CD

THEMES
57
~ocio!ogi~ally, militarily, ideologically, scientifically, and
1magmat1vely during the post-Enlightenment period.
Moreover, so authoritative a position did Orientalism
have t~at I believe no one writing, thinking, or acting on
Themes t!1e. 0~1ent could do so without taking account of the
lim1t~t10ns on thought and action imposed by Orientalism.
In bnef, because of Orientalism the Orient was not (and is
not) a free subject of thought or action. (Said 1985: 3)
As one consequence of the nearly two hundred years of British
rule in India and its aftermath a subgenre emerged in British
. ch . tatement' that the text seems to be making b mainstream writing around nineteenth century and continues
Theme1s e s
.
1· . .
b. t The theme exp 1c1t or imp 1·1c1t
. as t h e case rna out till date, where 'India' constitutes the subject. Kipling is perhaps
[1rs] ... su 1ec • .' h h 1 . aybe the most applauded one, officially, though there is a host of
. J:a from thesis m that t eme e ps to raise quest·
1s wuerent h " h . other writers, including L.H. Myers (1881-1944), Ruth Prawar
. d f ,..nswerino- them w ereas ... t emat1cs tends to Ions c
Jhabvala, ].G. Farrell, Paul Scott, et al. As William Walsh
msrea O an "' l:> ' f . . re1er
to an end-product: it is the sum ~ issues raised, normally writes: "India has entered the English sensibility in another
expressed in a hierarchy of quest10ns . and problems
. , \\'th
1
way ... . For some 200 years it has figured in the English
perhaps some suggested ans_wers. It 1s not nec~ssanl?' dependent imagination as experience, theme, and ... even as a metaphor of
upon the author's consc10us or unconscious mtentions." human experience itself. Kipling (1865-1965) not only evoked
the rash, self-confident attitudes of the English ruling class in
[Hawthorn] India, but he also realized and expressed with uncanny fidelity
Forster interweaves a number of strands of ideas into the and subtlety of insight the experience of the Indian folk
several themes of the novel, which together eventually lead to themselves as well as the unique quality of the Indian landscape.
the complex and ambivalent thematics of the novel. At the other end of the scale from Kipling, E.M. Forster ... ,
representing the finest and most humane in the liberal spirit,
flJ INDIA began in Passage to India (1924) the tradition of using Indian
life as an image of personal experiences" (Walsh 258).
(a) The Englishman's lnd;a
The reality in this matter was, however, a bit more complex
In his bitterness Aziz thinks, "This pose of 'seeing India'
than this charming assumption of Walsh. India of course
which had seduced him to Miss Quested at Chandrapore was excited the British imagination during the colonial centuries,
only a form of ruling India; no sympathy lay behind i~" (30 1}· but nevertheless it stirred mixed response in the colonial mind.
He seems to be nearly anticipating Said. The Englishman s True, it all started as one of the many cells of the 'panopticon'
'India' was broadly a construct of his 'orientalism', in the se~~e prison (a la Jeremy Bentham and Foucault) whose observatory
15
in which Edward Said uses the concept in the introduction to tower was represented by London. But before long India, in the
British imagination ceased to be just another spot on the map,
landmark book Orienta/ism:
or another cell in the 'panopticon'; India also emerged as a
My contention is that without examining Orientalism aslya trope, simultaneously associated with lure and terror.
.
discourse one cannot possibly understan d t h e en orrnousble
systematic discipline by which European culture w_a_s ally
. Iinca '
to manage-and even produce-the Onent po
 A PASSAGE Ti
01tvo
. I~
58
cenrun·c•s 0 ( the empire, . the '"' west THEMES 59
During the ~o ,d in accordance with the p 1. _et,l
erception of India dd1adn!v\Jo1,111rnts in Britain and Euro lt1ca1 promoting the Publick Stock; or in other Words, raising Estates
pnd cultural rren ds •·111 cthat rhe actua I Ind'1an reality d'd Ope l
a 1 11
·t for their own Families, by bringing into their Country whatever
ft rhan nor, · · ·
was more o en . rl1is perception; it was rather the l Ot is wanting, and carrying out of it whatever is superfluous"
determine t he ·
111l'laes tn
• t-: dia moulde d an d co 1oured the 'W
Ot l
~t [Addison: Spectator, 69, Vol. 1].
. . ges tor 1n B h ay l
way-their 1ma . l't)' would be seen. y t e turn f n The perception, however, was marked by a noticeable
l I dia n rea t . o th
which acrua n I d' had already come to imply a trope ( e ambivalence. The British mind was simultaneously drawn and
rurv n ta . . and
eighreenth cen · ) that elicited adm1rat1on, attraction thwarted by 'India.' They could not but admire its wonderful
. one, roo f . d ' , and and variegated landscape-including snowy peaks, sandy deserts,
a confusmg . For one common cast o mm India' h
fear at the same a~ne. es of exotic and alluring commod.,t! e dense forests, charming sea coasts-the rich variety of flora and
!led up 1mag h . 11e8 fauna, and human forms, the costume, custom, folkways, and
name, ·ca · chess- board, to Kashmere s awls, Jewellery to'
from IYOf)th_ culture of its various ethnic groups. At the same time, there was
hi.ch could be accumulated and taken ha k a pervasive mistrust and fear in the Western imagination
~ ~w 0 . h c
per , ' k of wealth and prestige; t e presence of thi regarding both the land and its people. On the one hand, there
'home as mar ·der of 'croods' can be encountere d all along ,s
India-the prov1 o . . 1n was the long line of poets-thinkers-philosophers-from Coleridge
. eria1 d even post-imperial texts. The eighteenth and with his fascination for the 'inmost Ind' and the 'Bishnoo' in his
the IIDP an . d ·
. th cenrury British literature (an American too) teems millennial spells of sleep to be interrupted only by fractions of a
runeteen l . T . second, William Jones studying the Indian history and polity
with 'India' as commodity. For exam~ e, 1~ r~stram Shandy:
"Brother roby, replied my father, takmg his ~ig from off his (Moslem Laws: 1792, Hindu Laws: 1796) to Ma.xmuller with
head with bis right hand, and with his left pulling out a striped his painstaking study of ancient Indian language and philosophy,
later carried on at the aesthetic plane by Herman Hesse, or
India handkerchief... (III, 2)." Mrs Gaskell in North and South
Edwin Arnold introducing Lord Buddha to the West by his The
(1855) mentions the "gift of an Indian shawl", whereas in
Light of Asia (1875), and translation of the Gita. A brief
Thackeray's Vanity Fair (1847-48) English homes abound with observation of Matthew Arnold in-"The Function of Criticism"
Indian articles like 'Cashmere scarves', 'turquoise bracelets', in Essays in Criticism (1865) may seem significant in this
'ivory chess-men', and 'hot pickles.' In Mark Twain's Pudd'nhead connection as it reflects the above spirit of critical, and albeit a
Wilson. (N.Y.: Bantam Books, 1989) " .. .it [the jewelled knife] bit puzzled, admiration: "It will be said that it is a very subtle
had a history before it came into Luigi's (an Italian visitor) and indirect action which I am thus prescribing for criticism,
hands which adds to its interest. It was given to Luigi by a gre~t and that, by embracing in this manner the Indian virtue of
Indian prince, the Gaekwar of Baroda and it had been in his detachment and abandoning the sphere of practical life it
famil!, two or three centuries" [64; e:riphasis added]. Sim~lar condemns itself to a slow and obscure work. Slow and obsc~e
~entwns of India, as an image of a far-off frontier providing it may be, but it is the only proper work of criticism."
nches, _trade, wealth flowing in to England, the centre, can be One must not forget that alongside this sober strain there
traced m the whole range of writings during the colonial era-- operated all along another contrastive approach which was
fro~ Aus~en to Dickens, Trollope to Lawrence. The rationale much more pervasive. It was the perception of India as a
b~hi~d th is approach had been acknowledged without muc~ fearsome place, and Indians as stereotype. It was this attitude
that ~enerated the notion of eugenics; the father of eugenics,
;~:t~:
mmcmg of words by no less a man than Addison: "For this
I ~m w? nd erfully delighted to see such a Body of
g m th eir own private Fortunes, and at the same tlfJI
~e: Franc~s Galt?n, a cousin. of Charles Darwin, did pioneering
work m the field of forensics by means of his book Fingerprints
 A PASSAGE' ro
so . '"'o,A.
. b k-which has a clear 1mperialis .
t his oo . b t1c b. 61
and through~u . strong connection etween finge . •as THEMES
-Galton main~ams a of fingerprints for identification rpr1llts
graded relative to the West, were seen as bound up
and race. The. .first d'use Galton connects h. 1s . l by
' su b'Ject expli Was
with their inherited physical characteristics. . .. Race
. . h ·a/ In 1a. l . h ctt y
the Brms 1 . 111 of imperialism, and c aims t at finger . ll.p classifications, therefore, could be used to explain not
with the ~ub1ects f I in the colonies, where "they" all 111ts
are especially use u. "
£r Ook
only biological variety but the superiority or inferiority of
different cultural types ranged on a scale of evolutionary
alike" and are "all liars. . progress. A great gap, based in biology, was believed to
esented a mindset, common amon
Galt?n buht reprd the average British citizen who hg dthe separate white races from the black. Differences between
. h1erarc r an a colonizer and colonized, European and Other, were now
r ul mg [ th Indian: that they were necessarily degr d a
stere otypeth1orB •ash e .1 f . a ed represented in absolute terms rather than as contrasts or
were necessan y o a superior orde as shifting points on a scale. (84)
whereas e n . . "E fS ,, r of
. A Ki 1. u would put 1t: 1t was ast o uez where "th It was in tune with this ideology that William Arnold in
bemu.
. z:,
s p m~ d d h h "
f. Providence cease an w ere t e mark of the
direct contro1o . , . e Oakfield (1883) found the Indians a deplorably inferior race;
,, sed itself (Life s Handicaps, 1891). P.M. Taylor in his Confessions of a Thug (1838) found the
beast e}..-pres
Boehmer traces the influen~e of the. E~r~pea~ symbolic difference to be a daunting one; and Alice Perrin in The Strong
complex called the 'Great cham of _Bemg m figuring the Claim (1903) was stunned by the 'indifference' of the Punkah-
non-European 'Other', a system which went back to the wallah, who continued to fan _the dead white man.
Renaissance, and operated through the Enlightenment. The India and Indians, especially after 1857, the first wide-
Victorians defined the racial others with reference to this spread uprising against the foreign rulers, came to be increasingly
envisioned in terms of a combination of lure and threat. "British
system. Boehmar points out:
opinion was being seriously roused and whipped up in favour of
From early on in the eighteenth century, men of science, tightening the Imperialist noose around the irresponsible and
scholars, and travellers sought to establish natural orders, ungrateful Indians" (Bagchi 67). Congreve represented an
measures, and chains of succession which would embrace exceptional and daringly unpopular voice of dissent when he
the entire natural world .. .it was taken for granted that wrote in 1857:
the apex of all such pyramids and chains was located in We occupied India under the impulse of commercial and
Europe. When it came to the classification of human political motives; we have governed it as a valuable
beings, therefore, people from other cultures were ranked appendage, commercially and politically. This is the
on the basis of their difference from Europeans, as broad truth. When our Empire is tottering to its fall, then
degenerate or evolving types, filling the gaps between the to step forward with moral or Christian motives for
human and the animal world. hol~ing_ it, which have never influenced our previous
policy, is a very questionable policy. (5-6)
Victorian popular evolutionary theory converted these
Congreve's was, of course, a lonely voice. Kipling presented in
taxonomies of difference into an evaluative ranking,
novel a~_er nov~l white aliens with their hauntings and despair.
···the belief that became current around the time of the
The Bntish wnt~r was wi_lly-nilly part of an imperial society,
publication of Darwin's Origin of Species (1859) was th ~t a~d _the ~ast _empire of India eventually came to manifest before
cultural differences, ranged hierarchically were based u1 his imagmatton rea!ms of possibility, fantasy, wish-fulfilment,
nature and formed an intrinsic part ~f evolutionary as well as of bamshment, unlawful practice, disgrace. The
development. The cultural traits and inclinations of peoples,
 A PASSAG€
l'o 'N
62 them 'inscrutable', malign l t>,~
. crowd seeme~ dt~ •du~I will. In Burmese Day, ac:~ih
Ind1an d u1 1v1 • d .. s o ·•~ THEMES 63
l integrity an . the "deep, ev11is11 roar,, r\\>e[[
111ora ll') mentions d Th of and the Indians. He also reviewed books on India. Just as in
(even orwe . h·m alien) crow . ey represented tbe
indigenous (and toda~,le sign, an incomprehensible areato the Whitman's poem, so in Forster's novel 'India' means not just a
geo-political identity but rather an idea, or spirit, or vision
ider an unrea . ysrery. The vastness of the la d, and
ou ts . of 111 - , Th f n transcending that identity. Edward Said writes, "I have always
thus an ep1ron1e d this 'mystery. us or most E only felt that the most interesting thing about A Passage to India is
further contribute to mess of the place became syno 11&lisQ Forster's using India to represent material that according to the
dia the vas apparent1y e1uded comprehnylll,Gus
writers on In . hich canons of the novel form cannot in fact be represented-
eness w h. · ens1
with its stra.ng "You can't focus anyt mg m 1ndia". It r 0n. vastness, incomprehensible creeds, secret motions, histories,
As Kipling said,d fi d beautiful by Western standard. !. °~eq and social forms" (Said 1994: 241). Benita Parry, however,
to be e ne . 1 ' . w1 1ha
roo Iarge ~ ld) found the Htma ayas as gigantic, ill acclaims A Passage to India as "the triumphant expression of
Arnold (Oa~f,e nd therefore defying any atternas the the British imagination exploring India."
Indian plams, a . . . , Pt at It is true that Forster's view of India is less political than
. .d 1· . er personification.
'indiVI ua ismz, . f. personal and metaphysical. Nevertheless, he keenly felt the lack
. th s the unreadable sign o mcomprehensibT in the general British attitude; India implied for him a vast sea
~~a was . u"There is too much [of her] and she [Indt l]~i of people who remained beyond the ken or consciousness of the
as Kipling put It, h a is
too old" (in Boehmer 94). Td e ~fer! vaTsthness lthat defied British outsiders-"whose emotions they (the British players)
. . as challenging an tern ymg. e co onized land could not share, and whose existence they ignored" (API 114).
descnpoon w l • • I
itome of inscrutab e, marticu ate mystery, that India: Fascination
becomes the ep . .
0
was threatening and could _b_e traumatizmg. ne_ way o! Forster's fascination for India explodes through small
· that threat was wntmg about the land. This. .applied unexpected chinks; for example, his account of Aziz's 'victory
overconung
to Africa as well. Hence the enormous volu~e of _wntmgs on banquet' where he unselfconsciously celebrates the classic
the land and the people in the form of soc10log1cal studies, human beauty:
journalistic reporting, and literary works. When the Nawab Bahadur stretched out his hand for food
or Nureddin applauded a song, something beautiful had
The uniqueness of Forster's approach to, and perception of,
been accomplished which needed no development. This
India can be appreciated when studied against this general restfulness of gesture-it is the Peace that passeth
backdrop. Understanding, after all, it is the social equivalent of
(b) Forster's India Yoga. When the whirring of action ceases, it becomes
visible, and reveals a civilization which the West can
While journeying through the scorched landscape of Indi~n
disturb but will never acquire. The hand stretches out for
summer Mrs Moore is strangely soothed as she can once a~am ever, the lifted knee has the eternity though not the
look beyond her personal trouble to watch the "indestructible sadness of the grave. (250-51)
life of man and his changing faces and the houses that he has
Forster would be charmed by the puzzling paradox of beauty
built for himself and God and they' appeared to her not in ter~s among the lowliest in India. During the trial when the hot court
' ·rh1s
0 fh er. ow_n trouble but as things to see" (213): 1t 15 eal
is packed to capacity by a crowd which is divided by mutual
perennial life and peace that constituted the mysterious ap~ hatred, and tension is on the mount, Adela comes to notice:
of Forster,s 'India.' India was Forster's constant subject. Sind~e13
1914, ten out of his· twelve publications had been about In
 A PASSAG~
ro,N
M f ll who were present, a pers 011 ¾
... the humbles£~~ Ialy upon the trial: the man WhWha ha..i THEMES 65
· of licia t naked, an d sp Ien d'dl O P l "
no bearing 1 y fortned lt le.i
nk h A mos b k . h ,h " bare physique: "He was naked, broad-shouldered, thin-waisted-
the pu . a . latform near the ac ' m t ~ middle a e sat the Indian body again triumphant ... his beautiful dark face
on a raised P nd he caught her attention as sl f the expressionless ... " (309).
central gangwaY,/ro control the proceedings. Be: c:all\e
1 Indians: Response to Art
in, and he seenb e ty that sometimes come to fl ad the
nd eau owe . Forster's admiration of India did not stop with the
screngt11 a birth When that strange race ne r 1n
1 contemplation of the physical beauty alone, but also extended
Indians of. ow de~ned as untouchable, then ars the
to include the aesthetic dimension of the mindset of an average
dust a nd 1sh conhysical perfection . h h natu
t at s e accorn . re Indian which the British seemed to be particularly lacking.
mbers t e P d P1tshed
reme d throws out a go -not many, but on h Forster watched with dismay the typical limitations and
elsewhere. an rove to society how little its cate e ~re insensitivity towards the aesthetic sides of life among most
d there, to P b gories
~ h This man would have een notable anrwh Anglo-Indians. Ronny Heaslop exhibits this common trait
unpress er. d fl h d d.
in-hamme , at-c este me 1ocritie ere,, which Forster alludes to with a note of sarcasm.
amona th e th d. . h s of Their ignorance of the Arts was notable, and they lost no
l:> e he stood out as 1vme, yet e was of th
Chan drapor h. h e opportunity of proclaiming it to one another; it was the
. . aarbaae had nourished 1m, e would end on 'ts
City. Its t, i::, d h' I Public School attitude, flourishing more vigorously than it
rubbish-heaps. Pulling th~ rope t~war s im, relaxing it
can yet hope to do in England. If Indians were shop, the
rhruunically, sending swirls of air over others, receiving Arts were bad form, and Ronny had repressed his mother
none· llilJ.l;)
L:-relf, he seemed apart from human destinies , a when she inquired after his viola; a viola was almost a
male fare, a winnower of souls .... he scarcely knew that demerit, and certainly not the sort of instrument one
he existed and did not understand why the court was mentioned in public.
fuller than usual, didn't even know he worked a fan, This can be compared-and Forster seems to intend it-to the
though he thought he pulled a rope. (19 3) Indian approach of which we get a glimpse in the response of
His very aloofness helps Adela regain a poise ~nd perspective the small gathering by Aziz's sick-bed; as A:z.iz removes his quilt
she had lost in her confusion during the precedmg days. to cite a poem by Ghalib.
When during the aftermath of the trial the court has brok~n It had no connection with anything that had gone before,
but it came from his heart and spoke to theirs. They were
up, the excited crowd outside scream, curse, kiss and weep m
overwhelmed by its pathos; pathos, they agreed, is the
derisive joy, and people pour out of the courtroom, For_st~r highest quality in art; a poem should touch the hearer
takes care to draw our attention to the single person left behm ' with a sense of his own weakness, and should institute
-"the beautiful naked God" (205), who goes on pulling the some comparison between mankind and flowers. The
cord of his punkah, divinely unaware of the scene below. In the squalid bedroom grew quiet; the silly intrigues, the gossip,
third section we see, among the singing worshippers "a w?man the shallow discontent were stilled, while words accepted
prominent, a wild and beautiful young saint with flowers 10 her as immortal filled the indifferent air. (118-119)
hair" in the act of "praising God without attributes" (30B). Even the uneducated or uninitiated shows an appreciation and
· on the eve of the 'climax' of the festival int
Agam, . he third
. admiration of something beautiful.
. , unng t e immersion ceremony there appears a 5erv1tor,
section d · h ·
h Of the company, only Hamidullah had any comprehension
taking the reprica Go ku l on a tray,
and' proceeding cowa rds thee of poetry. The minds of the others were inferior and
dark waters; the description highlights the sheer beauty oft
 A PAssAGl:
ro,"'o,
66 r ned with pleasure, because 1. ~
1
ro ugh. Yet the~ iSre ,d from their civilization ....,h tetat\l11. THEMES 67
divorce 1h . J. e -~
had not been . ce did not fee t at Aziz had d Polic
s compound. Each held a large earthenware jar, containing
inspector, for ~~ rann;t break into the cheery guffegrade:
reciting, h · f • aw ,... 11 pebbles, and jerked it up and down in time to a doleful chant."
himseIf bY r hman averts t e m ect1on of bea "'% Distracted by the noise, Fielding suggests they be dismissed,
which an ~ g~~ mind empty, and when his thu.ty, tie
11
"but the Nawab Bahadur vetoed it; he said the musicians, who
just sat wit1 i~ ignoble flowed back into it th ou.gh~
1
st had walked many miles, might bring good luck" (198).
which were mho y The p~em had done no "gey had~
fres ness. . d ood,, Master-Servant Relationship
pleasant . as a passing remm er, a breath fr to
e but 1t w . I b olll th Even in human interaction India seems to fare better than
anyon '. f b auty a nightmga e etween two Wo e the English in Forster's perception as is shown by the contrastive
divine bps o e ' r1ds of
master-servant relationship.
dust. (119) . .
. 1 in the descnpt1on of a homely gatheri Through Mrs Turton Forster caustically shows the typical
Early in th e nov~d' llah's waiting for the dinner, Forster i ng of contempt of Anglo-Indians for the native servants. While
· es ar Hami u , nserts
rel ~nv f thi set the atmospheric tone: putting across the information that she has, during her long stay
a hint o s to . . in India, learnt a little Urdu, Forster adds: "She had learnt the
Aziz began quoting poetry. Persian, Urdu, a little Arabic lingo, but only to speak to her servants, so she knew none of the
His memory was good, and for so young a man he had politer forms and of the verbs only the imperative mood" (34).
rea d 1argely ,. the themes he preferred . were the. decay of Ronny Heaslop is impatient when his peon named Krishna
Islam and the brevity of love. They listened de_hghted, for fails to turn up in response to his impatient call.
they took the public view of poetry, not the private which ... a terrific row ensued. Ronny stormed, shouted, howled,
brains in England. It never bored them to hear words and only the experienced observer could tell that he was
:ords; they breathed them with the cool night a!r, neve; not angry, did not much want the files, and only made
stopping to analyse; the name of the poet, Hafiz, Hali, a row because it was the custom. Servants, quite
Iqbal, was sufficient guarantee. (38) understanding, ran slowly in circles, carrying hurricane
This aesthetic responsiveness, Forster shows, is not confine~ lamps. Krishna the earth, Krishna the stars replied, until
the Englishman was appeased by their echoes, fined the
to the educated elite alone. Even the poor, illiterate Indian is not
absent peon eight annas, and sat down to his arrears in
immune to its appeal. Thus when Godbolc at last begins his the next room. (83)
delayed song to Krishna at Fielding's tea party
This can be compared to Hamidullah's easeful understanding
Only the servants understood it. They began to whisper to with his servants; in the midst of animated conversation with
one another. The man who was gathering water-ches_rnut guests he would shout out for dinner, and "servants shouted
came naked out of the tank, his lips parted with delight, back that it was ready. They meant that they wished it was
disclosing his \earl ct tongue. (9 5) ready, and were so understood, for nobody moved" (7).
The Indian seems to show an ambience regarding rbe Or consider Aziz's indulgent, almost playful dealing with
accomm<J danon · of art~ into the mundane even if they d0 not his incompetent servant. Lying sick in his bed he calls out,
seem t<J g<J togtther. for imtarn.:c, after Aziz\ arrest, the serious 'J Jassan!'
conference of the worried fricnd<;-thc Na wa b Jfamidullah, The servant came running.
Mahmou~. Ali, Fiddmg, and othcr<;-is hcmg ;, marred. b\: ' Look at those flies, brother' ...
group of itinerant mu~iciam, who were alJowed to play JO t '1luzoor, those are flies.'
 ~
'Good, goo d. t 1W)
A PASSAGE"

..ire, c,cellent, but why have l

~,
called
THEMES 69
you?' . h elsewhere,' said Hassan, after .
'To dri,·e t er~ Pa1%il Yet who is this 'Indian'? About this neither the characters
thouoht .... (1 1)) h nor their author seem to be certain. 'There is no such person in
~ d ~ nothing towards t at end. Even
cl
Apparen ~. Has~an~.
oe. . remm
, the same; being l-I tsh
. ded of this 111011 existence a~ the general Indian' (264), Aziz would say, implying
it could be the Hindu Indian, Moslem Indian, and all sorts of
afterwards the flies ar;er \'Vith the information about th assan
fragmented denotations.
would di,:err th ~ ma~hich might yield two snakes; Aziz a:k 11~ke
being cur mto n,o. "' , plates (275). s tf a
Forster's simple admiration of and wonder at India and
plate he broke be(ame ™o Indians-the culture and ways-can strike us as definite
departure from the norm of the colonial literature of the day. As
Indians · ultaneously ba ffl ed an d attracted by Boehmer explains, "Time and again the derogation of other
Forster is s1m h. h A . h the cultures was used to validate the violence of invasion. Even
. . Tb • hr of the elephant-w 1c z1z ad pro before Darwin, colonization was represnted as a survival of the
'Indian. e s1g . 1 · d 1·
. rhrouoh a senes of comp 1cate m s-waitin
k cured
fittest, in De Quincey's phrase 'winnowing the merits of races.'
for the p1bcruc rationi:, fills him with pride and content. "Thatg at The struggle for survival dictated that the strong, or those best
the .Mara ar s , d I an
uld descend from so long an so s ender a str· at imposing their power, were deserving of hegemony. Within
elepbant sho .hh . . ing
£illed Aziz with content, an~ wit umoro~s appreciation of the the terms of colonialist representation, it was possible to style
East, where the friends of fnends are a reality, where eve:ything any incident of conquest as demonstrating the power of the
gets done some time, and sooner or later everyone gets hrs share invader and the inferiority of the conquered" (80). Forster
represents a departure from this norm by his refreshingly
of happmess" (151). humane and open approach.
During the aftermath of the trial, the excited Indians do not
India: lnclusivity/Exclusivity: Krishna/Christ
any attention to Adela who has walked out by herself
pay . h Th While highlighting Christian exclusivity-"we must exclude
through rhe exit. "They paid no attentwn to er. ey shook
someone from our gathering, or we shall be left with nothing"
hands over her shoulder, shouted through her body-for when
(30)-Forster has offered Godbole's vision of universal love as a
the Indian doe~ ignore his rulers he becomes genuinely unaware
c?unt~rp~int. One should not forget, however, that Godbole, in
of their existence" (233). his daily life and ways is more exclusivist than anyone; he won't
After the trial, when Adela is sincerely sorry, Fielding and take food or drink cooked or offered by a non-Brahmin not to
Adela, "between them ... concoctcd a letter, sincere, and full of speak of a non-Hindu. Anyway, at the moment of rel~ase of
moving phrases, but it was not moving ,is a letter" (258). love when Lord Krishna is 'born' God bole shares with the
Fielding explains to Adela why she fails to write an adequately commoners around him the all-embracing love.
satisfactory letter of apology to Aziz ill spite of her be5r Th~y loved . all m~n, the whole universe, and scraps of
intentions: 'Our letter is a failure for a simple reason whic~ we their pa~t, tiny splinters of detail, emerged for a moment
had better face: you have no real affection for Aziz, or Indians ~o melt mt? the \mi versa I warmth .... Completeness, not
1
generally.' She assented. 'The first time I saw you, you were econstrucnon. His senses grew thinner, he remembered a
wanting to see India, not Indians and it ocrnrred to me: Ah, wasp seen he forgot where, perhaps on a stone. He loved
that won't take us far. Indians kn~w whether they arc liked or the wasp equally, he impelled it likewise he was imitating
God. (255-256) '
not-they cannot be fooled here. Justice never satisfies rbern,
and that is why the British Empire rests on sand' (258).
 A PASSAGE'
11
70 . Ch . .
.ttle talkanve
11 nst1anity'' f
• d5 "poor aI1·
Mrs Moore £111 l gre3t nee, ,d of spiritual
. .
assurance aft ll)n
et Lc:i
short during ier_ " the rrial Adela's mtenor monologue t t11e
caves. Again. dunngwhcn the aloofness of the punkha- akes
its puzzled cou~:\he narrowness of her own suffering: ~~Iler
seemed to rebuk . 'nions, and the suburban Jehovah Ber
particular bra nd ~ ~\~hat right did they daim so Who
0
sanctified them- ) ·ld and assume the title of civiliza?llch
.
unportant:-e in the ,11,01 ' ton)••
(193). d Christianity inadeq~ate on emo~ional groun
Forsrer founddress to the Cambridge humamsts he said ~s
as well. In an a in
know 1.s what t he gospe ls te 11 us he Was
1959: .
The Chr1st we . h . .
cannot see behind them or discount
. t e m1smterpretatio
l . ns
the, may contain and even m the G~spe s there is much
th · Christ says and does that I do like and often think
bar he parable of the hidden talent, for instance
aoo~
d I am touched by the birth stories, and overwhelmed
b/:I:i.e death story. But there is so ~uch on the other si?e,
so much moving away from worldliness towards preachmg
and threats, so much emphasis on followers, on an elite,
so little intellectual power ... , such an absence of humour
and fun that my blood's chilled. I would on the whole
rather not meet the speaker, either at an Eliot cocktail
party or for a quick quaker talk, and the_ fact that ~y
rejection is not vehement does not save 1t from _belilg
tenacious. It may seem absurd to turn from Chnst to
Krishna, that vulgar blue-faced boy with his romps and
butterpats: Krishna is usually a trivial figure. But he does
admit pleasure and fun and their connection with love.
(6-7)
Forster's rejection of Christianity/Christ seems to have been
conditioned by his emphasis on human relationships. In the
same address he says:
· to meet Christ persona 1l~, an d' since
.. ·I do n't de~1re ed
personal relations mean everything to me, this has help
me to cool off from Christianity. If the religion of rnY
0 lfvo
14 THEMES 71
fathers (i.e. C. of E.) had provided me wi~h a ~ore
satisfactory father-figure, friend, what you will, I might
have been more tempted to stay in it. It contained much
that I respected and respect, but too little that I could care
for. (7)
The fun and warmth of Gokul Ashtami seems to him to offer a
contrast to this dryness.
"God si love!" There is fun in heaven. God can play
practical jokes upon Himself, draw chairs away fr?m
beneath His own posteriors, set His own turbans on fire,
and steal His own petticoats when He bathes. By sacrificing
good taste, this worship achieved what Christianity has
, We shirked: the inclusion of merriment. All spirit as well as
all matter must participate in salvation; and if practical
jokes are banned, the circle is incomplete. (258)
Again, at the same time, Forster also takes into account the
countless exclusivities of India and the fissures they involve. For
·
instance, Aziz is made to perceive the difference between
Chandrapore and Mau in terms of the 'cleavage'; in Mau it is
the 'cleavage' between Brahmins and non-Brahmins, and the
Moslems and English do not seem to figure. "Since God bole
was a Brahman, Aziz was one also for purposes of intrigue; they
would often joke about it together" (289). The narrator adds:
The fissures in the Indian soil are infinite: Hinduism, so
solid from a distance, is riven into sects and clans, which
radiate and join, and change their names according to the
aspect from which they are approached. Study it for years
with the best teachers, and when you raise your head
nothing they have told you quite fits. (289)
Mysticism and India
_Forster thought that mysticism was "the particular gift" of
India. In an unpublished essay on Kipling, Forster writes:
Mys~icism may be a mistake, but no one will deny this-
that if once a man shows traces of it, those traces must be
c~refully scanned by all who are trying to understand
him. T_o ha~e fe~t, if only for a moment, that this visible
world is an illusion-to have conceived, however faintly,
72
• he uns ·
that the real is c
A PASSAGE

eeit ro ha,·e had a passing d

rn be marked off from all th sire fl\.
. d h d . Ose ...
e: ·
ro,~
°'~ r 73
." .ar once THEMES
rhe One-I~ fel chu' ~on~e1,·e . t us enied. th %n
ba,·e not th~s rf. h , c1tt of mysnc1sm, rnanv . ere i. can go far but not all the way, and a certain retraction of the
oon o r c.: , • b. h , cr11ll· "' intimacy of his style reflects his uncertainty. The acts of
no expIana """"c~sed it: man) is ops, if th 'Ila~
-~have,, f. . h et unagination by which Forster conveys the sense of the Indian
and ourc.i~- de,oid O 1t. 1t pars no onour t l'\itti
were k,nOWil- .1are
y~.i
a·on·. onlv: one thmg 1s certai....... ; lt~ .raoL", Gods are truly wonderful; they are, nevertheless, the acts of
imagination not of a master of the truth but of an intelligent
c~c1" e_r· ~'c otiodiJ .... [cited by Lewis 98-99] ts tftt
4 0
neophyte, still baffled" [E.M. Forster: A Study 11944), pp. 124-5;
P'r:i-.,tl.-r gu
cited by Orange 155].
India= An flli9t"D_
.
_J..,,;r,,rion.
• his. ,.sU!J.U o .
howe,·er, India ren-.~.
"'"141Ils
Homi K. Bhabha offers a post-colonial perspective on this
h;. ~pat 0• rho i\fri,·ed at the gateway of ~arab 1. aQ enigma. He claims: "There is a conspiracy of silence around the
'enior.£ to tbt ~u •. ~-~ · ..,..-.ctaloicalh·' recall Grasmere ' ,a~ uotlJ
:Vtth .
colonial truth, whatever that might be. Around the tum of the
-
d
• :\Ue14uV-' e,-
Mr~ Moo:e a.Ju hilli, which sharply contrasts to the ll)
century there emerges a mythic, masterful silence in the narratives
of empire, what Sir Alfred Lyall called 'doing our imperialism
~crii-=o! Lakes_~_ Mzrabu. "'Ah, dearest Grasmere!' I ~ quietly'" (Bhabba, 203 ). At the same time he also notices,
appr~ ~~-~~-~ were belo,·ed by them all. Romanf1 ttlt "Around the same time, from those dark corners of the earth,
ial:.es ~~:-°-~g :!OID a kindlier pJanet. Here an u:/dytt 1 there comes another, more ominous silence that utters an
~~: ~ ~ -+, .. ic'ees of ~i.arabar" '150J. archaic colonial 'otherness', that speaks in riddles, obliterating
o~iu'~wLu- • " . proper names and proper places. It is a silence that rums
• -i:-.: _,; Szid aprh· points out, Like Conrad's Afn,.,.
1
--.s ~v:~"" ' -~
descn'bed as unapprehendil,k
imperial triumphalism into the testimony of colonial confusion
• • 1 _.:;., a locale £requently
farsar.swu- 6 and those who hear its echo lose their historic memories"
au-6 roo lzgt"' Said 1994: 243 . (203-4). The obvious reference is to A Passage to India. Bhabha
Js prior w ci-1-li allus1on to Grasmere, F-?rster writ.es: continues, "This is the Voice of early modernist 'colonial'
"Hov;wuld 6t mind rake hold of such a countryt Ceneratioru literature, the complex cultural memory of which is made in a
or inva.cler> h.2ve tried, but they remain m exile. The important fine tension between the melancholic homelessness of the
modern noveJist, and the wisdom of the sage-like story-reller
wwm ~· ~.rild are only retreats, their quar~cls the malaise of
whose craft takes him no further afield than his own people"
mtr. TJmf.J c.anno: fr.d their way home. Indi a Yn()WS of their
(204) . .Bhabha cites from Conrad's Heart of Darkness and
rrcrJble ... ~hecab 'Sume' rhrol.lgh her hundred mrJuths, through NrJstrr~mo and Forster's A Passage to India to prove his point.
objer..t, ridicuhu~ and august. B,Jt OJmc tfJ wh::it ( She: has never " .. .Aziz, ... who embarks jauntily ... on his anglo-lndian picnic to
defined. ~r.it i~ not a pr<Jmi~e, only an appcaJt, (148 49). the Marabar caves is cruelly undone by the echo of the Kawa
Again, "N,Jthing in India i~ identifiable, the mere asking_ of V<JJ: 'B<Jum, ~JUb?um is the sound as far as the human alphabet
a qu~uun c.au~ it t<J di~appear <Jr t<J merge in something can expre<is it...if one <,poke <,jJences in that place or quoted
lofty poetry, the comment would have been the same ou-
el~" {1 ()1 ).
boum'" (Hh~bha, 204). Aziz can be, according to Bhabha,
JJuring hit, fim vi\h tCJ India Fcm,tcr visited the cave· c,<:1~pa:c.d with. K_un_z _('the f Iorror, the Horror!'), or Nostromo
ttmpb <>f Ellora and he found them 'more amazing rh.an ( it J'> fmi<ihed, 1.t is frn'.\hed'). "A\ one silence uncannily repeats
~nyth'ing .m a Lrand where much amazt:s.' I Ic found r cm
h tOO f~e <~the~, the 1,1gn of identity and reality found in the work of
diabolic' to be beautiful. Lionel Tnlling ob-,crvcs: « •.. so far. as 1:mpirc, 1'i slc,wly undone" (204). Hhabha defines this enigmatic
~he c~ld Mediterranean d<.:1t1cs of wise unpuisc and loving <,Jlcnce or non -language (like 'ouboum') a<·, "th c Ianguage o.f a
mtelhgenc.e can go in · Ind'ia, 1-cJr\tcr
• . at home; he t h'in ks cheY
1s
 A PASSAG
i: to 1
74 . . Nt:,1
fopl:Kl'S t hr conventional d ~ 75
sc" tl,at l , • l l I.la\· .
colonial nonsctl l ·.,t sp:H.:t' ,as )Ccn perceived lttes. THEMES
·chcoon1, ·/·' ·1· . ea-1· I~
enns of wl11_ . lttirc or d1~1os uv1 1zat1on, etc ~l r let in a total disaster and chaos, leading Mrs Moore into a crisis of
t l u l b
. ture1 I , colonial ot ,erness, ut are r hese . .t l "
dualities ot n,1 . I\ faith, and Adela to a crisis of conduct. As Maria Couto puts it:
not just indic.1tttl.g t lt. •rtain colonial silence that at er ''tte Admittedly, Forster fixes on the caves to communicate his
. f -1n un<-x .h h . lllock i1e
inscriptions O • of language wit t e1r non-s s tL own perceptions of the universe but in doing so he invests
. I rtormance . . f lt .h ense, II~
soc1a re
• 111un1<-, .··1ble venues o cu ure wit their refu) th~~t
F
them with both supernatural and destructive power. Thus
baffles t hel 001 bl l04 ). That's w 11y orster's Indi sat t when the breakdown which is both personal and interracial
translate" (Shae ia, ,, But come to what? That a calls tho takes place, the fault seems to lie with India. Mrs Moore ...
,. ome. . . . . cann0 e is ... exhausted, her composure destroyed, and her health
conquerors. ents an uncertain mv1tat1on which t be
defined. She br~I~r~sof the invitee to interpret. remains and equilibrium affected so that despite the deeper contexts
beyond rhe a l It) . of the narrative, its thrust suggests that the two women
· h' self was not very sure about this e . were disoriented by India, by its primitive power, its
Forster un d n1grn
. his letters and comments ma e from tirn a as mystery-the cliches of all literary manifestations of the
aPpe J
:ars trom D. k'
4 he wrote to 1c mson who-like
e to t'
~Ille,
192 ' Raj. (124-25)
On 26 une . d h
d reviewers-ob1ecte to t e mystery of the C Us
Vario
Describing an expedition to the banks of Sipra on the Hali of
~~~ d ~ 1921 during which there was a confusion regarding a distant
In the cave it is either a man, or the supernatural ·
illusion. And even if I know! My writing mind ther~for a~ article-whether it was a dead tree or a live snake-Forster
·11 . . b ore1s wrote to his mother: "I call the adventure 'typical' because it is
a blur here-i.e. I w1 1t to remam a lur, and tO
even more difficult here -than in England to get at the rights of a
uncertain, as I am of many facts in daily life. This is be
. I ' . l nota matter. Everything that happens is said to be one thing which
philosophy of aest h et1cs. t s a part1cu ar trick I fel proves to be another, and as it is further said in an unknown
justified in trying be~ause my theme wa~ India. It spran: tongue I live in a haze" [cited by Furbank 74].
straight from my ~ub1ect ?1atter. I wouldn t have attempted
Elusiveness
it in other countries, which though they contain mysteries
If India is an enigma, it is necessarily elusive also. Adela
or muddles, manage to draw rings round them. [cited by
expresses her admiration of Akbar's new religion as 'it was to
Furbank, 125] embrace the whole of India', but Aziz contests 'Nothing
However, while writing to William Plomer in 1934 he seems to emkbbra~es ~he whole of India, nothing, nothing andthat was
have revised his views a little; with reference to Plomer's latest A ar s mistake' (156). '

novel he writes: · A . tea party Ad ela, m

Ath Fielding's . .
· h er mexpenence accepts
I tried to show that India is an unexplainable muddle by evedryth mg z1z says, because "she regarded him as 'India"'
an t e narrator adds she " . '
introducing an unexplained muddle-Miss Quested's India" (88-89) And I'd' . never surmised that ... no one is
· n 1a 1s also no , F ld · .
experience in the cave. When asked what happened there, sympathetically understand Az'z' ~?es. ie mg rnes to
I don't know. And you, expecting to show the untidine~ people are sadly circumstance~ s pro em as a poet: 'You
001
of London, have left your book untidy-some fallacy, about? ... You don't h .. _Whatever are you to write
I d' " ave patnot1c poetry of the "I d'
a serious one, has seduced us both some confusion n ia type, when it's nobody's India' (273). n ia, my
25
between the dish and dinner. [cited by 'Furbank, 1 fnl Forster concludes his d . .
Anyway f s thi the 'Temple' section withescnpt1on of :he Krishna festival in
M b ' Indi a operates as a potential destructor so ar a 1 an expression of bewilderment:
. . at t h e Marabar resuO
ara ar caves are concerned . The p1cmc
 A PASSAGE 7, 77
76
h eat blur of the last twenty-fou _ I
°'"'c,4
"Looking back at t ehgre was the emotional centre oft . 10'1ts THEMES "You are our hero; the
.
Id say w er . l d tt i d' " (264). Das lauds Aziz: f d" (264). But it is
no man cou Id locate the heart of .l c ou . '' ' a.11y understan ~ngb hind you irrespective o creeh "rnuch rnental
more than he cou
. . as an enigmatic· 'ddl f 11 f b' whole city is e h Mr Das, who as A . 's
n e, u o ig and only a temporary p I a~e, ~'I fear not' he says-to z1z
India is seen e moments one can get a glimpse ~111a.11
0 learness"' acknow e ges
divisions. Yet ~t r~r ot through politics but through e het ~uestion, 'will it last?'
unity. It is achieve •~ich could occasionally open the vi~ltlOtio11
d esthetic sense '\
an a ·tuI horizon. As Aziz • ·
recites Gh alib's po a of a. India as Weather . -flun colonies was -viewed ?Y
wide and beautI e111 in The alien weather m the far g d .t became necessarily
• h d gree of terror, an 1 f. l
sick bed: . I .11 . the European wit a e bl tery. Forster has me Y
The squalid bedroom grew quiet; t 1e ~Ill dy mtrigues, the ·1 d unsurmounta e rnys , 1· ,
part of a h ostl e an . f I d. in terrns of an a ien
. th shallow discontent were Stl e , while 'W capture d t he out s1·der's perception
h o n 13 ·
gossip, e . h . N Ords .cal climatological explanation
immortal filled t e air. ot as a call to b l weather. Mr Turton offers t e typ1 t' nt in India-as
accepte d as
~:~~e~:;~;:~g~~ ~~;;::i!!~t:r:h:~~~:r ~t:1~~~ ~~!~;:
f . att e 5
lm assurance came the edmg that India '
but as a ca . Was
one.... Wh atever Ghahb had felt,
. he had anyhow lived .
in
India, and thus consolidated It to;. them ... _And the sister
change frorn loving husband to cruel rnur er~r . the hot
"India does wonders for the judgment, especially d_unng f I d.
kingdoms of rhe North-Ara 1a, Persia, Ferghana,
T urkesran-srrerched ~ut their hands as he sa~g, sadly,
weather." This corroborates to Ronny's percepnon
1
n ~, ° .
which he tries to impress upon his mother: 'There's nothing m
because all beauty 1s sad, and greeted ridiculous India but the weather, my dear mother; it's the alpha and
Chandrapore, where every street and house was divided omega of the whole affair' (68). Even for the narrator too the
against itself, and told her that she was a continent and a weather seems to be an adequate cause for panic: "Then Ronny
unity. (118-119) drove her (Adela) back. It was early in the morning, for the day,
But on the plane of political reality it is at best a strained self- as the Hot Weather advanced, swelled like a monster at both
conscious effort at attaining a sort of unity, and that too with ends, and left less and less room for the movements of
very little effectiveness. This we are reminded of in the very next mortals" (203 ).
paragraph; the same morning "Hamidullah had called in on his Or, look at the opening paragraph of Chapter fourteen; the
way to a worrying Committee of Notables, nationalist in narrator himself seems to have been struck with awe at the
tendency, where Hindus, Moslems, two Sikhs, two Parsees, a terror that is called 'Hot Weather.' It is a powerful description
though:
Jain, and a Native Christian tried to like one another more than
came natural to them. As long as someone abused the English, ~aking sudden changes of gear, the heat accelerated in
aII went well, but nothing constructive had been achieved, and a ~ance Jfter Mrs M?ore's departure, until existence had
if the English were to leave India the committee would vanish t~ ~endur~d and cnme punished with the thermometer
also" (119). a a un re and twelve. Electric fans hummed a d
True that following Aziz's trial there is a period of amity
between the two major ethnic groups. "Another local
;e~::c:~l•~~::e~oascreen';,ic~clinked, and outsi~e
clouds of dust movedghray_1s . s yl and a yellowish earth
:r::;
conseque.nce of the trial was a Hindu-Moslem entente. Loud
Th es1tatmg y. (21 4 ) ,
e author then compares and .
protestat10ns of amity were exchanged by prominent citizens, weather in the distant horn 1 ftcfontras~s it nostalgically to the
and there went with them a genuine desire for a good e, e ar behmd d .
'an m consequence
 A !' A S •/\ Gt
1,, '" I
78 acqt11rc the pr,,pon ,011 of a o,,.
~ it~I( c;cCfTl~ tO • lt: tt1J;1
the wcathc 'If
79
1,.- mc ~ ey. ;m out of the i;;.ol<l, :-i nd ,
uY"
0
I (c rct.rc h L
ln Europe J h rcc,ultcd •• . but ere lm t <·trc:11 1 ''i,t
'1'.'fu ~umrwr, but _thr· 1,.,~,h~ !nd,~n ,umm"'-r. As Ac.kfa 3nd
(Jrc;tdc rn}
th~ ;t\C
f the trcac.haom r-mn, ~nd tlq <>tt
:. fr _Mri, M,,,,,,; rr;t,rt. t,, bed, "'-."t r tr:mqu,J, w·rer perfec.dy <b&
,he §;ourcc 0
( 11 ~
1,i,illuwmm<nt CMlfl <)t he he,, ~'t
P•)t th<.! night w,,n Jt<,df ~ ·~1w1, d1':t1nhu,~he<l fr,,m other mght~.,;
t,caiu\C u "'1t1fr1I tWO ,,r thri:;c bf~<;t', ,,f 'IIJTJd , ·11h1(..h Y~moo t<, fall perpend1eufarly
adorn' ii, the ,buny of th( b 1i;li\h .,, ••
h rnomeoadcac,~Jr~•, who :i IV J cnl<.: rcd the"'tttt, (rtJm the ',Yy ~nd 11 , IJ,,,m~ b~(.;Y. mt <1 it, hard and crnnpaa,
At ,.. ' lt, aving n<, <.,hne-.,'> br.:.hmd them the H<.>t 1/e:.1 ther w
,~m t: b
h
" th t c I
1h r pre
rucnl to
rcfa~hwn u.
,
hut
.
were
f
in the end,
-...J1Jnt
,,
ll<,rk,_.4
and ,,w<..'fcd with 111; < u~t. <214 215 ..,
1 fn;
acppmaching" 1114J. <,,,r,n it ·11H1 _be vv.,<,king <m the door,
Aziz\ vi'>itors o,me out after seeing the ~tient "the heit had
1:
t ~ panc-rn . I cl J
leaped forward in the Ja-,t hr,ur", and "when the i;e•ren gent emen
n dew aC(Jmrc mctaphy~1ca 1m<:n\ t<,n~ tc,
lk 1.1.eathrr a: ma . "The annual helter '>hltcr ,,f ,. tJ:it who had held such vari()LJS <,pini,,ns inside the bungalow came
L-
au·•,.,,na
,magJ.11at1on. 'k ._ .
:md lu~t spread I, c a canYC;r, ' > <me ,,f h'
wh:o mubtll.t} J~ the orderly hopes <Jf humanity" (21 SJ 1~
11pri1
I out of it, they were a ware of a commrm burden, a ·1ague threat
which they caJled 'the bad weather e<,ming'" (12'5 . Again, on
_J
(luura
com.men~' ·
' h , y;a \
h L •
through t c r,azaar in the cha< ,
• 1~ the way to the Marabar, Adda and ,\1rs .vfryJre mention the
,. .J..J.. uropes er ' · d h " 'f h Jtl( approaching 'Hot Weather' with capital initials. Adela would
-~u, ::r cl the mal tt,c ~mc.:11 mva es er a"> J t cheat of tht
have dismissed their servant Antony in near future, but
~Jild and fried all the gJ{Jric'> <if the earth int<> a singk Mrs Moore wants to retain him, because she thinks, 'He will see
"SS~
rJL, 233 • . , . me through the Hot Weather' (146); the implication is that she
It [D3\ 3 I,0 LiJC,, ,no•t:d rhar
L
it 1s during the advent of h,Jt would require assistance to sustain her through this trying spell.
weadWa diat rhe panic and empti~~ss <Jf the caves cngul~ Weather is something very real for these aliens in India. Adela,
''" ,md ct.i ....,_ .,,.-ubsequ ent hostility develops when the a fresher and young, can say, 'I don't believe in the Hot
peopu::, •
Weather. People like Major Callendar who always talk about it
remperar..:r... ,. uur,·" ~,d,. UJO reaches its peak. On the other han,1
. u,
...t ,, 1utior. rv,o year~ later, taves place under the soothing -it's in the hope of making one feel inexperienced and small,
u)'f rt: ><J '
.... u.rm rains called rhe "best weat er
h " o f I nd'1a, though like their everlasting "I have been twenty years in this country"
(146-47). Mrs Moore, however, knows better; she says, 'I
fielding, now an "rJlder and sterner man " f'm ds even th'11
mo,"""· '
believe in the Hot Weather, but never did I suppose n would
weather "ptstiltntia l" l2% ). bottle me up as it will' (147). She is apprehensive of the
Soon after her arn val in India Adel a would notice changes summer, and in case her son's marriage is pushed off to .May it
in Ronn/ W> , but interestingl y she too seems to ascribe it to the would be a trying situation for her; in that case she cannot go
climate: "India had developed sides of his character that she ha.~ back until long afterwards. "By May a barrier of fire would
never admired. His 1,elf-c<Jmplac.ency, his censoriousness, h~ have fallen across India and the adjoining sea, and she would
lack of subtlety, all grew vivid beneath a tropic sky" (96). have to remain perched up in the Himalayas waiting for the
· une world to get cooler" (147). Adela may declare with the
Even the author himself docs not seem complete lY imm h
enthusiasm of inexperience, 'I won't be bottled up .... I've no
to this weather-obsession, and particularly to the scare of \e patience with these women here who leave their husbands
hot weather. It is the narratorial voice that introduces \e grilling in the plains ... .' But when Mrs Moore points out, 'she
advent of 'hot' days with a suggestion of ominousness. In the has children, you see', Adela is ''disconcerted", and
f t . f . b fore t e
IrS _section o the novel there is a brief spring which, e n !is~ acknowledges, 'Oh yes, that's true' (147).
section ends, is taken over by summer, not the pleasant E g
 BO
A PASSAG
I: 7"o
'tvo,
i
. thus becomes part of the 1 ~ THEMES
. I
~eat1e1 f f t1e 81
The Indian_ , ·ion of a very power _u 1 actor co llle b
suming the d1111ens_ lives and further alienating the Uttou~~ porster also traced. h h the root of the pro bl em to a certai
as d' . ning hum,ui OUts1·,J g feature of th.ehECh ng11s c aracter
• as he percei ved It.
• I n h'is ,Notesn
and con ino 1.1er8 1
011 rhe Eng 1s aracter Forster observed:
from the Jand,
En fish people (The English) go .forth into a world th at 1s . not entirely
.
India and th e 9 the questions: "What are th
.
S· id raise 5 . e cuj
compose d of pu bl 1c-school men or even of Ang1 o-Saxons
Edward 3 . h b tll natives and liberal Europeans 1. tllraj but of men wh o are as various as the san ds o f the sea·'
a-rounds on " ·hie th o f How much cou Id t hey grant ea lVed
h and into a wor ld whose richness and subtlety th h '
~ d a ·h o er. . . c Oth · Th . ey ave no
undersroo e " . of imperial dommation, could th er1 conception. ey go forth mto it with well-cl I d
•-L · 1
the circ e ey ,J . f .1 d 1 d eve ope
How. ,nwin b £ re radical change occurred?" (Said 1994 . 1.1ea1 bo d1es,
. . airh. y eved ope minds, and undeveloped hearts.
O 1
·th e,ach orher e • 241) An d 1t 1s ·tt·
t 1s un
l . evef oped heart that is Iargely respons1·ble
WI k nly and painfully aware of the gap b
er was ee . erw £or th e di icu ties o Englishme~ abroad. An undeveloped
Forsr th nstiruted the reality of the contern een
[i\rO at co . I . . h' Porar hea~t-not a cold_ one. The difference is important ....
th
. e . 1· . 1·ruarion. Interestmg y, It IS t IS unease y [Abmger Harvest; m Beer 135]
unP .ena 1sac s · · II f
th r has proved arnstica y most ructifying .and
unh.appmess a in A The English portrayals in the novel bear ample evidence to this
Passage to India. notion.
Da,1d Craig observes: Both Hamidullah and Aziz have known other kinds of
rer's social radicalism has been keen but intermitte fr!end~h~p-?n equal terms~whe~ they had been abroad among
Fors h . h. h nt, e~1te circles_ m England; still, .,while in India they cannot fully
and iris significant that t e expenences w IC , f~r a time,
floared him off the shoals of barrenness as a wnter were ~isagre_e w:th Ma~moud _Ali s ar~ent that it was nearly
impossible to be fnends with an Englishman'; because, once in
those he had in India, where the facts of inequality,
India Englishmen tend to change. Forster comments: "He too
inhumanity, and exploitation were so clamant that wishful generalized from 'his disappointments-it is difficult for members
ideals could hardly have survived. (214) of a s~bject race to do otherwise" (36). Forster is sufficiently
The texr is interspersed with many such touches of regret in the clear-s1~hted to ackn_owledge the 'change' in the other group,
wa, of authorial asides as: "One touch of regret ... would have the rulmg race, which could more than justify the Indian
made the British Empire a different institution", or "Indians attitude. While the better ones among the Enulish here like
know whether they are liked or not ... and that is why the British Adela and Fielding, would "want to see the r:al India"' and
Empire rests on sand", etc. But it is not the empire that "try seeing Indians", the majority view is articulated bv
constitutes the author's concern; he is concerned with human Mrs Callendar when she comments with utter callousne~
"Why, the kindest thing one can do to a native is to ler ~
relationships and it is this area-the fissures arising here due to
die."
the operation of power-that disturbs him. As David Cra_ig
perceptively notes: "the frictions between races-which JD Andrew Sanders comments on A Passage to India as
many ways have replaced those between classes, with the ~o~s~er's "most ambitious and persuasive" novel, which offers a
distmctly less complacent picture of the Raj and its British
evolution of capitalism into imperialism-are followed out
ff h;..,,.., f d. 's ~e_rvants" than those drawn by Kipling. "The British form an
u~ me ~'-ErY, rom the touches of unease that mar Fiel i_ngd
fnendship with Az.12, down to the last perfect1y-unai,• · 111ned elite, cut off by their ill-founded sense of racial, social, and
cultural superiority from the multiple significance of the native
moment
En . of ack d d '
no~ e ge conflict between In ian an
1 d'
gltshman as they nde along the rocky trail" (Craig, 2141 ·
 A PASSAG€
1'o lfv
r
. . l I D1~
82 1·te maintanung t 1e c ass~di . THEMES
. ns of India, wl u ,, Throughout the story cost111qioh. 83
· •tizaoo . )f •1omc · . d . 1111e . ,~
c1v1 'snobberies< ·I· • ('oloniahsm, an religion'' (S ct10~ P rty' she goes home to sit at dinner with some E 1· h
and pert) b . rJ(e, l .1ss, a11d s .
ofa the loca 11ty: ng 1s guests
f ·1 doomed ) ets
:;9_9Q). 3h'
's house his friends sadly_ agree in cou, Adela thought of the young men and women who had
Ar Han1idullce;ument, ''They (the Englishmen) co Se of come out before her, P.- and 0. -ful after P.- and o -ful
. friendly ar... 1 en
ld . . ·11 me
and are to it wi not do'' llUt and had been set down to the same food and the· sam;
the1r 1. gent cm , .. .d (3A) ideas, and been snubbed in the same good-humoured way
intending to ('le .. there is suspicion on one s1 e, and a "l ;.
efore betore long! "They all become exactly the 11&ry until they kept to the accredited themes and began to snub
ther . che oner. .h sa1o.e-.,_ others. 'I should never get like that', she thought ... ; all the
frusrranon on I give any Eng1is man two Years b same, she knew that she had come up against something
~ ot better. E l' h . ' eh
not worse. n And I give any ng is woman six month e that was both insidious and tough ... (67)
Turton or Burton .... ll Aziz 'I am told we all get rude fts ... ~
(34 ). {:\~~a later re s ' a er a Ronny represents the official approach of Anglo-India.
After a day of hard work prior to the Muharram "Ronny had
year -
~ 1, l.] · · b bl
make the situation eara e y rnea6 not disliked his day, for it proved that the British were necessary
Th_en ther cry to k' h ns of to India; there certainly would have been bloodshed without
.th. ·b·tter fun' of secret1y moc mg t e 'high' ad
. dulmna m e I
m ~ o n them. His voice grew complacent again; he was here not to be
pleasant but to keep peace ... " (110).
·roigbr:':
. :\ll are exactly alike · Do you not agree with rne~'· The average Englishman and woman in India seem to have
·1·• do
·· not,, rep1·1ed Mahmoud
.
Ali, entering into the bitter been bent on seeing 'propaganda' behind every event, and
fun and feeling both pam and amuse_ment at each word taking mistrust as their best guide here. Even as he counts his
mar' was uttered. 'For my own part I fmd such profound guests in the Bridge Party, Turton chuckles to himself:
J:a
Ulllerences among our rulers. Red-nose
. mumbles, Turton 'H'm! H'm! Much as one expected. We know why he's
talks distinctly, Mrs Turton takes bnbes .... (34) here, I think-over that contract-and he wants to get the
'dullah lls his audience, who are supposed to note it with right side of me for Muharram, and he's the astrologer
Hami te b . . .h who wants to dodge the municipal building regulations,
· amazement, that he had once een so mt1mate
appropnate 11 wit
· and he's .... (61)
Tunon that the latter had shown him his stamp co ect10n ..
Hamidullah's listener adds in repartee: 'He would expect you t_o Although hosting the 'Bridge Party', the Collector cannot forget
his official position as the jailor of the 'panpopticon prison',
steal it now' (34). Hamidullah hesitates to meet the son of h~
and this consciousness informs his behavior:
former friends in England; though he fondly remembers Hug
Banister as a kid and Hugh's parents, now that the young man ... he knew something to the discredit of nearly every one
is posted in India, he cannot invite the boy to his_
howsoever he might wish: "The other Anglo-Indians wil ave
tte of his guests, and was consequently perfunctory. When
they had not cheated, it was bhang, women or worse, and
even the desirables wanted to get something out of him ... •
got hold of him long ago. He will probably think that I wafl
He was under no illusions, and at the proper moment he
something, and I cannot face that from the son of my Og retired to the English side of the lawn. (64)
friends;" he laments, "Oh, what in this country has gone wron
with everything ... ?" (35) Mrs Turton wonders at the Bridge party, 'Why they come at all
I don't know. They hate it as much as we do' (61).
Adela sees this typical transformation of the English pe?dpgl:
. Ind'ia from the ms1de.
m · · After the disappointment oft he 'Bri
 A PASSAGE 7"Q
1
84 No1A,
THEMES
·or C.tllendar, "neH'r realized that
Aziz's boss, M~J. d one .mother constantly, and the 85
d into a collective fanatic hatred. Followin h
educated Indians nsi_tet_ 11 , l nc" soci.il fabric .... ~ Were fanne
~,r abar trip Fie
. ld " h
mg meets t e Collector wh gt e unfonu
f nate
palll u · · qe o I 1
weaving, however Id him the truth although he had bn )' ~,.ah\te fanatical, and rather beautiful-the exp;;e . acehlO<)\cs
knew that no one. e,·er ro
. f\ ,·e.irs.. ( -2) B
. ot h M cBryd ee11 ,w ' Ch d 5s1on t at ail
.English faces were to wear a~ an ~apore for many day<;" (
1en, followine and
. tn· tor n, en . - ...-t. WI
. respe
in the coun . rk in rhis Th ey work themselves up ,,mto. ah simulated hysteria d 172).
Ronny Heaslor ar<: _~ ~ ~md ~f rs Moore's death, two sepg the h
under the "banner o f r~ce wit t e catch phrase 'an English
, an ra11y
. Es oore ep15{Kle . l arate . 1 fresh from England (174). In his vengeful moment T
EsIDJss m ed ha,·e come up m t 1e countrysid
rombs are reportd to •rs both and "saw signs of the begi:.}he gir uld long to hold the entire native Chandrapore at r Urton
. ren ent nst - 11 wo . ansom;
policesupenn h ._ propac-anda behind a this', he s . 0
-'-'J..Lll1>
looking at the poor coo11es and ~hopkeepers he would mutter to
ul ·T ere :, ~ aid
of a ~ t. · ·· h Jred ,·ears ago, when Europeans still rn d' h'rnself, "I know what you are hke at last; you shall pay for this
r l"tini:r that a un ·.
1orge.~ . th _ rn·side and appea e to Its 1maginaf
l d · . . a e ~u shall squeal" (175). ~he non-conformist who seeks fa~
therr . h1me ID e '"oun . ft d ion y hen the "herd had decided on emotion" is despised and
"- . ll · L-wme local demons a er eath-not '
th ,. oc.::asiona ' t'C" • dd ' a :spected. Forster bitterly comments:
e. .l h _ but part of one, a mg an epithet
whole ~oo. per ap:.. . . th o d . or Nothing enrages Anglo-India more than the lantern of
~ ·h _1-.idY e},._,sted, 1ust as e bo s contnbute t
iresture ro " at JUI;; . hi B h ,, o reason if it is exhibited for one moment after its extinction
the great go . an d the,. to the philosop c ra m (255).
i:, ds
is decreed. All over Chandrapore that day the Europeans
. ·alism
· has become far more entrenched and were putting aside their normal personalities and sinking
Bur unpen th d.
mechanical in mis one cenru.ry, and e 1s trust has only themselves in their community. Pity, wrath, heroism,
deepened '\\..~rh '~owino-
"" 0
distance. So Ronny too would see only
· B .. h Ind. h h filled them, but the power of putting two and two
'propaganda . behind even• ~; problem
. rn nus . l ia t at . e has
. together was annihilated. (175)
to con.from as a magistrare, as evidenced by !J!s etter to Fielding
It is insane anger that takes over the 'herd' and rules the day.
afrer rhe larrer has become his brother-m-law. That Das McBryde would warn Fielding, 'at a time like this there's no
"should be :he judge over an English girl had convulsed the room for-well-personal views. The man who doesn't toe the
sration wirh wrarh" (201 ), and some of the women had even line is lost' (180). The Police Superintendent illustrates the logic
sent a telegram to the L.G.'s wife to do something about it. of the Collector as he goes on, 'He not only loses himself, he
But since Forster is Forster there is also a fine-and elusive weakens his friends. If you leave the line, you leave a gap in the
too-counterpoint thrown in tentatively. As Mrs Moore, bored line. Those jackals-' (180). By 'jackals' he means the Indian
inside the hot club room says to Adela tiredly, 'Let me think- lawyers of the city, among whom there are Cambridge-educated
we don't see rhe other side of the moon out here, no', suddenly men as well. Indeed, when people think and act as a herd,
another voice is heard: outsiders are also perceived but as components of another herd,
and thereby despicable, "looking with all their eyes for a gap''
'Come, India's not as bad as all that. ' ... 'Other side of the
(180). The herd knows no use of decency. When Fielding
earth, if you like, but we stick to the same old moon.'
~efuses to pry into Aziz's private papers the Police Superintendent
Neither of them knew the speaker nor did they ever see
rs "naively puzzled. It was obvious to him that any two sahibs
him again. He passed with his friendly word through red·
o~ght to pool all they know about any Indian, and he could not
brick pillars into the darkness. (46)
t~mk where the objection came in" (178). Again, when Fielding
But such beauty of expression is rare and only comes as a tnes to argue, if Aziz had really assaulted her then why should
fleeting glimpse. What is stronger and more pervasive is rbe he retain the field-glasses in his pocket, McBryde would explain
element of mutual mistrust which can easily and quickly be
 A PASSAGE" ti
01
r.,
tvol4
86
· ·•w11en an Indi.,n goes .bad, he goes THEMES
herd logic: When you t 11mk of crin-- llot 87
by the same , queer.... 1 . d'ff ••le y
bad but vef} rchology 1ere is I erent'' (1 o\\ d ral!ying point. The narrator notes the s· . . .
an whole h' .
only very ' · e The ps)
. k f English cnm_. J. t h~:tunts nem m t is Poiso 1 ,
l · " h' 7) the t mg m a tone of sad sarcasm: mister comicality of
thin o ·chos1s t 1.1 . ~ nOl.ls
Is it a fear ps~ McBrrde puts it. At the name of Heaslop a fine and be t'ful .
was renewe d on every face. Miss Quested au 1 expression
ountry" (180) as h emotion even at personal level• J
. but young H I
c The herd controls t el. d ever seen crying (187) sheds , so, victim, eas op was a martyr· hwas on ytha
h . . f II h ·1 . ' e was e
h none ia . . f solll recipient o a t ~ ev1 Intended against them by the
Mrs Turton, w omrs xor £ Adela and it is a c orus o remors f e
' h h h . country they had tned to serve; he was bearing the sahib's
her precious rea der core of t e eart t at is so selde or
of d. ··The ten d h Gni cross. And they fretted because they could do nothin for
th e other Ia ,es: Joved it. for a little, un er · t e1stimulu s of him in return; they felt so craven sitting on softnessgand
used-they emP . cative and provocative s ogans ab attending the course of the law. (192)
remorse'' os-i._The ev~, stirring associations of "1857" Out
d children ... , . d h. , are Callendar too, in ?is dirty~ insinuating ~ay, tries to fan up the
''women a~ e Club gatherings m or er to w ip up hysteric frenzy. After mak~ng a senes_ of nasty hmts implicating a series
th
11 :d by herd Psyche · Even Mrs Turton, who always
arriculared m of names "his v01ce broke mto a roar. 'It's not the time for
.
fanoes fue e nd emotion for some great occasio sitting down. It's time for action. Call in the troops and clear
her energy a d " . n,
reserves fr 0 her altitude to stan towering by» the bazaars" (194). While Adela herself continues in her state of
now desceocls ~ of a small railway clerk, and thereby a worry and weakness, "her friends kept up their spirits by
Mrs BlackJSdron-Wl el circumstances-" like Pallas Athene and demanding holocausts of natives" (200). The Club mentality
bo..i.· un er norma
no- u_, . to be such a snob" m uture.
. f Th h '
oug the girl aptly bears out Boehmer's observation: "Perhaps the most
determJ.IDDIIg ... nobtb d' "this evening, with her abundant figure binding imperative of colonial life was to stick to one's
·s 'genera Y snu e ' l d 11 h own" (67).
i f gold hair she symbo ize a t at is worth
and masses o com ' b I h In the atmosphere of pervasive suspicion and hatred even an
. . d d ,· g for· more permanent a sym o , per aps, than
fighnng an ym , k . . h' . . Englishman, if he is open in his views and ways, is not exempt
poor Adela" (188 ). While the Collector nows 1t 1s 1s 1mperat1ve
from surveillance. Aziz warns Fielding on his visit to his place
to keep a cool head, . that three spies at least are on the watch to take note and report
the others, less responsible, ... had started speakmg of about his speech and movements (132).
'women and children '-that phrase that cxcmp~s the male
The English life in imperial India, Forster shows, illustrates
from sanity when it has been repeated a few tunes. Each
the typical exile syndrome. In his mildly ironic style Forster
felt that all he loved best in the world was at sta~e,
describes the end of a Club evening early in the novel; it is deft
Jema11dcd revenge, and w:-i s filll'cl with a JlOt unplea smg portraiture of a desperate, somewhat comical, exclusivity
glow in which the dully n11d half known features ~f
1
practiced by a small community in an alien country. Forster had
M1c,\ <)ul'stcd va11i ~hcd and Wl'l"l' rcpl m <'d by all that 18 his firsthand experience of Anglo-Indian life in India, and he
ltWt'Ctl'~t :md wannest 111 rlu JH1v.1 1c I1f, .. 1,u 1
, , j t 's the
often found his own people behaving in an offensive, insular
w,,m<'11 ;ind d11ldr<'11 ,' tlwy "p< :tt l'd , .111d the Collcc tort and stubborn way; anyway he also tries to understand this
· t IH' lJJ'i ,,Jvcfi ' 1,u
krr!'W I11 111111, Irt to •,1,,p d1 c111 i1J111 XH f1tJ1Jg , gcucrnl 1111pll'mantm•.,1., ;,ii, an cxprc1.;\1on of the unhappiness of
lil' l1nd11 '1 tl11 li1 •:11t. l lll'y "''l{l,t 10 I" c 0 ,rqwllcd to give peopl<' 111 exile. FoN<'r\ dt'',l npllon of the routine closing hour
li,,,..1a11,I'~.' 1·11 ·• ( 1'J l} of rlH• ( :11,J, finely raptur<'s tl11o,; rlc111t·nt, albeit with a tinge of
' <if ~1rr111l.11,·d 1,, , y J{,, y 1· 11 w 11~1 •1, :t', 1~1,•ir Jeon
l11 IIJ1·U ll11,1t11111 11u1dcl'1y .
11 1111
88
A PAssAG1:

f mance [of Cousin Kate] etld

tQ lfv
o,~
I THEMES
os;ra played the National /d, alld 89
M eanwhile the pehr
ore e d f
the amat~ur and billiards stoppe '. aces st1 ened, lt e111,
Conversanon f the A.cI11y of Occupation.
.ff ~11th
It remind d \\>as
The Club .:5 ~ sign t t7e ~y~drome of cheerless life in
compulsive ex1 e d1~ anTha rCenl ban t at generally characterized
h e e\t much of Anglo-In ia. e. u ' to these unhappy exiles, served
he Anthem° Cl b that he or s e was British el)
t f the u · d and · rpose of a sort of isolated shelter or fortress holdin
member o d . little sentunent an a useful ac . 1.11 rhe PU h b h . , , g a
duc.:e a h . cess1 . ge and t ere y t reatenmg, other world outside 1·ts
exile. It pro Th meager tune, t e curt senes of de Gu suan ' b ld b .
,er e nk . l11a11d s remises. The Cl~ wou e creatmg_ the illusion of 'home
of will-po\\ : _ d into a prayer u nown m England P from home as entry was forbidden to Indians and
on Jeho,·ah, tu:;e . ed 11either Royalty nor Deity th , and away . . f 1 1 '
perce1v ey d' especially durmg times o some oca trouble the Club was the
though they th. u they were strengthened to _id mmon refuge for every European where they could share
percen. ·e some in~, ) resist
cho . feelings of panic, of snobbery and of racial chauvinism
other day. (1 9 h t e1r .
an ~ th fitness of things t at Ronny, now sett[ which only further isolated t~em from the place and its people.
. haps m e . I d. h ld ed Forster has finely captured this club-psychology in the novel; on
Ir is pe~ .. crative career m n ia, s ou but rud I
his adm1ms . "Y e y the eve of Aziz's trial, for example:
down ro . th , puzzled expression, ou never used
his mo er s h' to People drove into the club with studious calm-the jog-
retort ro lik th' at home" by 1s curt statement "Ind·
judge people re IS ' 1a trot of country gentlefolk between green hedgerows, for
isn 'r home .. (l). . 1 ·• the natives must not suspect that they were agitated. They
. s of this exilic hfe apparent y cond1t1oned the exchanged the usual drinks, but everything tasted different
The 10,1essnes
di ttitude to a large extent. Bh upa l S.mg h sums it. up and then they looked out at the palisade of cactuses
~gl~~gh~ a his study of the Raj literature: stabbing the purple throat of the sky; they realized that
with IIlS1 t lil .
land seldom they were thousands of miles from any scenery they
Thesense of their being "exiles" in a. foreign f h' f·
the English in India. Separation rom t e1r nends understood. The club was fuller than usual, and several
d
d families and the varied, inte11ectua I, an d c1v11ze
eserrs · ·1· d life parents had brought their children into the rooms reserved
for adults, which gave the air of the Residency at
: the West; the constant journeyings; the oppressiveness
Lucknow. (188)
of the Indian climate in the summer; the mo~oton~ ~f
official life and the feeling that doing one's duty m India 1s Even when these people leave the Club and settle down to
a thankless job-all these impart to the most frivolous dinner at home the pathetic-comic effort to reenact a 'home'
away from 'home', i.e., England, continues. The guests, if any,
novel a note of sadness. (Singh 3)
are English without exception:
India, with its oppressive heat, its "treacherous sun" (186), its
... and the menu was: Julienne soup, full of bullety bottled
vast tracts of dust, its resistance to changes imposed fro~ peas, pseudo-cottage bread, fish full of branching
outside, seems to impress upon the outsiders a sen_se. 0 bones, pretending to be plaice, more bottled peas with
frustration and foreboding. As Forster notes in his descnptwn cutlets, trifle, sardines on toast: the menu of Anglo-
of advancing summer in the novel: India .... The food of exiles, cooked by servants who did
The triumphant machine of civilization may suddenlr not understand. (67)
hitch and be immobilized into a car of stone, and at su~ The Club is a collective entity, and regardless of individ_ual
moments the destiny of the English seems to resern?; perceptions; is slow in catching up with the day. It is conservative,
their predecessors', who also entered the country w1_t and out of touch with reality, perhaps because this gives them a
'
mtent . to 1tS
to re fashion it, but were in the end worke d in
nd
pattern a covered with its dust. (215)
 A PAssAG
t to
90 il1<'t1 world outside\. wl,· , ' -'o1~
. •urin' tr,
)111 ( 1,c '
.. ,,1 w.
"·r, ( 'I I le 11 t L
w , u ) n1ovl' I 1\1)\, .i rHEMfS 91
of sCL • d or w,, I l sl ' 11
sense nctcrsr:tn '1'1 ,, .. 111n1nfan~ ctn< no I linch1u , owh,, .~ encvcr it arose" (242). Just as "When they argued so abo t.
,'thrr u
11 <1 d ,.n•d rhtlf C" 1
· • ,, <l •·• • "\Vo ,, It wh . J. cl cl b. I
t II cc"1 , ,nd 1hc1t all Indian ladin llld,.
\ t:l 11' c, . . k I '-S w \;~t
something ra~Ja ,_ntru e -not ttter Y, but inevitab]y, likeuthe it

i. I JJngli,hnt:lll ~ Jndiv1du:1lly it new ,rttcr; as Ctc ii colour of their skins: coffee-colour versus pinko-grey.,,
?t an •rrabk rurd:!h(.o3) fh11s th<' insula. r Club also a ch.th ,1
unprm Said mentions the Westerner's "specific encounter with th
ilf " · . .I . Const It
. "d ro l'hnn~ l:itcd and nc<,;rssan y l11nitc,1 I rue,., Orient in which the_~es~erner regrasps the Orient's essence~
dee Iui. • tn ouH , . II ll 11d' ~
, own •Jnd1:t • · d therefore dcsp1cc1 ) c lndia, as tu, a a consequence of his mt1mat~ estrangement from it", and he
l(S L ming ;111 I f I Pere ' notes that "For .. .Forster, this latt~r sensation produces the
f :1r.~omc, 11'1 • exile thousanc s o and and eivcd
c. r n co01m11n1t) 111 llauti d spondency as well of personal failure ... " (Said 1985; 248 )
h) nn a ir. f m homr..
T~e gap can be only b~iefly brid~ed at rare moments, but it ~
Cal
mik.s a,, A) ro
[II] THEMES Jy a transitory affalf. As Aziz chances to encounter the
onbaltern playing polo in the deserted maidan, and plays with
s and passage ~~rn for a while on equal footing, "the fire of good fellowship"
(1) GIP h. Gollcctor, represents a typical st (76) sparkles ~n the eyes _of bot~. But_,the author takes care to
• JI d
. r ,when hr emphat1ca y cc Iares his prefance 0f
M Turton, r c:
•r remind, "But 1t cooled with the1r bodies, for athletics can only
Bnnsh _'of~c,_a ismsrudicd distance from <Jndia' and (Indi ere~ccs raise a temporary glow. Nationality was returning, and before
r rammg a . ans "I
,or m310 k wn anything but disaster result when E ·. it could exert its poison they parted, saluting each other. 'ff only
have never no . b . . . 11 ng1tsn they were all like that', each thought" (76).
op e an d I dl·ans attempt to c mt1mate socia y. lntercou
pe I n . rse
sy byallmeans.Int1rnacy-never, never" (]73_ 174), At the Marabar picnic Adela speaks of the need of
ye$. Co urte ' h'h . ,
JS t cory into practice: "Th
And hcwould vehemently put . . . JI b c
"something universal", "or how else are barriers to be broken
whole weight of my authority 1s agamst_ it. iave . een in charge down?" (156) Aziz cannot answer; he thinks to himself, "She
31 Chandrapore for six years, and if everything has gone
was only recommending the universal brotherhood he sometimes
smoothly, jf there has been mutual respect and esteem, it is dreamed of, but as soon as it was put into prose it became
because both peoples kept to this simple rule" (174). untrue" (156).
Major Minnie in Ruth Jhabvala's novel, Heat and Dust, Gaps can come up in the midst of warm conversation owing
make~ the same claim in his pathetically myopic 'monograph' to some inadvertent word that can ruin the spirit of fine
communication. At Marabar, Adela makes such a blunder when
on India. And Mrs Callendar gives voice to the same feeling as
she says 'I am told we all get rude after a year'. Aziz sharply
Mr Turton, though her articulation is cruJc and blunt: 'He (the
reacts, 'Then you are told a lie', but he knows this is the truth,
Indian) can go where he likes as long as he doesn't come near
"and it touched him on the raw; it was itself an insult in these
me. They give me the creeps' (48). particular circumstances. He recovered himself at once and
In the Club "those who knew that Fielding had undertaken laughed, but her error broke up their conversation-their
to accompany them and missed the early train were sorry for civilization it had almost been-which scattered like the petals
hi?1; it was what is to be expected when a man mixes himself up of a desert flower ... " (157-58).
wi th ~he ~atives; always ends in some indignity" (193). The gap can occur even within the same race. After Adela's
Fiel?mg himc,elf feds unea~y at Aziz's derived sensuality.... sudden departure Fielding and Mrs Moore are sullen with each
that Aziz should
. be enraged because he j~ accused of mo les ting other. "They knew one another very little, and felt rather
an un beaut1ful h· own awkward at being drawn together by an Indian. The racial
•
emotions, woman-as something " alien to is .
and h f I1 d Azrt
e • a barrier between himself an I
 . .
A PASSAG/2
to lty
bJA
F
92 f r111 s In t I1eir case tt had . ,
brle o -· . . . 111d rHEMES
n rake su susp1cwn. He tned to llced 93
roblem ca 111urua I g) A · l goad ~
p f ·ealousy, a I poke" ( t 6 . z1z oves them b he eneral ill-reputation; because he "ge I
sort o_ Jrn· she scarce y sch other, but ''they didn't Otb. St I g .
ne ,, d h h nera ized from h.15
.is appointments
f
, an
b' t e aut or adds: "it i d'ff· I
enthusn1:: them ro lod:e eo;1prs ro stand by Aziz in the c:ua11t to~ d s t icu t for th
mbers o a su Ject race to do otherwi G e
he wa
(168). Again, ,'l~
the 'renegade is
~:!asi
p- ,I u1g
orously abuse
d' b h'
y is own comPatr~ase,
weak and cranky w~s. dropped lots:
rt me eptions, he agreed that a11 Englishwomen se. h ranted the
exncal The gleam passed from the conversatioanre haughty_ and
ve . 1d d dd. ' w ose wintry
"th •dea rhat he S. t movement for sed1t1ous rea ·•·i he surface unrol e an expan e interminably" (} 6 J.
eI BoY (.;ou h sons Fielding has his own disappointment as he p . h
encouraged che . h. foreign stamps on t em, and Was Prob i he . I d. f . d erce1ves t e
• d l rrers
receive e v" (118).
,~,r . .
ab1
y
,gulf' between h1s· nd' 1an nen s and himself. After h'15 encounter
ith McBryde F1el mg comes out to find Hamidullah ..
a Japanese sp. . of the case-this gap or alienation 0 w · ld. . h k
utside. F1e mg 1s s oc ed to f.m d " the leading barriwaitmg t 0f
Chandrapore, w1t the d'1gm·t·1e d manner and Cambridge ds er
. h
O
The other s%~s-had been sym~athetically probe~ the
art of the In mporary speech m 1925: by
P . Ii . in a conte had been rattled" (181). In spite . d'
of his genuine love for Aeyeeh,
IZ e
Sylvain n . understand Oriental civilization Th does not show any prou d m 1gnance or spirited protest but
d · 1s to ··· · e talks of 'policy' and 'evidence' which saddens Fielding: "At the
Our uC) th inheritors of a long tradition of histo se
peoP ies are e ·b·1· f .
umed rhe respons1 1 1ty o intervening in ryth··:· moment when he was throwing in his lot with Indians he
We have ass wherever the European has intervened . e1r realized the profundity of the gulf that divided him from them.
h
development... . .h f 't e They always do something disappointing. Azu had tried to run
. h erceived himself wit a sort o general desp . away from the police, Mohammed Latif had not checked the
nanve as p . h f 1 h air
which was really poignant smce e et t at the s~m total pilfering. And now Hamidullah!-instead of raging and
of his well-being, in the moral ~phere ~ore than ~n sheer denouncing, he temporized" (181-82) . However, he also has a
matena
• 1 terms , instead of .
mcreasmg had 10 fact hunch of the real cause: "Fear is everywhere; the British Raj
diminished ... This disappointment has been translated rests on it" (182).
• cor from one end to the other of the Orient, and Seeing Adela put up at Fielding's college, Hamidullah is
mto ran .
this rancor is very close now to turnmg to hate, and hate annoyed; Fielding explains, the lady cannot ring up her friends
only waits for the right moment in order to turn into as the telephone has been broken; to this Hamidullah rejoins,
action. (Said 1985: 248-249) "A great deal has been broken, more than will ever be
The reader finds a corroboration to this early in the novel when mended" (243).
Hamidullah and his friends engage in their 'sad talk' about the In spite of their great mutual affection, Aziz is eventually
[im]possibility of being friends with an Englishman. ~ad alienated from Fielding because of an unfounded suspicion
disappointment and angry frustration are written in every !me which rises, according to the author, from a deeper gap:
"Suspicion in the Oriental is a sort of malignant tumour, a
of their 'bitter fun'. Aziz would even suggest a complete
mental malady, that makes him self-conscious and unfriendly
separation of the two groups: suddenly; he trusts and mistrusts at the same time in a way the
Why talk about the English? Brrrr ... ! Why be eiter :Westerner cannot comprehend. It is his demon, as the Westerner's
friends with the fellows or not friends? Let us shut t em 18 hypocrisy. Aziz was seized by it, and his fancy built a satanic

out and be jolly. (35) , ~astle" (276). Rather over-generalising, it seems! Or does
B .
ut eventually the bitterness gets the upper hand. Thoug
hAzlZ it have some bearing on the author's personal disappointments!
does not know Mrs Turton personally, he is ready to ace~w On 17 September, 1922 he wrote to Masood:
 A PAssA
G~'l'o
94 h, btH)k I thong I1t o t· 1t· ,ls ,1 litt] 'tvo1~
1Vfhen I began t t F v,t ,nd Wt'st, but this co11 e btid1> rHEMES 95
"'' l 'f"''cen , , . l . cep . l:)e llf
,mp,ithY ,t . ,nsc of rrut 1 tor bids a . t1a 11 I ieve in his treachery, and have him "h ras hed. Even
s) nn Sl d' l1Ytl . b, to bel . b
had ro go, · . k th 1t most In 1ans, like U1 llt\g ~
l
ioning his name ecomes a taboo.
bl, I t1Hrt ' . Ost B s0 n~n t . .
comforta l• 1. . ind I ,Hn not mtcrcsted Wh
, ~ 11rs, • N l\~J,· t
eth s,1 Mr Harris, the Eurasian driver of the Naw b B h d
. f h' . a a a ur
P eople, ;~n. , : h )OC Jnothcr or not. ot intere er the ents another image o t ts racial no-man Befor . d'
hJ7t' ,, it . _ 1· . 'd f g
sted ~
as~
pres 1· h d I d' h . e a mvce
srnip,1t t11e 1·ourna istic s1 e o me still company of Eng 1s an n tans e ~ries to play up to the first
· f •ourse, ·ons. [cited by Fur ban k 106] ets taused . "~ half of his parentage, often aggressively. "When English and
artist: P "
. rhcsc qnt--stl • Indians were both present, he gre~ self-conscious, because he
mer . 1. plies some gap that 1s to be brid
• . ssa(Te m · ged tt ·d not know to whom he belonged (106). But when left al
The word P·1• ::- .d a of 'gap' operatmg at various I · qere d1 f 11 . h .d one,
·· d the I e ev 1 as in the hours ol o~mg }Fe ca~- alcc1h ent, he slithers into an
we an_hn e.x erience, and thus necessitating a nu es of existential n~n-be ongmg. or a 1tt e e was vexed by opposite
per~poon and ~a(Tes For example: lllber of rrents in his blood, then they blended, and he belonged to no
b "d es and/or pass ~ .
n g from the familiar to the unfamiliar· c~e but himself" (106). Harris thus can be a metaphor for the
,il Passage . ' ~lienation, which is a by-product of imperialism.
.. th occident to the onent;
(ul From e .. Aziz shouts at Fielding in his famous last exclamation in the
(iii ) from body to spmt; . . . novel: "Clear out, you fellows, double quick, I say. We may
. F the finite to the mfm1te; hate one another, but we hate you most .... We shall drive away
(IT 1 rom . .
every blasted Englishman into the sea, and then ... you and I
frl from isolation [individua~~ac1al] to mclusive totality;
shall be friends" (316). And herein is contained the crux of the
(vi ) From the earthly to the d1vme; racial-political gaps and also the tentative vision of their being
lvii) From "muddl e,, to "mys t ery. " bridged at some remote point in some distant future.
Bur can these passages be ever achieved or 'bridges' built? Of (b) Invitations: Separations
course, no easy resolution is offered; there are, at best repeated The theme of invitation operates at several levels of the
attempts to overcome the various 'gulfs' at various levels in novel's narration and meaning. Literally people invite people;
spite of repeated frustrations and breakdowns. In the process for instance, the 'Bridge Party' thrown by the Club to bring
numerous themes have become interwoven and interconnected, 'real' Indians over there, and one remembers with amusement
thus mutually lending solidity and expansion to each other. The what a flop it was, failing to 'bridge' any gap between the host
novel explores meanings, and the reader's job-as well as and the invitees. The invitees have been skeptical from the
pleasure-is to explore this exploration. outset. They are not even sure if they should attend the party at
all, while the host also does not attempt to hide his sneer: "The
Racial Other also constitutes one facet of this theme of great point to remember is that no one who's here matters;
gaps. Racial otherness has emerged as one of the major those who matter don't come. Isn't that so, Mrs Turron?'-
concerns of English literature. The racial other has often been thus would Ronny speak to Mrs Turton as they wait for their
perceived as a threatening, dangerous, destructive factor; for guests to turn up. Mrs Turton too wonders, "Why rhey come at
example, one can mention Shakespeare's Othello or Shylock, all I don't know. They hate it as much as we do" (61 ). No
Dhef~e's Man ~riday, Emily Bronte's Heathcliff and particular!~ wonder that in such a gathering "words seemed to die as soon
t e others' m th ' Conra d .anu
1 • I novel s of Kipling as uttered,, (59). While the host continues to be deliberately and
Forster. For a briefe co· oma
dA · • ' · rorious
bl k r peno z1z 1s made to appear this no d offensively uncivil, Adela "strove in vain against the echoing
ac a ien to the civilian Chandra pore. They are only too rea y
 A PASSAG
f to
'tvo1
F
96 , ·•vilit)'" (60). Adda who h ~ ~~~ ~
alls of rhe
ir (the gu~5rs )'\,w
d ,s roo '
ro be inscnsit1zcd lik as frcshl
f' Id " ~ c t1le ~ . going too far. We must exclude someone f
w . din India, an h. exclaims ro ·re mg, Fane,, . test
arnve rhis 15- g or we shall be left with nothing" (58) rom our
as s t I , ,, (65) 0 , 111vj . , garhenn ' . . . ' . .
I ir outrageous,. rhclll rropcr y.... . nc shou1 ting
fees and nor rre~trn_g Mrs Moore herself sought fr d also By compansonf Fh1~ldf1~lg <ls 'tBea_-dparty, which is actually an
gueststhat rhe jnnrarion_ngh evaded by them. The oltt the . direct off-shoot o t IS a1 e n ge Party', and albeit a much
10
note cunn• , . • auth ll r thing by any count, fares much better in brinuing peopl
srna e . . . . h db . e
Bhatta Chan·as.• h ·onrex-r·. .. All inv1tat1ons must proce d or
1s I:)'-'•
er since the mvitat10n a een sent out with all sincerity
. . e f rogerh ' h A . .
enrs ,n r is l r is futile for men to initiate th . r°lli . d . .
com m crhaps I lf e1r on rhe part _of ~he ost. z1z 1s ?v~rJoye at rec~m~g ~ielding's
hea ven perhaps: p .'den the gu s I)ctwecn them b 0% f invitat10n-actually this IS the second mvitation from
d bur ,, ' }' th O
unicr, rhey o e nore
.1eJd'ng the first he h a d.Just f orgotten to respond to· yet
.. (5S) 1 F 1 , . . Th' . ,
attempt · . . sent out to pcop e who wo F lding does not even ment10n It. 1s Impresses Aziz as "true
. in\'iranon, . b . . u1d b ie tesy-the civil deed that shows the good heart" (79), and at
Even ch15 fr rhc racist Clu , JS very lnnited . . e cour rushes to wnte . an " a ££ect10nate
.
normal Ir shur our om occasion when the Cl u b th rows its din Its once he rep 1y."
. . very rare 1 1 . Oor During the party Mrs Moore's benign affection and Fielding's
scope; it is a "d '· bur even these arc on y se ect invitees, hs
open ro 'oursi hers '·r on rhe dust outside the court "had' t e niality prevail, whereas Aziz's exuberance lends vibrancy to
w o s1 h not ~:e scene. Ironically, Aziz's impulsive invitation, which sprang
commone~5· d fr m Mr Turron. And t ere were circles e
• d CJr o , Ven out of this tea party, and which was also no less sincere, though
receive a ple who wore nothing but a loincloth, peo l
beyond these-peo h . 1· . k pe as impractical as anything could be, turns out to be a disaster.
. n rhat and spent t e1r 1ves m nocking tw
who wore nor eie ' h . . o In an unguarded moment, when the ladies were expecting an
. h before a scarlet doll- umamty grading and
sncks wger er .. ·1 hi . . invitation from him, and he remembered the shabbiness of his
dn'fr'ing beyon d rhe educated VISIOn, . .untJ h no eart . y invitation house wirh 'horror', Aziz seeks a desperate solution, and cries
can em bracC l 't" f 57~58) · At this pornt t e narratwn
. drifts to out, "Yes, all that is settled .... I invite you to see me in the
another lercl-rhar of metaphysical spe~uJa tions. The narrator Marabar Caves" (91). Ronny would have rubbished Aziz's
brin~ in rhe simple missi~na:ies who liv~ ai:no~g ~he poor of proposal as he is too sure, "He meant nothing by the invitation,
rhe ciry, and do nor like this kmd of se!ect1ve mv1tat1on, a?d do I could tell by his voice; it is just their way of being pleasant" (99).
nor come to rhe Club. But as alternative they have nothmg to At Marabar, in spite of all the troubles it has involved for
offer but rheir church or faith, and that too becomes exclusive Aziz towards organizing it, he feels contented; and "his heart
when the question of small subhuman creatures comes up. was full of new happiness" when Fielding too had joined
All invitation& must proceed from heaven perhaps; perhaps ultimately, bringing along "an uninvited guest" in addition.
it is futile for men to initiate their own unity, they do but "All the way Miss Derek had chattered about the picnic, called
widen the gulfs between them by the attempt ... thought it an unexpected treat, and said that she preferred Indians who
the devoted missionaries .... In our hthcr's house are didn't invite her to their entertainments to those who did"
?1any m~nsions, they taught, and there alone will th; (167). Aziz's happiness knows no bounds: "hundreds of people
incompatible multitudes of mankind be welcomed an must go down to escort Miss Derek and show her the way. The
soothed. Not one shall be turned away by the servants ~n elephant in person ... " (16 6). Though the lady in the meantime
th e v~randa, be he black or white ... who approaches wirb has gone back Aziz is still happy:
a loving heart. (58) The expedition was a success, and it was Indian; an
}jut
· d
• 1·1ty, if this
on being teased about the extent of this hosp1ta obscure young man had been allowed to show courtesy to
rnc1u cd the wa. d h
sp~ an t c bacteria, they would halt: 1!1..To
J'; '
no,
 A PAss4
G~'T'o
I.I . ,~o
98 1 r country, w 11c 1 1s what ,~
. ·tors froJ11 M1ot1~1ics like Mahmoud Ali.. a(II l11di 99
v1s1 dr"cn cy ·· 1s4) an, ~-v,hen the. reader • . .
can consider these various inv1tat1ons
long ro , , only roo ironical before th w .
' -cess, is ro pro~ t11011)1 frenzy and disaster ~day eh..i1 . re and msmcere, spontaneous and compulsive /h '
sJllCC h d 1· h f .. ' s e is
The su1; • J. et · 11s
.
1c111 '
g ro end 1e~s •. .- Ralph out on the water, in sp· i Year I . t e e 1g t o recogmzmg the various notat·ions of
rl1n·]Jed with
lea din · nv1re., . •h l E . tte
•hen Aziz 1 one music.
s
do anythmg wit t 1e nglish of 11,
later, "' or ro • Pea is e· Separation: 'Going Away from One Another'
Ive of rears 11 ent of great happmess. Pie it rhem · . . . . .
reso · ~e J 01 001 . >
The theme of mv1tat1on 1s remforced like the contrastive
rurns out to other level Go~b~l~ smgs t~ _his god, i . , re in a music, by the theme of separation. Personal affection
Again. on an e come' with mfm1te repet1t1ons, Yet t1t1ng h ugh important, may be but "J·1ttle me
no · ffectual unquenchable'
him ·Come. cornb' r that refusal does not take off an is &o~ ~ :es" (92), which are necessarily endowed with al] the pathos
refu~es ro ~ome~.. u On one occasion Godbole exp{ of the
. { wa1ang. . p· Id' . ains th
a:d charm. Though 'unquen~hable' they_ prove 'ineffectual' in
pleasures. o . chis invitanon to ie mg. e making permanent or endurmg connect10ns; connections get
hrs1cs ot h . snapped for various reason_s, a~d peo~le tend to go away from
metap · d _. are different as t eir names imply B
Good an e, I1 f L d . Ut ne another in sadness, m d1sappometment, in sorrow, in
h of them aspects o my or . He is pre ·:·
rher are bor h d h d 'ff sent'
bsent in the ot er' an t e I erence heh,. n
;rievance, or just in indifference.
.
the one. a . •vveen Forster wrote to Darling on 15 September 1924:
d absence 1s great, as great as my feeble .
P resence an . I. b 1111nd
... personal relationships, and these still seem to me the
Yet absence imp 1es presence, a sence is
can grasp. h f . not most real things on the surface of the earth, but I have
non-eXIS• tenee, and we are t ere ore entitled to rep eat acquired a feeling that people must go away from each
"Come, come, come, come." (186) ,
other (spiritually) every now and then, and improve
Following Adela's trauma and illness_, the English ladies have themselves if the relationship is to develop or even endure.
remorse, though of very small hduraht10 n, wh_hen ~~1feyhfeel they A Passage to India describes such a going away-
ha\'e "some responsibility" in t e w o1e t mg; 1 s e wasn't preparatory to the next advance, which I am not capable
one of them, they ought to have made her one, and they could of describing. It seems to □e that individuals progress
never do that now, she had passed beyond their invitation, alternately by loneliness and intimacy. [cited by Furbank
'Why don't one think more of other people?' sighed pleasure- 124]
loving Miss Derek" (emphasis added; 188 ). It was also this theme that particularly struck D.H. Lawrence
After Fielding cuts his links with the British Club and joins about this novel. On receiving the author's copy of the novel
the Indians unequivocally-it is on the eve of Moharrum-he is Lawrence, then in New Mexico, wrote on 23 July 1924:
"invited to inspect a small tazia" being readied by excite~ •. .I don't care about Bou-oum-Nor all the universe.
children (198). Only the dark ahead and the silence into which we
Again, several months later when the dust has been allowe~ haven't spoken our impertinent echoes. -You saying
to settle a little on the trial the L. G. briefly desce nd ~ to human relationships don't matter, then after all hingeing
Chao drapore fr?m his Himalayan altitude; during this visit h; your book on a very unsatisfactory friendship between
two men! .. .I don't know what to call it, but not
congratulates Fielding on his 'sensible' stand in the case, ~n
assures "th p · · . • ·t t1011 god or the universe-only human relations matter.
. '. e rmcipal would receive a most cordial mvt a [Furbank 124]
to re1om the Club and h b d d him ro
accept" (257 ). ' e egged, nay comman e ,
 A PAssA
G~l'Q

100 . h the theme of separation: ,, 11 ~ °,~ 101

,:... g too bigbhg ts sc if one secs the novel as le en..1·
DoWUJ.' ·ndeed seern pcn•crBut it really te lls the quite s an _a bStr\%& . . .thematics .tends
d to refer to an end-prod uct: It
. is. th
does 1 of issues raise , normally expressed m . a h'1erarchy
ica! strU'-•rure. ... :th the caves prov1·d·mg the rnPec1ftc stact,
e sum0f
allegOr . !ding, ,, I . eta h o~ uestions an. d pro bl ems, . with perhap s some suggest d
f AJ.iz and Ftc h experiences of the two women p Y•ic 1 q
answers. It 1s not necessarily
. . dependent upon t he autho e' 5
~ackgtound •nd 1. e which finally separates the two Pro~idi,' 1 conscious or unconsc10us mtentions. (246) r
ticanon me •' &
the plot corn P .., (81), n int0 A ·r remains indeed difficult to locate or identify th ,

their own culture!! .

. frorn people, yet m so very man . I ~s I I h h
rre' 0 £the nove , t e t emes can be better appre · d h
.
e emottonal
PeopIe go
.,wa, f•
· aves her son, nen ds and India Y diff cen h' . h f , h . c1ate w en
• 0 ereht 1 ·dered in t 1s 11g t o t emat1cs.'
~toore 1e in s ' con Sl
ways! ~1rs •. delightful farewell by the coastal t rrow
1ren a • h 1· rees, >
and yet 1s g es back, not in t e 1teral sense b i and
e,·enrua llY. she . . corn
benign and bene d'1ctory. Adela is ' Ut as a
· .;,,u spirit, · h
sun1'JJ•:, ch d her English compatriots, er newlyseparated
her betro e '
. d· fter staying almost l'k
fr orn_ fnen 1 e a refugee at p·acqu· l .ired
£nulish
::i
d' l
she finally ]eaves In 1a a one, an d on the evele ofding's
,a
college, the evil shadow of slander and blackmail h her
deparrure coo
. th f rm of Antony. Fie . Id'mg an d Az1z . are separated aunts
f
her m e o . d . . F.
owing to misunderstan mg, 1eldmg . 1s.
sepa rorn
one ano th er ll . ld. . rated
orn his Ocher Indian friends as . we . Fie . mg 1s .reunited Wit. h
fr . rowards the endi but that 1s only a bnef happiness. The 1
AzlZ opens with the poignant . "F' ast
chapter sente,?ce: ..,nends again) yet
aware that they would meet no more -a story of friendship
won, lost, and won once more only to be lost again!
People also go away from places, out of compulsion) or
grievance) or sadness, or resentment, or exhaustion. Thus
Chandrapore, which initially provides the locale of the story,
recedes in course of time to be just a point of reference-as
a place which has been left behind by so many people-
Mrs Moore first) followed by Adela, for England. Even before
them Godbole has left for Mau to join his new job. Eventually,
Az'iz will leave the city to join Godbole at Mau. Fielding an~
Ronny leave under the routine administrative programme ol
transfer.
All these separations-of people from people and of people
f romplace . s-Ien d a particular strain of sadness to' the narrauon, ·
an
'th d h e1p 1t
• , f to attain a · l d' .
specia 1mens1on of meamng in t e. · h rota!
is defined by JerenW
emat1cs o the b00 k, as the term
Hawthorn: