Hart is the author of several books. In the following essay, Hart examines the roles of the two female minor characters in Upadhyay's short story.

Samrat Upadhyay's short story "The Good Shopkeeper" focuses mainly on the evolution of protagonist Pramod as he sorts through his options upon losing his job. Although the female characters, Pramod's wife, Radhika, and the unnamed woman with whom Pramod has an affair, are given little space in this story, their significance and their effect upon the protagonist is profound. It might even be true that these two female characters prevent Pramod from being lost in a downward spiraling depression.

Radhika appears first of the two female characters in "The Good Shopkeeper." Although Pramod reprimands her at the opening of the story, it is Radhika who offers the solution to his dilemma, even though it takes the entire length of the story, which...