Justifying Gogol

As the discussion of Moushumi's actions in Chapter 10 of The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri progressed, while many people blamed Moushumi, some also placed an equal amount of blame on Gogol for creating the relationship they have. I believe that not as much blame should be placed on Gogol as some believed. Despite Gogol's attempts to reject his parents and their culture, his family still influenced him strongly and that influence becomes apparent in his relationship with Moushumi. Gogol's actions towards and relationship with Moushumi reflects some interesting parallels with his father and mother's relationship. This parallel appears unusual due to the fact that Moushumi and Gogol chose to marry each other while family arraigned Ashima and Ashoke's marriage. Much like Ashoke appears throughout the book, Gogol appears unemotional and slightly detached from Moushumi and their relationship despite the fact they are married. Contrary to what appeared to be the opinion in class, I believe that we can not fault Gogol for this as it is what he observed from his parents to be normal. His parents never openly displayed affection towards each other, and Gogol observed this leading to his behavior with Moushumi. For these reasons I believe that we can not fault Gogol that much for the state of his relationship with Moushumi.