A Passage To India

•It was written by E.M. Forster.
•Uses subtle and rich in symbolism and addresses

questions of faith , religious as well as social.
•It is about India , which at that time was a colonial

possession of Britain, and about the relations
between the two sets of people.
•Also talks about the necessity of friendship, and the

difficulty in establishing it across cultural
boundaries.
• His narrative centres on Dr. Aziz, a young Indian
physician has disastrous consequences.
• The novel ends on a rather ambiguous note.
• It received two very prestigious awards – the

James Tait Black Memorial Prize and the Prix
Femina Vie Heureuse.
• It has been voted 25th in the Modern Library’s

“100 Greatest Books of the 20th century”.
About the
author
• Edward Morgan Forster was already a respected
and relatively successful novelist when he wrote
A Passage to India.
• Before this, he had published four classics on
the upper middle-class life – Where Angels Fear
to Tread, The Longest Journey, A Room With a
View and Howard’s End.
• He applied his first-hand knowledge of India to
write the novel.

Plot Summary
Set in India several decades before the end of British Rule, A
Passage to India explores the relationships between the
Indians and the British during the time.
 A young British schoolmistress Adela Quested, and her

elderly friend Mrs.Moore visit the fictional city of Chandrapore
in British India. Adela is to marry Ronny Heaslop, Mrs.Moore’s
son
 Dr.Aziz meets Mrs.Moore at the local mosque, and they

become friendly after initial reservations on Aziz’s part
regarding a Christian lady in the mosque.
 Adela meets Cyril Fielding, the headmaster of the local

government run college, and at her request, invites Aziz and
Mrs.Moore to a tea-party.
 During the tea-party, Aziz and Fielding become great friends,

and the former promises the two ladies to take them on atrip
to the Marabar caves.
 During the trip, Mrs.Moore is overcome with caustrophobia
at the first cave itself, and declines to continue the trip. She
is also disturbed by the echo in the caves – no matter what
sound one makes, the echo is always “Boum”.
 On their way, Adela innocently asks Aziz if he has more than

one wife. Disconcerted by the bluntness of the remark, he
ducts ito a cave to compose himself.
 On coming back, he finds Adela missing, and the guide tells

him that she has gone into one of the caves by herself. Aziz
looks around and finds Adela’s field-glasses lying broken on
the ground, and pockets them.
 At the train station, Aziz is arrested and charged with

sexually assaulting Adela in a cave. She reports the alleged
incident to the British authorities.
 The run-up to the trial releases the racial tensions, and

Adela has accused Aziz of only trying to touch her.
 Adela narrates an account of how Aziz tried to grab her,
and how her field-glasses broke during the scuffle. The
possession of glasses are the only actual evidence
against Aziz.
 The British colonists are all convinced of the darker

peoples’ lust for white women, and hence call for
strictest punishment for Aziz.
 After an initial period of fever and weeping, Adela

becomes confused as to Aziz’s guilt, and when asked
point-blank, it is revealed that Adela had suffered a
shock because of the echo, disconcerting and hence
unhinging her. She thought Aziz had assaulted her, as he
personified the India that had stripped her of her
psychological innocence.
 With laudable honesty and bravery, Adela proclaims her

mistake, and the case is dismissed.
 Aziz loses his belief in Fielding after he learns of his

helping Adela, and later reconciles with him. Adela
leaves for England, never to return.
Character Summary
 Dr.Aziz – A young Muslim Indian physician, working at the British
hospital at Chandrapore; relies more on intuition than logic.
Forster describes his inability to view a situation without
emotion, suggesting a typical Indian difficulty.
 Cyril Fielding – British headmaster of the local government-run

college; finds it difficult to understand Indian people, but highly
tolerant and respectful. Best friend of Aziz, but later separate
due to cultural and personal misunderstandings.
 Adela Quested – Young British schoolmistress, visiting India with

the intention of marrying Ronny Heaslop, and seeing the real
India. Falsely accuses Aziz of sexually assaulting her.
 Mrs. Moore – Elderly, thoughtful mother of Ronny Heaslop;

respects Indians and their customs. The experience at the
Marabar caves leaves her apathetic and bitter.
Theme Analysis
The story has four central themes :-
 The difficulty of friendship between an Indian and an
Englishman :- In the second chapter, a discussion at
Hamidullah’s place brings out this topic, and the conclusion
arises that an Indian and an Englishman can never be true
friends as long as India is under British rule.
 Racism and oppression of the British rule :- The cruelty of

Major Callendar who boasts of torturing an injured Indian by
putting pepper on his shattered face, Mr.Mcbryde’s
supercilious views on Indians’ lust for white women, Miss
Derek’s scorn for her Indian employers etc. show the British
arrogance and rudeness towards India.
 The “muddle” of Indian civilisation and psychology :-
Forster refers to India as a “muddle”, due to the lack of
understanding of the extreme diversity in religion, culture
and society. Westerners are always trying to label and
categorise things, whereas India defies labelling. Indians
rely more on intuition and emotion, and the British minds,
shackled by reason and race, cannot understand the
Indian psyche.
 Unity for all life :- For most of the novel, Forster suggests
that the Dharmic doctrine of oneness or “Om” devalues
us and everything we hold dear, as seen with Mrs.Moore
and Adela. But in Part Three, he reveals to his readers
that all things may not be the same, but perhaps they are
one. He suggest that we accept our unity and differences
with equanimity, for oneness is not sameness.
Suitability of the Title
 An apt title, as different pictures of India are shown through various
characters, with each having a personal touch to the India they see.
 Aziz is a die-hard Indian, who is optimistic that Indians and Brits can
become good friends, but at the same time, seriously disapproves the
British rule over India.
 Fielding is a British headmaster, who cannot quite understand the Indian

psyche, but nevertheless makes sincere attempts to know Indians.
 Adela Quested, who came to India with the intention of seeing the real
country, is rather disappointed with the vibes towards her. The Marabar
incident, the accusation on Aziz and the subsequent stress takes its toll
on her, and she ultimately decides to leave India, never to return.
 Mrs.Moore, shown as patient and understanding towards Indians and their

customs, also takes a step back after the Marabar incident, losing the
human touch in her. She leaves India, refusing to testify against Aziz, and
dies of a heart attack on her way back.
 The title brings out the raw essence of the story, as every character finds
its way to the real India, and reacts in its own way on seeing the prejudice
it was living in. Life takes turns for everyone, and everyone gets to know
the real passage to India.

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•It was written by E.M. Forster.

•Uses subtle and rich in symbolism and addresses

•It is about India , which at that time was a colonial

•Also talks about the necessity of friendship, and the

• The novel ends on a rather ambiguous note.

• It received two very prestigious awards – the

• It has been voted 25th in the Modern Library’s

 A young British schoolmistress Adela Quested, and her

 Dr.Aziz meets Mrs.Moore at the local mosque, and they

 Adela meets Cyril Fielding, the headmaster of the local

 During the tea-party, Aziz and Fielding become great friends,

 On their way, Adela innocently asks Aziz if he has more than

 On coming back, he finds Adela missing, and the guide tells

 At the train station, Aziz is arrested and charged with

 The run-up to the trial releases the racial tensions, and

 The British colonists are all convinced of the darker

 After an initial period of fever and weeping, Adela

 With laudable honesty and bravery, Adela proclaims her

 Aziz loses his belief in Fielding after he learns of his

 Cyril Fielding – British headmaster of the local government-run

 Adela Quested – Young British schoolmistress, visiting India with

 Mrs. Moore – Elderly, thoughtful mother of Ronny Heaslop;

 Racism and oppression of the British rule :- The cruelty of

 Fielding is a British headmaster, who cannot quite understand the Indian

 Mrs.Moore, shown as patient and understanding towards Indians and their

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