When it comes to relationships, people believe that there is an ideal match somewhere out there in the world that was created for them. Most of the time this conspiracy comes true, but only for a few. In the story The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri, the main character, Nikhil and his ex-girlfriend, Moushumi seemed like the kind of couple that would last forever. Unfortunately, as we continued reading the story, we realized that they were not meant to be. Even though they seemed like a perfect puzzle piece, various factors contributed to the end of their marriage. This almost perfect union began after the death of Nikhil's father Ashoke. After his death, Nikhil finally understood where his father had come from and was embarking on a path that followed the principles and values ​​of his Bengali culture. This path he took soon led him to meet Moushumi, also a Bengali. Associating with a woman who was like him made him feel like he was reconnecting with his Indian roots. As he felt closer to his culture, he also felt that maintaining his affiliation with Moushumi was the right thing to do in order to feel like he was still somehow connected to his father. After a year of being together, Nikhil proposed to Moushumi and would soon get married. At first Gogol despised his culture and tried to do everything he could to distance himself from it. The previous girls Gogol had dated had never been Indian. He was initially attracted to American girls. The fact that they were completely different from his culture is what caught his attention. Dating someone who was not closely related to his culture was an unthinkable thing to do in Bengali society, thus it flourished Gogol's reason to disobey even more because for him it was etc...... middle of paper... ..being married to someone she didn't love and this led her, unconsciously, to withdraw into herself” (Lahiri). shutting themselves up like a clam completely ruined the chances of their marriage working. If Moushumi had more enthusiasm in trying to make her relationship work, she probably would have. Overall it is clear that their marriage should never have existed. From the very beginning Gogol should have realized that he was making a mistake. I felt like he only went ahead with a marriage because it was something new to him and it was what his father would have wanted. Considering the atrocious reputation Moushumi had with her past relationships, she should have seen her relationship coming. If their relationship were under different circumstances, I think the result would be Works Cited Lahiri, Jhumpa. The namesake. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2003. 1-291. Press.