Moushumi’s Rude Rejection

Yesterday our class discussed the topic of wives taking their husbands' last names.  In chapter 9 of Jumpa Lahiri’s The Namesake the main character, Gogol, married Moushumi.  Shortly after the marriage she decided to keep her own last name.  I do not see it as an immense problem if a wife chooses to not take her husband's name if she gives just cause.  I understand that in many cases it remains necessary to differentiate between the names due to work or personal life.  But overall I believe the wife should want to take the last name.  If the wife truly loves her husband and they plan to spend the rest of their lives together, I do not see the dilemma in adopting the same last name.  The circumstance in this novel particularly bothers me due to Moushumi’s apathetic and exasperated attitude towards the topic.  The narrator notes that “the thought of changing her last name...has never crossed her mind” (227).  It seems impolite to not even consider this old tradition and an insult to Gogol that she does not want to share it.  The situation continued to irritate me when she did not provide reasonable explanations for this decision, merely stating that their names would “no longer fit into the window of a business envelope” (227).  I feel that this response displays offense to Gogol and foreshadows her lack of commitment in the future.  I understand that a wife taking her husband’s last name remains an old, to some outdated, tradition, but I still believe that a husband and wife should want to share the same last name. Moushumi did not offer a practical motive to reject Gogol’s last name while acting rudely.  Without reasonable cause, I believe that rejecting a husbands’ last name displays problems right from the start.