Family

Throughout Chakrabarti's collection, the weight of familial obligation and the structures of family units play important roles in determining the outcomes of the characters' lives. In many of the stories, Chakrabarti examines the ways in which pressure and expectation from within a family unit can result in negative impacts on a person's self-confidence or happiness. At the same time, however, Chakrabarti balances these portrayals with a number of positive depictions of family and its importance.

Given that much of A Small Sacrifice for an Enormous Happiness focuses on individual struggles to grasp identity, it makes sense that the pressures of family obligation often serve as stumbling blocks in the collection. In "Prodigal Son," for instance, the authority of family poses an issue for both Jonah and Karna, the former of whom is unable to pursue his musical passion because of his obligations to his wife and...