Gogol and Moushumi: Imminent Failure

Today in class we talked a lot about the character of Moushumi from Jhumpa Lahiri's novel The Namesake, and most of us decided that we really do not like her at all.  And we have a lot of justification for this opinion.  She cheats on her loving husband with a balding middle-aged unemployed man who she met in high school, and honestly she seems to have little self-respect.  I question whether she really loves Gogol at all, or if she just loves the idea of having a husband.  Personally, I think the latter more likely.  However, I think that the problems with their relationship come from both sides--Gogol and Moushumi can never find happiness together because they want different things.  We talked a lot in class about the expectations that both halves of the couple had going into their marriage, and it seemed like Moushumi had many more expectations than Gogol.  Actually, we could not figure out what Gogol wanted from the relationship.  I honestly think that he fears loneliness and so seeks out other people.  We have discussed in class before how Gogol does not seem to have any friends, or really anyone else in his life besides Moushumi.  He clings to their marriage, even as it falls apart, because he does not know where else to go or who else to turn to.  He has his family, but he has spent so long trying to escape familial responsibility that he cannot simply regress to spending all of his time with them.  Gogol's neediness drives Moushumi away even more, in my opinion.  She cannot deal with keeping her devotion on one person, and feels bitter when she finds herself acting like a devoted wife, as when she turned down the fellowship to study in France.  Part of her bitterness comes from her fear of ending up like her mother, most likely, but her internal conflicts, combined with Gogol's, create a disastrous mess.  In chapter eight, when they first started dating, I believed that they cared about one another and had a deep and meaningful bond.  Now, their relationship quickly dies.  Everything about it seems contrived and forced, from their anniversary dinner to the way that they go to sleep every night, kissing and then turning away from each other, their physical actions mirroring their mental divergence.  I don't really know where their relationship will go from this point, but I honestly wish that they would just end my suffering at having to read about their dull, insubstantial marriage, and separate already.