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Our staff of freelance writers includes over 120 experts proficient in A passage to India, therefore you can rest assured that your assignment will be handled by only top rated specialists. Order your A passage to India paper at affordable prices with Live Paper Help!What really happened in the Marabar caves? This is the mystery at the heart of E.M. Forsters 14 novel, A Passage to India, the puzzle that sets in motion events highlighting an even larger question Can an Englishman and an Indian be friends?
It is impossible here, an Indian character tells his friend, Dr. Aziz, early in the novel.
They come out intending to be gentlemen, and are told it will not do.... Why, I remember when Turton came out first. It was in another part of the Province. You fellows will not believe me, but I have driven with Turton in his carriage--Turton! Oh yes, we were once quite intimate. He has shown me his stamp collection.
He would expect you to steal it now. Turton! But red-nosed boy will be far worse than Turton!
I do not think so. They all become exactly the same, not worse, not better. I give any Englishman two years, be he Turton or Burton. It is only the difference of a letter. And I give any Englishwoman six months. All are exactly alike.
Written while England was still firmly in control of India, Forsters novel follows the fortunes of three English newcomers to India--Miss Adela Quested, Mrs. Moore, and Cyril Fielding--and the Indian, Dr. Aziz, with whom they cross destinies. The idea of true friendship between the races was a radical one in Forsters time, and he makes it abundantly clear that it was not one that either side welcomed. If Azizs friend, Hamidullah, believed it impossible, the British representatives of the Raj were equally discouraging.
Why, the kindest thing one can do to a native is to let him die, said Mrs. Callendar.
How if he went to heaven? asked Mrs. Moore, with a gentle but crooked smile.
He can go where he likes as long as he doesnt come near me. They give me the creeps.
Despite their countrymens disapproval, Miss Quested, Mrs. Moore, and Mr. Fielding are all eager to meet Indians, and in Dr. Aziz they find a perfect companion educated, westernized, and open-minded. Slowly, the friendships ripen, especially between Aziz and Fielding. Having created the possibility of esteem based on trust and mutual affection, Forster then subjects it to the crucible of racial hatred during a visit to the famed Marabar caves, Miss Quested accuses Dr. Aziz of sexually assaulting her, then later recants during the frenzied trial that follows. Under such circumstances, affection proves to be a very fragile commodity indeed.
Arguably Forsters greatest novel, A Passage to India limns a troubling portrait of colonialism at its worst, and is remarkable for the complexity of its characters. Here the personal becomes the political and in the breach between Aziz and his English friends, Forster foreshadows the eventual end of the Raj. --Alix Wilber
Character List
Dr. Aziz A Moslem doctor living in Chandrapore at the beginning of the novel, he is a widower with three children who meets Mrs. Moore, an elderly English widow who has three children herself and becomes friends with her. Although he is generous and loving toward his English friends, including Mrs. Moore and Cyril Fielding, after Adela Quested accuses him of assault he becomes bitter, vindictive and notoriously anti-British. A primary concern of A Passage to India is the shift in Dr. Azizs views of the British from accommodating and even a bit submissive to an aggressively anti-colonial stance.
Cyril Fielding The schoolmaster of Government College, Fielding stands alone among the British officials in India, for he is one of the few to treat the Indians with a sense of decency and respect. Fielding is an individualist who has no great allegiance to any particular group, but rather to his core set of liberal values and sense of justice. This quality allows Fielding to break with the English who support Adela Questeds charges against Aziz and side with the Indians in support of him. However, the events surrounding Azizs trial cause Fielding to become disenchanted with India, despite his affection for the nation, and motivate him to leave India and return to resume a different post.
Adela Quested Adela Quested arrives in India with the intention of marrying Ronny Heaslop, but changes her mind several times and eventually realizes that she does not love him and cannot marry him. She is a woman of conflicting character traits although an intellectual, she is short-sighted. Although she foolishly accuses Dr. Aziz of assaulting her in the Marabar Caves, she finds the courage to withdraw the charge. She also suffers from hallucinations that are symptomatic of her somewhat unstable personality. However, Forster finally reveals her to be a woman of character and decency who accepts the difficulties she suffers.
Mrs. Moore An elderly woman with three children, Mrs. Moore visits India with Adela Quested to see her son, Ronny Heaslop. Mrs. Moore is the paragon of Christian decency and kindness, but she suffers from anxiety concerning her own mortality. During the expedition to the Marabar Caves her confidence in the order of the universe is shaken by an echo that she hears in one of the caves. Afterwards, Mrs. Moore becomes sullen and depressed. When Ronny suspects that she will aid Aziz in his defense, he arranges for Mrs. Moore to leave India. On the journey home, she dies from heat exhaustion.
Professor Narayan Godbole A Deccani Brahmin who is a professor at the college in Chandrapore, Godbole represents Hindu philosophies in A Passage to India. He is a man of calm character and utter repose, showing no worry for the events around him, no matter how significant. He leaves Chandrapore to start a high school in Central India after the trial of Aziz, who later joins him there.
Ronny Heaslop The son of Mrs. Moore from her first marriage, Ronny typifies the sun-dried bureaucrat and Anglo-Indian. He is condescending and cruel toward the Indians, believing that he is not in India to be kind, but rather to rule over the nation. He becomes a martyr during the trial because of the ill treatment of Adela, but shows himself to be manipulative and callous when he pushes to have his mother leave India when he fears she may hurt the prosecutions case.
Mahmoud Ali This friend of Aziz serves as one of the lawyers for his defense, and takes a defiant anti-British stance. His behavior during the trial is dangerously aggressive, however, and he threatens to provoke a riot after Azizs acquittal. Later he refuses to clear up the misunderstanding concerning Fieldings marriage to Stella Moore.
Antony One of Adelas servants, he was to accompany Adela and Mrs. Moore to the Marabar Caves, but since he was a spy for Ronny Heaslop, Mohammed Latif bribes him not to go. Later he follows Adela as she leaves India and attempts to blackmail her.
Armitrao Aziz hires this Hindu attorney as his defense lawyer. Since Armitrao is known for his anti-British attitudes, this move highlights the racial and political overtones of Azizs trial.
Nawab Bahadur A distinguished local resident in Chandrapore, he is well-respected and admired among the Indians. However, Miss Derek snubs him when his car crashes into a tree while he takes Adela and Ronny on a tour of Chandrapore.
Mrs. Bhattacharya An Indian woman whom Mrs. Moore meets during the Bridge Party, Mrs. Bhattacharya postpones a trip to Calcutta to have tea with Mrs. Moore, but abruptly cancels at the last minute.
Major Callendar Major Callendar is the civil surgeon in Chandrapore and Azizs boss. He also takes part in the trial against Aziz, attempting to stop Adelas confession on medical grounds.
Mrs. Callendar The wife of Major Callendar, she typifies the Anglo-Indian mindset, openly dismissing the Indians as uncultured inferiors.
Ram Chand He is one of Azizs friends with whom he discusses the consequences of attending the Bridge Party.
Mr. Das The brother of Mrs. Bhattacharya and Ronnys assistant, he is the judge who presides over the trial of Aziz. After the trial, he approaches Aziz to ask him to write for his journal, which is primarily for Hindus.
Miss Derek A younger Englishwoman, she assists Ronny and Adela after the Nawab Bahadurs car crashes, but snubs the Nawab Bahadur. Later she brings Fielding to the Marabar Caves after he misses the train.
Sir Gilbert The Lieutenant-Governor of the province, he visits Chandrapore after the trial to deal with the problems of racial discord precipitated by the charges against Aziz.
Mr. Graysford He is one of the local missionaries in Chandrapore.
Hamidullah This friend of Aziz, educated at Cambridge, tells Aziz that one can only be friends with an English person outside of India.
Hamidullah Begum The wife of Hamidullah, she is a distant aunt of Aziz.
Mr. Haq He is the police inspector who arrests Aziz after
Mr. Harris He is the Eurasian chauffeur for the Nawab Bahadur who crashes the car into a tree and is snubbed by Miss Derek.
Panna Lal A friend of Aziz who was to testify for the prosecution at his trial, he makes a public apology to Aziz and secures the release of Nureddin after rumors circulate that he was being tortured by the English officials.
Mohammed Latif A friend of Aziz, he bribes Antony not to attend the expedition to Chandrapore.
Mrs. Lesley This friend of Mrs. Callendar takes Azizs tonga when he arrives at the Callendars house upon the Majors request.
Colonel Maggs The Political Agent in Mau, he is the new adversary of Aziz who keeps him under suspicion because of the events in Chandrapore.
Lady Mellanby The wife of the Lieutenant-Governor, she aids Mrs. Moore in her attempt to leave India by offering her own cabin on a ship traveling to England.
Mr. McBryde The District Superintendent of Police in Chandrapore, he is the most reflective and educated of the Chandrapore officials, but like the rest of them he has stern prejudices against Indians. He conducts the prosecution of Aziz.
Syed Mohammed He is the assistant engineer in Chandrapore and a confidant of Aziz.
Ralph Moore The youngest son of Mrs. Moore, he accompanies his sister and Fielding on their travels around India. Aziz behaves rudely to him, but soon relents and takes Ralph on the nearby river for a tour of Mau.
Stella Moore The daughter of Mrs. Moore, she marries Fielding after he leaves India, a circumstance that causes Aziz to believe that he has married Adela Quested instead.
Nureddin This Indian is rumored to have been held and tortured by the police during the trial of Aziz, but is released unharmed.
Rafi The nephew of Syed Mohammed, he proposes that something suspicious occurred during Fieldings party because both Aziz and Godbole fell ill afterward.
Mr. Sorley He is one of the local missionaries in Chandrapore.
Mr. Turton He is the local Collector who proposes a Bridge Party for the Indians, and other than Fielding is the only British official who treats the Indian guests well during that event.
E.M. Forsters A Passage to India concerns the relations between the English and the native population of India during the colonial period in which Britain ruled India. The novel takes place primarily in Chandrapore, a city along the Ganges River notable only for the nearby Marabar caves. The main character of the novel is Dr. Aziz, a Moslem doctor in Chandrapore and widower. After he is summoned to the Civil Surgeons home only to be promptly ignored, Aziz visits a local Islamic temple where he meets Mrs. Moore, an elderly British woman visiting her son, Mr. Heaslop, who is the City Magistrate. Although Aziz reprimands her for not taking her shoes off in the temple before realizing she has in fact observed this rule, the two soon find that they have much in common and he escorts her back to the club.
Back at the club, Mrs. Moore meets her companion, Adela Quested, who will likely marry her son. Adela complains that they have seen nothing of India, but rather English customs replicated abroad. Although a few persons make racist statements about Indians, Mr. Turton, the Collector, proposes having a Bridge Party (to bridge the gulf between east and west). When Mrs. Moore tells her son, Ronny, about Aziz, he reprimands her for associating with an Indian. When Mr. Turton issues the invitations to the Bridge Party, the invitees suspect that this is a political move, for the Collector would not behave so cordially without a motive, but accept the invitations despite the suspicion.
For Adela and Mrs. Moore, the Bridge Party is a failure, for only a select few of the English guests behave well toward the Indians. Among these is Mr. Fielding, the schoolmaster at the Government College, who suggests that Adela meet Aziz. Mrs. Moore scolds her son for being impolite to the Indians, but Ronny Heaslop feels that he is not in India to be kind, for there are more important things to do; this offends her sense of Christian charity.
Aziz accepts Fieldings invitation to tea with Adela, Mrs. Moore, and Professor Narayan Godbole. During tea they discuss the Marabar Caves, while Fielding takes Mrs. Moore to see the college. Ronny arrives to find Adela alone with Aziz and Godbole, and later chastises Fielding for leaving an Englishwoman alone with two Indians. However, he reminds Ronny that Adela is capable of making her own decisions. Aziz plans a picnic at the Marabar Caves for Miss Quested and Mrs. Moore. Adela tells Ronny that she will not marry him, but he nevertheless suggests that they take a car trip to see Chandrapore. The Nawab Bahadur, an important local figure, agrees to take them. During the trip, the car swerves into a tree and Miss Derek, an Englishwoman passing by at the time, agrees to take them back to town. However, she snubs the Nawab Bahadur and his chauffeur. Adela speaks to Ronny, and tells him that she was foolish to say that they should not be married.
Both Aziz and Godbole fall sick after the party at Mr. Fieldings home, so Fielding visits Aziz and they discuss the state of politics in India. Aziz shows Fielding a picture of his wife, a significant event considering his Islamic background and an important demonstration of their friendship.
Aziz plans the expedition to the Marabar Caves, considering every minute detail because he does not wish to offend the English ladies. During the day when they are to embark. Mohammed Latif, a friend of Aziz, bribes Adelas servant, Antony, not to go on the expedition, for he serves as a spy for Ronny Heaslop. Although Aziz, Adela and Mrs. Moore arrive to the train station on time, Fielding and Godbole miss the train because of Godboles morning prayers. Adela and Aziz discuss her marriage, and she fears she will become a narrow-minded Anglo-Indian such as the other wives of British officials. When they reach the caves, a distinct echo in one of them frightens Mrs. Moore, who decides she must leave immediately. The echo terrifies her, for it gives her the sense that the universe is chaotic and has no order.
Aziz and Adela continue to explore the caves, and Adela realizes that she does not love Ronny. However, she does not think that this is reason enough to break off her engagement. Adela leaves Aziz, who goes into a cave to smoke, but when he exits he finds their guide alone and asleep. Aziz searches for Adela, but only finds her broken field glasses. Finally he finds Fielding, who arrived at the cave in Miss Dereks care, but he does not know where Adela is. When the group returns to Chandrapore, Aziz is arrested for assaulting Adela.
Fielding speaks to the Collector about the charge, and claims that Adela is mad and Aziz must be innocent. The Collector feels that this is inevitable, for disaster always occurs when the English and Indians interact socially. Fielding requests that he see Adela, but McBryde, the police superintendent, denies this request. Fielding acts as Azizs advocate, explaining such things as why Aziz would have the field glasses. Aziz hires as his lawyer Armitrao, a Hindu who is notoriously anti-British. Godbole leaves Chandrapore to start a high school in Central India.
The Anglo-Indians rally to Miss Questeds defense and call a meeting to discuss the trial. Fielding attends, and makes the mistake of actually referring to her by name. The Collector advises all to behave cautiously. When Ronny enters, Fielding does not stand as a sign of respect. Mr. Turton demands an apology, but Fielding merely resigns from the club and claims he will resign from his post if Aziz is found guilty.
Adela remains in the McBrydes bungalow, where the men are too respectful and the women too sympathetic. She wishes to see Mrs. Moore, who kept away. Ronny tells her that Fielding wrote her a letter to her pleading Azizs case. Adela admits to Ronny that she has made a mistake and that Aziz is innocent. When Adela sees Mrs. Moore, she is morose and detached. She knows that Aziz is innocent and tells Adela that directly. Mrs. Moore wishes to leave India, and Ronny agrees, for she is doing no one any good by remaining. Lady Mellanby, the wife of the Lieutenant-Governor, secures Mrs. Moore quick passage out of India.
During the trial, the Indians in the crowd jeer Adela for her appearance, and Mahmoud Ali, one of Azizs lawyers, claims that Mrs. Moore was sent away because she would clear Azizs name. When McBryde asks Adela whether Aziz followed her, she admits that she made a mistake. Major Callendar attempts to stop the proceedings on medical grounds, but Mr. Das, the judge, releases Aziz. After the trial, Adela leaves the courtroom alone as a riot foments. Fielding finds her and escorts her to the college where she will be safe. Disaster is averted only when Dr. Panna Lal, who was to testify for the prosecution, publicly apologizes to Aziz and secures the release of Nureddin, a prisoner rumored to have been tortured by the English.
At the college, Fielding asks Adela why she would make her charge, but she cannot give a definite answer. He suggests that she was either assaulted by the guide or had a hallucination. Adela seems to believe that she had a hallucination, for she thinks she had a hallucination of a marriage proposal when there was none. Fielding warns her that Aziz is very bitter. Ronny arrives and tells them that his mother died at sea.
After a victory banquet for Aziz, he and Fielding discuss his future plans. Fielding implores Aziz not to sue Adela, for it will show him to be a gentleman, but Aziz claims that he is fully anti-British now. Fielding reminds Aziz what a momentous sacrifice Adela made, for now she does not have the support nor friendship of the other English officials. Fielding tells Aziz that Mrs. Moore is dead, but he does not believe him. The death of Mrs. Moore leads to suspicion that Ronny had her killed for trying to defend Aziz. Although there was no wrongdoing in the situation, Ronny nevertheless feels guilty for treating his mother so poorly. Adela decides to leave India and not marry Ronny.
Fielding gains new respect for Adela for her humility and loyalty as he attempts to persuade Aziz not to take action against Adela. Adela leaves India and vows to visit Mrs. Moores other children (and Ronnys step-siblings) Stella and Ralph. Aziz hears rumors and begins to suspect that Fielding had an affair with Adela. He believes these rumors out of his cynicism concerning human nature. Because of this suspicion, the friendship between Aziz and Fielding begins to cool, even after Fielding denies the affair to Aziz. Fielding himself leaves Chandrapore to travel, while Aziz remains convinced that Fielding will marry Adela Quested.
Forster resumes the novel some time later in the town of Mau, where Godbole now works. Godbole currently takes part in a Hindu birthing ceremony with Aziz, who now works in this region. Fielding visits Mau; he has married, and Aziz assumes that his bride is Miss Quested. Aziz stopped corresponding with Fielding when he received a letter which stated that Fielding married someone Aziz knows. However, he did not marry Adela, as Aziz assumes, but rather Mrs. Moores daughter, Stella. When Fielding meets with Aziz and clears up this misunderstanding, Aziz remains angry, for he has assumed for such a long time that Fielding married his enemy.
Nevertheless, Aziz goes to the guest house where Fielding stays and finds Ralph Moore there. His anger at Fielding cools when Ralph invokes the memory of Mrs. Moore, and Aziz even takes Ralph boating on the river so that they can observe the local Hindu ceremonies. Their boat, however, crashes into one carrying Fielding and Stella. After this comical event, the ill will between Aziz and Fielding fully dissipates. However, they realize that because of their different cultures they cannot remain friends and part from one another cordially.
Chapter One
Forster begins A Passage to India with a short description of Chandrapore, a city along that Ganges that is not notable except for the nearby Marabar caves. Chandrapore is a city of gardens with few fine houses from the imperial period of Upper India; it is primarily a forest sparsely scattered with huts.
Analysis
The first chapter of A Passage to India describes the setting of the novel. Forster establishes Chandrapore as a prototypical Indian town, neither distinguished nor exceptionally troubled. This town can therefore be taken to be symbolic of the rest of India rather than an exceptional case. This allows the actions that occur in the following chapters to be representative of the Anglo-Indian colonial relations that will dominate the events of the novel. By beginning the novel with a mention of the Marabar Caves, Forster foreshadows later events that will occur concerning the Marabar Caves and that will provide the narrative turning point of A Passage to India. It is significant that Forster does not begin the novel with the description of any particular character. This places the story in context of the town of Chandrapore in particular and the nation of India in general.
Chapter Two
Dr. Aziz arrives by bicycle at the house of Hamidullah, where Hamidullah and Mr. Mahmoud Ali are smoking hookah and arguing about whether it is possible to be friends with an Englishman. Hamidullah, educated at Cambridge, claims that it is possibly only in England, and the three gossip about English elites in India. Hamidullah Begum, a distant aunt of Aziz, asks him when he will be married, but he responds that once is enough. A servant arrives, bearing a note from the Civil Surgeon; Callendar wishes to see Aziz at his bungalow about a medical case. Aziz leaves, traveling down the various streets named after victorious English generals, to reach Major Callendars compound. The servant at the compound snubs Aziz, telling him the major has no message. Two English ladies, Mrs. Callendar and Mrs. Lesley, take Azizs tonga (carriage), thinking that his ride is their own. Aziz then leaves to go to the nearly mosque paved with broken slabs. The Islamic temple awakens Azizs sense of beauty; for Aziz, Islam is more than a mere Faith, but an attitude towards life. Suddenly, an elderly Englishwoman arrives at the mosque. He reprimands her, telling her that she has no right to be there and that she should have taken off her shoes, but she tells him that she did remember to take them off. Aziz then apologizes for assuming that she would have forgotten. She introduces herself as Mrs. Moore, and tells Aziz that she is newly arrived in India and has come from the club. He warns her about walking alone at night, because of poisonous snakes and insects. Mrs. Moore is visiting her son, Mr. Heaslop, who is the City Magistrate. They find that they have much in common both were married twice and have two sons and a daughter. He escorts Mrs. Moore back to the club, but tells her that Indians are not allowed into the Chandrapore Club, even as guests.
Analysis
In this chapter, Forster establishes several of the major themes that will predominate A Passage to India. Most important among these is the vast difference between the English colonial elite and the native population of India. Forster makes it clear that the British elite treat the Indians with disrespect, as demonstrated by Major Callendars summons to Aziz and his wifes oblivious attitude toward Aziz when she takes his tonga. However, Aziz is too polite to confront the women on their slight. He values behaving politely to these English elites over asserting his own sense of self-respect. This event therefore provides a contrast to later events of the novel in which Aziz becomes less accommodating and more focused on his rights and dignity.
Forster harbors a particular distrust for English women in India, finding that they are more likely to treat Indians with disrespect. The Indians, in turn, are preoccupied with the English treatment of them. The Indians are aware of the degrees of English treatment toward them, as shown when Hamidullah notes that the English in India are less kind than the English in England. This evokes broader themes of colonialism that permeate the novel; Forster will indicate that the position of the English as rulers changes the social dynamic between them and the Indians at the expense of normal, cordial behavior that would otherwise occur.
Dr. Aziz emerges in this chapter as an easily excitable man who is conscious of any slight against him by the English elite, having been trained by experience to notice these snubs. He automatically assumes the worst when dealing with the English, as shown with his premature reprimand of Mrs. Moore, who defies all of his expectations of English women. Yet if Aziz is extremely sensitive to others behavior and initially distrustful of Mrs. Moore, his reserve soon melts around Mrs. Moore after she shows respect for him and his culture. This relates to a major theme in the novel, the interaction between eastern and western culture. Mrs. Moore is to a large extent an idealized character in A Passage to India; this elderly woman is sensitive, intelligent and kind to Dr. Aziz. She is a symbol of all that is decent in western culture she takes liberal views and adheres to Christian ideals of behavior. It is not at all surprising that he so quickly takes a liking to her.
Chapter Three
Mrs. Moore returns to the Chandrapore Club, where she meets Adela Quested, her companion from England who may marry her son Ronny Heaslop; Adela wishes to see the real India. She complains that they have seen nothing of India, but rather a replica of England. After the play at the Club ends, the orchestra plays the anthem of the Army of Occupation, a reminder of every club member that he or she is a British in exile. Fielding, the schoolmaster of Government College, suggests that if they want to see India they should actually see Indians. Mrs. Callendar says that the kindest thing one can do to a native is to let him die. The Collector suggests that they have a Bridge Party (a party to bridge the gulf between east and west). When Mrs. Moore tells Ronny about her trip to the mosque, he scolds her for speaking to a Mohammedan and suspects the worst, but Mrs. Moore defends Dr. Aziz. Ronny worries that Aziz does not tolerate the English (the brutal conqueror, the sun-dried bureaucrat as he describes them). When she tells him that Aziz dislikes the Callendars, Ronny decides that he must pass that information on to them and tells her that Aziz abused them in order to impress her. When she tells Ronny that he never judged people in this way at home, Ronny rudely replies that India is not home. Finally Ronny agrees not to say anything to Major Callendar.
Analysis
In this chapter, Forster introduces Adela Quested, Ronny Heaslop and Mr. Fielding, each of whom will play major roles throughout the novel. Adela Quested, as her name implies, is on a quest in India. She is motivated by a strong curiosity and a desire to seek what she perceives as the truth about India. Although she has a taste for learning about India and is certainly more receptive to interacting with Indians than her fellow Englishwomen in India, her passion seems somewhat academic; her curiosity about India is not primarily a curiosity about Indians themselves, but rather an intellectual concern with their culture. Forster allows the possibility that the now decent and accommodating Adela will assume the imperialist attitudes that mark the other Englishwomen, whose treatment of Indians is deplorable. Mrs. Callendars statement about the kindness of letting natives die is perhaps the most egregious example, but even in their more subtle conduct there is a perpetual undercurrent of colonialist superiority that marks most of the English characters. With the exception of Adela Quested and Mrs. Moore, the other female British characters are flat characters. Their sole purpose in the novel is symbolic they show the racism and cultural superiority felt by the British in India.
Ronny Heaslop exemplifies the colonial bureaucratic mindset that dominates the English elite. He suspects all Indians of wrongdoing and consistently scolds his mother for deeming Indians worthy of her company. However, Forster indicates that Ronny is not completely to blame for his own behavior. Mrs. Moore notes that he never behaved so rudely at home, implying that his position in India has made Ronny suspicious and mundanely malicious. This is a significant point Forster condemns the colonial system in India for its effects on both the native population and the elite, rather than the individual English bureaucrat who soon adopts the prejudices that colonialism promotes.
Mr. Fielding, however, stands outside of the colonialist bureaucracy. He is primarily an educator whose interests are independent of the colonial political hierarchy. Fielding therefore can transgress social boundaries that the other characters must obey. He will serve as both the conduit between the English and the Indians in A Passage to India as well as the character who can offer the most realistic assessment of the colonial system within India, neither altogether condemning it as do the Indians nor wholeheartedly supporting it as the British bureaucracy do. The degree to which Fielding can move among the English and the Indians illustrates another one of Forsters themes in A Passage to India the meaning and responsibilities of belonging to a race. Fielding will demonstrate a fluid conception of race in which belonging to a particular culture does not necessitate supporting that race, yet the degree to which he can break from the English will be tested.
Chapter Four
Mr. Turton, the Collector, issues invitations to numerous Indian gentlemen in the neighborhood for the Bridge Party. While he argues with Mr. Ram Chand and the elderly and distinguished Nawab Bahadur, Mahmoud Ali claims that the Bridge Party is due to actions from the Lieutenant Governor, for Turton would never do this unless compelled. The Nawab Bahadur is a large proprietor and philanthropist; his decision to attend the Bridge party carries great weight. Mr. Graysford and Mr. Sorley, the missionaries who live nearby, argue that no one should be turned away by God, but cannot decide whether divine hospitality should end at monkeys or jackals or wasps or even bacteria. They conclude that someone must be excluded or they shall be left with nothing.
Analysis
The Bridge Party is a significant event for the Indians, who consider it with an appropriate skepticism. They believe that the motivation for the party is not a sincere attempt to stimulate a sense of reciprocity among the two societies, but rather the dictate of a higher-ranking colonial official. The decision of the Nawab Bahadur, however, dictates that those invited should accept the invitation. Forster specifically shows the Nawab Bahadur to be a distinguished member of Indian society whose decisions must be respected, a symbol of Indian authority; this foreshadows later events in which he does not receive the appropriate deference from others.
The discussion about religion by the missionaries is a reminder of the hierarchies that dominate A Passage to India. The purpose of these hierarchies is to degrade others to elevate the elite; when such an elite system of inclusion and exclusion occurs, the ability to set who can be can included is the only power that these elites truly have. Their conversation has an obvious analogy in British India. The British define their power by their ability to dominate the Indians and exclude them from certain privileges, whether political or social.
Chapter Five
Neither Mrs. Moore nor Adela Quested consider the Bridge Party to be a success. The Indians for the most part adopt European costume, and the conversations are uncomfortable. Mrs. Moore speaks to Mrs. Bhattacharya and asks if she may call on her some day, but becomes distressed when she believes that Mrs. Bhattacharya will postpone a trip to Calcutta for her. During the party, Mr. Turton and Mr. Fielding are the only officials who behave well toward the Indian guests. Mr. Fielding comes to respect Mrs. Moore and Adela. Mr. Fielding suggests that Adela meet Dr. Aziz. Ronny and Mrs. Moore discuss his behavior in India, and he tells her that he is not there to be pleasant, for he has more important things to do there. Mrs. Moore believes that Ronny reminds her of his public school days when he talked like an intelligent and embittered boy. Mrs. Moore reminds him that God put us on earth to love our neighbors, even in India. She feels it is a mistake to mention God, but as she has aged she found him increasingly difficult to avoid.
Analysis
The Bridge Party is an honorable failure for all those who attend, borne of mostly good intentions but extremely poor execution. It represents all of the problems of cross-cultural exchange between the English and the Indians. With a few notable exceptions, the British who attend the party do not behave well. Of the men, only Mr. Fielding and Mr. Turton behave well, while among the women only Mrs. Moore and Adela Quested are interested in speaking with the Indians. However, these two women, who wish to learn from the Indians, find that this particular setting is stifling.
Even when Mrs. Moore and Adela attempt to reach out to Indians, they find that their attempts go awry. F The interaction between Mrs. Moore and Mrs. Bhattacharya is indicative of this; while Mrs. Moore simply wants to visit with Mrs. Bhattacharya, this woman, unaccustomed to such polite behavior, misinterprets this as a significant event and plans to postpone her vacation for it. Forster indicates that the desire for each of these groups to be polite and sensitive to one another creates a stifling atmosphere between them; those who wish to interact socially have such a fear of offending one another that they create barriers to their own interaction. This also illustrates a prevalent motif in A Passage to India, the insufficiency of good intentions.
Mrs. Moore serves as the moral center in A Passage to India, a woman of exemplary behavior and intentions toward others. She behaves with a direct simplicity, reminding her son of Christian teachings. Mrs. Moore does bear a certain burden because of this uncomplicated goodness; her unwavering, righteous mindset will make her a victim of others less stringent moral systems, while her belief in the tenets of Christian morality will be tested in the non-Christian landscape of India. Forster mentions that Mrs. Moore finds it more difficult to avoid mentioning God as she ages; this shows that Mrs. Moore has a great concern for her own morality and that she has a preoccupation with death.
Chapter Fourteen
For the past two weeks in which they had been in India, Mrs. Moore and Miss Quested had felt nothing, living inside cocoons; Mrs. Moore accepts her apathy, but Adela resents hers. It is Adelas faith that the whole stream of events is important and interesting, and if she grows bored she blames herself severely. This is her only major insincerity. Mrs. Moore feels increasingly that people are important, but relationships between them are not and that in particular too much fuss has been made over marriage. The train reaches its destination and they ride elephants to reach the caves. None of the guests particularly want to see the caves. Aziz overrates hospitality, mistaking it for intimacy and not seeing that it is tainted with a sense of possession. It is only when Mrs. Moore and Fielding are near that he knows that it is more blessed to receive than to give. Miss Quested admits that it is inevitable that she will become an Anglo-Indian, but Aziz protests. She hopes that she will not become like Mrs. Turton and Mrs. Callendar, but admits that she does not have a special force of character to stop that tendency. In one of the caves there is a distinct echo, which alarms Mrs. Moore, who decides she must leave the cave. Aziz appreciates the frankness with which Mrs. Moore treats him. Mrs. Moore begins to write a letter to her son and daughter, but cannot because she remains disturbed and frightened by the echo in the cave. She is terrified because the universe no longer offers repose to her soul. She has lost all interest, even in Aziz, and the affectionate and sincere words that she had spoken seem foreign to her.
Analysis
Forster establishes more of Mrs. Moores and Adela Questeds traits in this chapter, describing Mrs. Moore as a woman facing a spiritual crisis as she ages. She does not have the need for drama that Adela has, a quality that will cause Miss Quested great pain, but Mrs. Moore does not have the sense of confidence in any ultimate spiritual truth for comfort. The saintly Mrs. Moore thus becomes concurrently more fragile and more hardened to the outside world. The experience in the caves in which she hears the mysterious echo serves as a turning point for Mrs. Moore, reminding her of the emptiness and horror that seems to surround her, yet she demonstrates this great terror by becoming solitary and unconcerned with those around her. The sincerity and graciousness that she had demonstrated becomes foreign to her, and she collapses into a depressive solipsism.
Forster portrays Adela Quested as a woman who is sincere and forthright, but nevertheless a person of weak and shallow character. She admits that she is susceptible to outside influences and that she does not have the strength of character to resist becoming the typical Anglo-Indian with the corresponding narrow-minded view of Indians. This will be an equally important characteristic in terms of impending plot developments; Adela will be unable to stop events that she herself sets in motion. However, whatever Adelas weakness, she is honest and realizes these insufficiencies. This quality of self-awareness, if not completely negating these undesirable traits, permits Adela to admit her mistakes and errors.
The visit to the Marabar Caves becomes more absurd as the novel continues. Forster portrays the entire expedition with a sense of irony. None of the guests truly wish to see the caves, and each of the guests is tense and unable to appreciate the visit. Aziz works too hard to please; if Adela is a person who becomes overwhelmed by events around her, Aziz is a person who throws himself wholeheartedly into events to a loss of any sense of perspective. The trip to the Marabar Caves demonstrates this loss of perspective as it becomes a diversion of gaudy excess that nobody truly wishes to occur.
Chapter Fifteen
Adela and Aziz and a guide continue along the tedious expedition. They encounter several isolated caves which the guide persuades them to visit, but there is really nothing for them to see. Aziz has little to say to Miss Quested, for he likes her less than he does Mrs. Moore and greatly dislikes that she is marrying a British official, while Adela has little to say to Aziz. Adela realizes that she does not love Ronny, but is not sure whether that is reason enough to break off her engagement. She asks Aziz if he is married, and he tells her that he is, feeling that it is more artistic to have his wife alive for a moment. She asks him if he has one wife or more than one, a question which shocks him very much, but Adela is unaware that she had said the wrong thing.
Analysis
Mrs. Moores newly developing disillusionment as well as the absence of Fielding and Godbole leaves Adela and Aziz together, an event fraught with peril, for the two have little regard for one another and interaction between the two takes on a more lurid dimension than the obvious innocent social interaction between the elderly Mrs. Moore and Aziz. This situation is precisely what Ronny fears, for an undercurrent of sexual impropriety pervades this chapter, as shown by Adelas realization that she does not love Ronny and her question for Aziz about whether he has more than one wife. However, whatever the subtext of the conversation, the interaction between the two characters is entirely innocent there remains no sexual attraction between Aziz and Adela. Forster indicates that part of Adelas rationale for not wanting to marry Ronny is due to a similar lack of sexual attraction, but she must consider the comforts that the stable Ronny can provide.
Chapter Sixteen
Aziz waits in the cave, smoking, and when he returns he finds the guide alone with his head on one side. The guide does not know exactly which cave Miss Quested entered, and Aziz worries that she is lost. On his way down the path to the car that had arrived from Chandrapore, Aziz finds Miss Questeds field glasses lying at the verge of a cave and puts them in his pocket. He sees Fielding, who arrived in Miss Dereks car, but neither he nor anyone else knows where Adela has gone. The expedition ends, and the train arrives to bring them back into Chandrapore. As they arrive in town, Mr. Haq arrests Dr. Aziz, but he is under instructions not to say the charge. Aziz refuses to go, but Fielding talks him into cooperating. Mr. Turton leads Fielding off so that Aziz goes to prison alone.
Analysis
The central event of the novel occurs during this chapter, but Forster chooses not to describe it, instead shifting the perspective to Dr. Aziz outside of the cave. The details of the event are deliberately vague all that Forster indicates during this chapter is that Adela has some physical confrontation in one of the Marabar caves and flees the scene. However, he does establish some points that will come to be important in future chapters, such as the fact that Aziz finds Adelas field glasses. The discovery of the field glasses is perhaps the only explicitly stated event in the chapter, but it is a key event that establishes for the reader that Aziz was not in Adelas presence when she lost them. Nevertheless, the fact that Aziz has the field glasses can easily be misinterpreted as material evidence against him.
Despite the vague circumstances surrounding the attack on Adela Quested, Forster does establish that Aziz is not responsible. By framing the chapter from his perspective, Forster establishes that Aziz could not possibly have been in the cave at the time. However, at this early point only Fielding is ready to avow that Aziz is innocent. Fielding emerges as the pragmatic voice of reason in this chapter, the one English character who attempts to make sense of the attack. Already there seems to be a sharp divide between the other English characters who are united against Aziz and Fielding, who will prove the one exception to this trend.
Chapter Seventeen
Fielding speaks to the Collector, who tells him that Miss Quested has been insulted in one of the Marabar Caves and that he would not allow Fielding to accompany Aziz to preserve him from scandal. Fielding thinks that Adela is mad, a remark that Mr. Turton demands that he withdraw. Fielding explains that he cannot believe that Aziz is guilty. Mr. Turton tells Fielding that he has been in the country for twenty-five years, and in that time he has never known anything but disaster whenever Indians and the English interact socially. He tells Fielding that there will be an informal meeting at the club that evening to discuss the situation. Fielding keeps his head during the discussion; he does not rally to the banner of race. The Collector goes to the platform, where he can see the confusion about him. He takes in the situation with a glance, and his sense of justice functions although he is insane with rage. When he sees coolies asleep in the ditches or the shopkeepers rising to salute him, he says to himself I know what youre like at last; you shall pay for this, you shall squeal.
Analysis
The worst qualities among the Anglo-Indians emerge in this chapter, as they rally to Miss Questeds cause as a means to show their contempt for the Indians. In the eyes of the Collector, Aziz is already guilty and his impending trial shall serve as a retribution for all that Mr. Turton believes to be the faults of the Indians. However, he places some degree of the blame on Adela, claiming that nothing but disaster occurs when Indians and English interact socially. This is an ironic statement, for whatever happened to Miss Quested occurred when she was not in Azizs presence. It is insufficient interaction between Adela and Aziz that allowed Adela to be assaulted.
Fielding will serve as Azizs advocate among the English, to his personal and social detriment. If Mr. Turton is adamant that Aziz is guilty, Fielding is equally adamant that Adela must have made a mistake; his staunch belief in Aziz leads Fielding to make damaging statements against Adela. This indicates that, whatever the outcome of the trial, Adela is destined to become a victim once again, suffering whatever indignity actually occurred in the caves and becoming vilified by supporters of Aziz for her mistake. Forster also indicates that Fielding will soon become an outcast among the English. When Mr. Turton tells Fielding that the English will meet at the club to decide a course of action, he presupposes ethnic solidarity. This brings up the theme of the demands of racial identity. Turton assumes that Fieldings status as an Englishman indicates that he will support Adela, while Fielding adheres first to ideas of justice and only secondarily to racial solidarity.
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