Gone with the wind...

In "The Interpreter of Maladies" by Jhumpa Lahiri, I noticed two main literary devices: parallelism and irony. The parallelism is quite simple.  Both Mr. Kapasi and  Mrs. Das are revealed to have had major problems in their life.  Mr. Kapasi devoted his life to a career he didn't enjoy, which failed him and left him with a wife he loves even less.  Mrs. Das had an affair, resulting in the birth of her son Bobby.  The irony comes into play when Mrs. Das appeals to Mr. Kapasi and asks him to give her advice.  She thinks that he can sort out her problems, even though he has his own.  There is some possibilty since the two seem to get along well and Mr. Kapasi has fantasies of marrying her.  The piece of paper with Mr. Kapasi's address is a symbol of that connection, the only way for Mr. Kapasi to start a new life.  Mr. kapasi's inability to help Mrs. Das results in an end to her hopes.When the scrap of paper is blown away after the fiasco caused by the monkeys, all hope is eliminated.  "He watched as it rose, carried higher and higher by the breeze.... (p166)."  How ironic, that she appeals to him for help even as he is hoping that she can end his troubles, when in the end, their dreams are blown away, lost amidst the chaos of their lives, just like the slip of paper.