This Week in Bedford....

I absolutely loved the short story Clothes by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni about a young Indian woman moving to America because of her arranged marriage.  The story started out apprehensivley as Sumita prepared to meet her prospective husband and their marriage.  At first I was extremely frustrated- I didn't want another emotionally draining story about the abusive conditions arranged marriages brought on.  Thankfully, Somesh (her husband) is a loving, hard-working man with big dreams for not only his business, but for Mita as well.  It was refreshing to see a happy story in Bedford, since most of the other stories have either severly depressed me (Soldier's Home) or really ticked me off (Saving Sourdi).Even though the ending of the story is sad, the bittersweet conclusion is full of hope; I liked the idea of a young woman living her entire life surrounded by family and finally getting the chance to live for herself.  I'm the youngest in my family and have watched two siblings succeed through college, and now as my senior year unfolds I connected Mita's yearning for something new and entirely her own.  I guess that's how everyone feels at some point: the need for something completely individual.