to help Vietnam. But just as the service of the United States
was not necessarily helpful, Jason's aid to his daughter will not necessarily
be helpful since he himself is not really sure what to do for his daughter.
Jason's uncertainty is evident in his plan to give his daughter more
coins, which she only uses to mutilate herself.
Mukherjee, Bharati. "Fathering."
The Middleman and
Other Stories. New York: Fawcett Crest, 1988. 114-22.
Related Links:
For an analysis on several stories from
The Middleman and Other
Stories, go to:
For a description of Mukherjee's themes, go to:
For a brief description of Mukherjee's themes and some works, go to:
For a description of her work and a brief criticism of
Mukherjee, go to:
For a brief criticism of Mukherjee's characterization and professional
behavior, go to:
For an interview with Mukherjee discussing her view of her work, go
to:
For a bibliography for beginning research on Mukherjee, go to: