British Novel (Second Year) (1)

201 Critical View (A) A sudden summons for Aziz from an English surgeon and then his absence from his bungalow even without dropping a message for Aziz shows how much respectful the English people towards the Indian are. (B) His tonga is carried away by two English women. This scene shows that even the English women have no respect for the Indians. (C) But when Aziz meets Mrs. Moore, he takes a sigh of relief, realizing that humanity is still alive in the hearts of certain English people. Aziz pronounces her an Oriental. Chapter 3 A new character Adela Quested, the girl to be engaged and married to Ronny Heashop introduced. The girl has come with Mrs. Moore to see for herself Ronny and his work. On the way home, Mrs. Moore tells Ronny that she meets a young doctor Aziz this episode upsets him. Mrs. Moore expresses her kindness for the Indians and expresses a desire to meet them but, her wish is turned down contemporarily by Ronny. Critical View (A) A new character Adela Quested has been introduced. (B) This Chapter shows that the British rulers do not like and love Indians. That is why Mrs. Moore’s meeting with Aziz is not welcome. However, Mrs. Moore and Aziz appear drawn together not merely through good will but through an sociable mysticism by her own son Ronny. Chapter 4 The collector invites many well known Indians to the party, which is held by him on the words of Adela. At a gathering of the Indians, Mahmoud Ali argues that the invitation is owing to the orders of the Lieutenant Governor, otherwise it is a baseless thing. There is much excitement among the Indians for that invitation. The leading Mohammedan landowner of the District the Nawab Bahadur also attends is the party. Critical View (A) In this Chapter, the author tries to create a friendly atmosphere of ambience between the Indians and the Britishers. (B) A party arrangement and an invitation to the Indians show that there are certain people among the English who are willing to hear Indians’ problems. Chapter 5 The Bridge Party, held in the garden of he club, is in no way a success- at least to Mrs. Moore and Miss Quested. When they come, they find the Indians standing timidly in a corner of the lawns. On the request of the collector, his wife takes Mrs. Moore and Miss Quested to introduce them to the Indian ladies. Mrs. Moore and Miss Quested are willing to talk to Indian women as informally as possible. But the Indian ladies do not show express courage to proceed to talk and giggle and cover behind one-another. Mrs. Moore asks one of the women if she and Adela can visit them. The lady CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

202 British Poetry of 19th and 20th Century - II agrees and the visit is arranged for a Thursday. Indians become pleased and delighted to see Mr. Fielding, the principal of the government college. He mixes up with everyone and talks to all. Adela finds the English people at the party as narrow minded. After the party Ronny has a talk with his mother about Adela. He objects to Adela’s remarks about the rude behaviour of the English people towards the Indians. Mrs. Moore finds herself perturbed on her son’s unnatural behaviour. She tells him that he should treat the Indians in a proper manner, as after all, they are also human beings. Critical View (A) A Bridge Party is held to introduce the Indians with the newcomers. (B) It is so called Bridge, because it is held to start a communication between the English and the Indian people. (C) But the party remains unsuccessful. (D) Inspite of their invitation, the English try to keep themselves away from the Indians in the party. (E) Only a few persons like Mrs. Moore, Adela and Mr. Fielding show some courage to mix with the Indians. (F) At the end of the party, even Ronny shows his hatred for the Indians. But Mrs. Moore thinks it an act of unjustice not to treat Indians in a proper manner. The event is meant to be a time of orchestrated interaction but the only result is heightened suspicion on both sides. Chapter 6 Aziz has not attended the party because he has to do a lot of work. Secondly, the day is the anniversary of his wife’s death. Aziz had not loved her first. She gave birth to two children and then she died. Now Aziz realizes that no other women can ever take her place. When Aziz retuns home, he gets an invitation to tea from Mr. Fielding. Aziz is delighted. Hooks forward to know everything about the splendid fellow. Critical Comments (A) In this Chapter it is shown that an English man, that is, the Civil Surgeon scolds Aziz in an insulting manner. (B) At the end of the day again an English man. Mr. Fielding invites him to tea and. At this Aziz becomes cheerful. Hence this chapter shows two opposite events taking place and this chapter also shows Aziz character — his mercurial nature and his sentiments. Chapter 7 Fielding, the Principal of Chandrapore College, is a middle-aged man. He has a great zeal for teaching the students even without caring about their family backgrounds. For his this kind of tender and pure behaviours, the local Anglo-Indians do not like him. On the day of tea party, Aziz arrives. Aziz and Fielding come quite close to each-other and they talk to each-other in a friendly way. Later on, Mrs. Moore and Adela also comes out with big words CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

203 on certain subjects. Even in the presence of Godbole a Hindu Brahmin who works in Fielding’s College Aziz does not stop his eloquence. Now there appears Ronny in the party. He appears quite rude as he asks his mother and Adela to come with him for Polo. The two ladies leave the place at once. Analysis 1. The Bridge Party had been a failure since there the English had avoided mixing up with the Indians. On the other hand, Fielding’s tea party was a great success because here nothing of the racial arrogance of the English comes on the surface. 2. Fielding’s broad-mindedness and Aziz’s impulsiveness bridge the gap between the two races. 3. Godbole, the Hindu Brahmin, talks only vaguely and does not come out directly with the mystery of the Marabar Caves. He probably wants to keep the secret of the caves (and of life) to himself alone. 4. Adela and Fielding lay stress on rationalism and cannot accept that any mystery is there in the universe or outside themselves 5. Mrs. Moore, though an English lady, has oriented learning’s and accepts, in essence, Godbole’s mysterious view of life and universe. Chapter 8 (i) Adela Quested is taken away from the party at Fielding’s by Ronny. She is shocked to learn about the elements of complacency, censoriousness etc in him. (ii) There is a scene of bickering between Ronny and Adela over Aziz’s invitation to the Marabar Caves. (iii) Adela tells Ronny that she can’t marry him. He takes her rejection as a routine matter. (iv) They, however, decide to remain friends. (v) Later after the accident of the car in which they travel together, they change their mind and are engaged to be married. Analysis (i) Adela is can did and sincere. She expresses her feeling straightaway. (ii) Ronny and Adela are gentle lovers. (iii) They are able to solve the temporary gulf between them in a simple, civil manner. (iv) The intimacy which is revived in the two lovers cannot be ever lasting because— (a) It is the result of the accident when they are going over a dark and mysterious terrain. (b) On the part of Adela, it may be more because of her want of security in life. Chapter 9 (i) Aziz and Professor Godbole fall ill after the tea party at Fielding’s place. (ii) Fielding enters Aziz’s room. He talks in a general way and is declared by all—”An Englishman at his best.” (iii) Fielding does not express the common view that “England holds India for her good,” but says that he is in India because he was in need of a job. CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

204 British Poetry of 19th and 20th Century - II Comments (i) The chapter gives all idea of a gulf between— (a) the Indians and the British (b) the Indians themselves. (ii) The chapter tells that various communities and races in India are united only because of their anti-British attitude. Chapter 10 (i) As the visitors come out of Aziz’s house, they feel uncomfortable in April heat. (ii) They rush to their houses and thus separate themselves from animals. (iii) Heat makes no distinction between men and animals. Critical Views (i) Local colour is added to the scene when we learn there is intense heat in Chandrapore even in the month of April. (ii) Heat outside is symbolic of visitor’s inner sense of mutual suspicion and feeling of misery. Chapter 11 Aziz shows a photograph of his dead wife to Fielding. Aziz suggests to Fielding that he should marry Adela. Fielding who is a confirmed bachelor, is horrified at the idea. Fielding had earlier talked of general disbelief of God in the west. Aziz warns him to be careful in future while talking about God and morality. As fielding has left, Aziz falls into a happy sleep. Analysis (i) When all visitors have left, there is a hearty talk between Aziz and Fielding. (ii) It appears they have arrived at some understanding. (iii) Still, there are big differences between the two because of their nature and varied cultures. (a) Aziz is emotional and desires kindness. (b) Fielding lacks emotion. (c) Aziz cannot accept Fielding’s flippant attitude to marriage, as he is rooted in Indian culture and tradition. (d) Fielding likes to live as a free individual. (iv) In spite of the real difficulty in filling up the communication gap between the two cultures, at least for the present there is cordiality between two individuals representing two cultures. This is clear from Aziz’s dropping to a happy sleep. PART-II : CAVES Chapter 12 There is a description of Marabar Hills in this chapter which are older than anything in the world. Then there is a description of a single Marabar cave— It is eight feet long, five feet high and three feet wide tunnel. It leads to a circular chambar which is about 20 feet in diamond. The caves are wonderfully polished from inside. These caves are all similar, all equally dark. There is a mention of Kawa Dol in this chapter which sways in the wind because of its hollowness and it moves even, CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

205 when a crow perches on it. Critical View (i) In this chapter in fact, in the whole of this part Forster takes the readers to primitive times. (ii) Much philosophical ideas have been ascribed by the critics to the description of caves. Chapter 13 Adela is very eager to see the caves. Aziz requests Fielding to invite Mrs. Moore Miss Quested to visit the caves. None is really very enthusiastic about visiting the caves for reason or the other, yet the visit takes places. Besides expenses, there is difficulty concerning food, etc. which should suitable to Muslims, English and Hindus. While others board the train, Fielding misses it. Godbole is also held up at the level crossing. He had been late because of his long prayer. Now Aziz alone has to conduct the English ladies to the caves. He is almost in tears. But he is consoled by Mrs. Moore. Critical Comments (i) Aziz has at first forgotten all about the invitation. When learns it from servants etc. He is worried that the English ladies may be angry with him. (ii) However, disappointment comes his way in another form when Fielding and Godbold miss the train. (iii) He does not know that more trouble is in store for him. Chapter 14 Mrs. Moore and Adela are going wearily towards the caves. The scenery all around is one of desolation, emptiness and loneliness, but they are full of thoughts. As Mr. Moore goes into the first cave, she has an experience of oneness which is nothingness. The dark emptiness of the cave suggests to her a universe of negation in which good and evil, life and death have no meaning or they cancel each-other out. But we know, two minutes multiplied make a plus. Even more frightening to Mrs. Moore is the echo in the empty caves The echo means to her the emptiness of life or a complete nullity, a complete denied of all distinction. Only a little earlier she had thought: “Man is no nearer to understanding man.” Thus her vision of the unit of the whole universe by a spirit of divine love is shattered. Comments The echo also does suggest a unity; but This unity is devoid of the qualities of love, goodness and understanding. It is a unity beyond time and space. It does not know any distinctions. It is symbolic of a unity which means total negation or nullity. Mrs. Moore feels bored and loses all interest in life or her Christian religion. She starts writing a letter to her children but cannot write the whole truth about her experience. Chapter 15 The journey is tedious but they continue. Kawa Dol is too far off. So, they decide to visit the CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

206 British Poetry of 19th and 20th Century - II caves only. Aziz doesn’t so much like Adela as Mrs. Moore. So, he remains silent. Adela is silent because she is thinking about her marriage and her future life as an Anglo-Indian. Adela begins to think that she doesn’t really love Ronny, but then she thinks that love is not essential for a successful marriage. She suddenly asks Aziz, “Have you one wife or more than one?” Aziz is shocked to hear such a strange question. He murmurs, “One, one in my own particular case.” Saying this Aziz rushes out of the cave, thinking, “Dawn the English even at their best.” The Adela goes alone into a cave. Comments (i) Earlier, we have seen, Mrs. Moore mind has been devoured by the echo. (ii) The same echo now overwhelms Adela’s mind. She is alone is a dark cave. She starts to think about her marriage with Ronny. She knows that it is not going to be a marriage resulting from love. She believes that it will be just rape of her by Ronny. (iii) Buried in much thoughts, she feels that Aziz is trying to rape her, although he is not even there with her in the cave. (iv) She goes down hysterically to the nearest police station saying that Aziz has tried to rape her. Chapter 16 Aziz is in a different cave. As he comes out, he finds the guide alone. In fact, all of them have been separated. Aziz shouts loudly calling Adela, but in vain. Then he sees her down below talking to a lady. He feels relieved. He starts for the camp. On the way, he finds Adela’s field-glasses with broken leather-strap. He puts them into his pocket innocently. At the camp, Aziz is happy to find Fielding who has arrived in Miss Derek’s car. He learns that Adela has gone to Chandrapore in Miss Derek’s car. Fielding goes into a cave. He feels bored and comes back. Fielding and Aziz go to Chandrapore by train. As the train reaches Chandrapore, Aziz is arrested by the police and taken to prison. Fielding wants to stand by Aziz and go with him, but he is called by the collector Mr. Turton. Chapter 17 (i) The collector tells Fielding about Adela’s having been molested by Aziz in the caves, but Fielding is not ready to accept it as being true. (ii) Fielding tells the whole lot of English people Indians. (iii) Turton gives vent to his hatred against the Indians. Comments (i) Fielding feels that some evil force from the caves has overtaken the British people and they are now devoid of reason and have developed animosity against all Indians. (ii) The presensce of racial tension is quite evident in this chapter. Chapter 18 Fielding meets Mc Bryde, the District Superintended of Police. He is the most educated of the Chandrapore officials. Mc Bryde tells Fieldings that Aziz made insulting advances to Adela in the cave. As she hit at him with her field-glass, he pulled at them and the strap broke. The glasses have CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

207 been recovered from Aziz’s pockets. So, he is guilty. Fielding wants to be allowed to meet either Adela or Aziz. His request is turned down. Instead, he is advised to side with the British. Chapter 19 Fielding meets Aziz’s friend Hamidullah who tells him that there were plans to bring in Amrit Rao a well-known anti-British lawyer to defend Aziz. But Fielding wants Aziz to be cleared of the charge into least racial hatred. Fielding does not want to take sides. Fielding talks to Godbole about Aziz’s arrest, but he shows no concern for the matter. Fielding then puts a straight question to Godbole— “Is Aziz innocent or guilty?” Comments Instead of replying it directly, Godbole gives a long lecture on the Hindu idea of good and evil. What Godbole means, as Fielding understands him, in that both good and evil are equally the aspects of God. Godbole also said that “absence implies presence, absence is not non-existence.” Still, Godbole’s words express hope and optimism. They imply that even if evil prevails at present, it can be forced back to the hollowness of the caves. Chapter 20 Adela whowas previously not quite popular among the Anglo-Indians, now suddenly becomes quite popular among them. There is a general hatred against the natives in the minds of the British. The collector particularly wants to teach the Indians a lesson, though outwardly he asks his fellow racial men to keep calm. Comments Major Callector arrives with a new story: (a) Adela’ servant was bribed not to be present with her. (b) Godbole and perhaps even Fielding were paid to miss the train. As Ronny comes, all except Fielding stand up. As Fielding, explains that action of Anglo- Indians meant an insult to Aziz and the Indians and he could not be a party to it, as he still deems Aziz to be innocent. The collector asks Fielding to apologize to Ronny, but he refuses to do so and he is to be ordered by the collector to get out of the club. Fielding feels sad for being involved in such matters. Chapter 21 (i) Fielding has no regrets for having been turned out of the club. (ii) There is all round festive atmosphere because of Muharram. (iii) Amrit Rao has agreed to defend Aziz. (iv) Aziz’s bail application is rejected, but is applied again. (v) Adela who was unwell, is now out of danger. Chapter 22 (i) Adela stays with the Mc Brydes during her illness. CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

208 British Poetry of 19th and 20th Century - II (ii) She says contradictory statements. Sometimes she says nothing particular happened to her in the cave and Aziz even didn’t touch her. (iii) Then she begins to hear the echo again and starts weeping. Ronny comes and takes Adela to his bungalow. There Adela is disappointed to see Mrs. Moore in an irritable mood. Adela tells the old lady that the echo is constantly troubling her. Mrs. Moore agrees to attend Adela’s marriage, but not her trials. Adela says to Ronny— “Ronny, Aziz is innocent.” She asks him to withdraw the case against Aziz, but he expresses his ability to do so now. Adela is in tears. Ronny thinks of sending his mother away. Critical Comments (i) Adela’s body is full of cactus spines. Her cave shock is almost not completely over now. (ii) She has become over-sensitive to any body contact. (iii) The echo continuously keeps ringing in her ear. Chapter 23 (i) Mrs. Moore leaves for England. Thus, she escapes the trial, the marriage and the hot weather. (ii) She has already felt the horror as well as the smallness of the universe. (iii) During her return journey by train which makes a semicircle, she sees the town of Asirgarh again and again besides natural landscape. (iv) She feels that what she had seen earlier in the caves, was not all of India and that life is indestructible. Chapter 24 (i) The day of trial arrives. Adela is taken into the court-room by the English people. The Presiding Officer is an Indian. Still, the English are sure of their victory. (ii) Adela has already said her prayers in the morning. Still, echo returns to her. (iii) The first person who attracts Adela’s attention in the court, is the Punkhawallah who is an untouchable. (iv) As the case is called, Mc Bryde opens the case. Adela is given a chair on the platform as she is indisposed. (v) The English climb up the platform. But on Amrit Rao’s objection, they are ordered to climb down the platform. The English feel humiliated. (vi) There is a uproar in the court when the prosecution lawyer Mc Bryde says that Aziz intentionally crushed Mrs. Moore into a cave so that she should leave him free for his intended crime. (vii) (a) At this, the defence lawyer shout loudly asking whether Aziz is charged with rape only or rape and murder both. (b) He accuses the prosecutor of sending Mrs. Moore out of India, as she would have proved Aziz’s innocence. (c) There is a furore outside the courtroom. (viii) CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

209 (a) Adela answers all of Mc Bryde’s questions calmly. (b) However, when she is asked whether Aziz followed her to the cave, she says that he never followed her into the cave. ix. (a) There is an uproar in the court, but the Punkhawallah remains undisturbed. (b) The English try to stop the proceedings on medical grounds. (c) Mc Bryde has no way out but to withdraw the case. (d) Aziz is released without a spot on his character. Chapter 25 Adela, having abandoned the English, goes to Fielding for protection. At first, Fielding is not ready to protect her from the crowd of Indians, but as the finds the girl in a state of shock, he decides to protect her. Aziz is not quite jubilant at his victory but the crowed take into a procession through the city of Chandrapore. The crowd moves toward Minto Hospital. Before the crowd could attack the hospital. Dr. Panna Lal who had given evidence against Aziz, comes and apologizes to him. He also plays the buffoon to the crowd and they feel elated. The Nawab Bahadur comes and calms down the crowed. Thus, violence is averted. Chapter 26 (i) During a conversation between Adela and Fielding, the latter realizes that the girl had an hallucination in the caves. (ii) Hamidullah expresses his displeasure at Fielding’s sympathetic behaviour towards Adela and for keeping her in his house. (iii) Ronny comes with the news that Mrs. Moore died at sea. (iv) Fielding is taken away by his Indian friends to celebrate Aziz’s victory, but it pinches Fielding to learn that the Indians are planning to demand a huge compensation from the poor Adela. Chapter 27 (i) Aziz is thinking of a holiday in Persia with the money he hopes to get from Adela as damages. (ii) Fieldings pleads with Aziz not to press the poor Adela for compensation, but Aziz’s adamant as he has grown totally anti-British. (iii) Aziz has, however, decided to consult Mrs. Moore before demanding damages from Adela. (iv) Fielding cannot understand why Aziz likes Mrs. Moore so much. (v) In this chapter, we find the friendship between Aziz and Fielding showing signs of cracking. Chapter 28 (i) There spreads a rumour that Mrs. Moore was killed by her son, as she wanted to save Aziz. (ii) Ronny is annoyed at this rumour, but he feels guilty that he had not behaved well with her. She had, in fact, tried to connect East and West. (iii) Ronny is no longer interested in marrying Adela, but does not express it as yet. CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

210 British Poetry of 19th and 20th Century - II Chapter 29 (i) Lt. Governor, Sir Gilbert arrives in Chandrapore. He congratulates Fielding for his good conduct and also deplores racial prejudice. (ii) Fielding notes that still the attitude of the English towards the Indians does not change. (iii) Aziz is grief-stricken on learning about the death of Mrs. Moore. (iv) Now, in the name of Mrs. Moore, Aziz decides to demand of Adela only costs, relinquishing the demand for damages. (v) The Anglo-Indians still believe that Aziz was guilty. (vi) Adela tries to write a letter of apology to Aziz, but Fielding is not convinced, as he points out that in reality she has no love for the Indians as the Indians cannot thus be fooled. (vii) Fielding learns from Adela that Ronny has broken with her. (viii) A sort of vague friendship develops between Adela and Fielding. Chapter 30 (i) The trial has brought the Hindus and the Muslims closer. (ii) One day, Mr. Das, the Magistrate, comes to Aziz’s house. He makes two requests to him— (a) First, for a remedy for shingles; (b) Second, a poem for his brother-in-law’s magazine. (c) Aziz promises both, though his poem never gets written. (d) Aziz makes up is mind to go to some Hindu state in search of inner peace. Chapter 31 (i) There are now two rumours in Chandrapore: (a) Mc Bryde is discovered in Miss Derek’s room and is to be divorced by his wife. (b) Miss Adela lived in Fielding’s house as his mistress. (ii) Even Aziz jeers at Fielding who feels awfully hurt. (iii) Fielding tries to explain his innocence to Aziz, but the latter thinks that Adela and Fielding have already got married. Chapter 32 Fielding, on his way to England, visits Egypt, Crete and Venice. The ‘natural order’ of Italy and order and clam beauty of Italy impress him as against formlessness of India. He regains his lost balance. PART – III : TEMPLE Chapter 33 Two years later, hundreds of miles away the Marabar Caves, in the Hindu town of Man, Godbole is celebrating Janmashtami, the birth of Lord Krishna. To the Westerners as to Forster himself the occasion seems just a confusing muddle of ceremonies which are crude in form. There is an ecstatic singing and dancing, besides some silly and amusing games. At midnight, a conch is sounded to declare the birth of Krishna, the saviour of the world. In his ecstasy Godbole sees Mr. CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

211 Moore and a wasp she had also once seen a wasp. It signifies the great power of blending together the disparate elements immersing which both Godbole and Mrs. Moore signify. The chapter highlights the peculiarity of Hinduism in that it enables mystifying experience to all and signals universal love and brotherhood, at least for the time being. Chapter 34 Aziz is thankful to Godbole for having brought him to the Hindu town of Man. He throws away Fielding’s explanatory letter regarding his marriage. He decides to do nothing with the British and refuses to the see Fielding, when he is told by Godbole and he is probably to the Guest House. Now, Aziz feels that he is an Indian first and last. When Aziz returns home, he find a note from Fielding, but he tears it up angrily. Chapter 35 The next morning, Aziz and his children are there in a Muslim shrine. There come Fielding and his brother-in-law towards them. The two men are attacked by bees. The children feel amused, but Aziz goes to help them. Aziz addresses Fielding’s started. He tells him that he married not Miss Quested but Mrs. Moore’s daughter. Aziz is overwhelmed with shame and anger. Chapter 36 Aziz find two letters on the piano— One is from Ronny to Fielding; the other is from Adela to Fielidng. Aziz reads the letters and finds that both Adela and Ronny are now on friendly terms with Fielding. Then comes Ralph Moore, Fielding’s brother-in-law.Aziz and Ralph go for boating towards the place where God and a clay model of Gokul are to be thrown into the water. It is raining and guns are going off. Mr. and Mrs. Fielding, Stella are boating in another boat. The two boats collide with each-other and with the clay god. Here Aziz and Fielding find themselves in a state of reconciliation and affection. Comments Aziz, unconsciously and paradoxically becomes the instrument of reconciliation between the Indians and the English. At first, he holds Ralph’s hand harshly. As the boy says, “You are unkind,” he realizes that he is Mrs. Moore’s son and like her has Indian likes and dislikes. So, he says to him, “Then you are an oriental.” Chapter 37 Fielding and Aziz are seemingly friends now. But they meet for the last time as they go for their last ride in the jingles of Man. Aziz is firmly anti-British now. Fielding has now cast his whole lot with the English. Both the friends express their racial prejudice in a jocular way which is intrinsically real. Even if the two friends want to be true and affectionate friends, the circumstances and their situations do not allow them to be so. Comments The Hindu festival has brought about reconciliation between Aziz and Fielding. Conclusion The novelist EM Forster has divided the novel into three parts namely ‘Mosque’, ‘Caves’ and CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

212 British Poetry of 19th and 20th Century - II ‘Temple’. These may mean equality and universal love, hollowness or mystery reconciliation and final hope. The problem of race relationship still remains unresolved for a long duration. The root cause of the malady is diagnosed correctly enough though it is also acknowledged at the same time that there are many other problems of serious nature which wait and need to be solved by the people of a Free India. From the point of view of relationship between Englishmen and Indians the novel ends with the temporary coming together of Fielding and Aziz only to part again because their horses took them in opposite directions. It is a symbolical way of expressing that much as they would have liked to be friends, their impulses, thoughts and feelings pulled them apart from each other. 10.3 ANGLO-INDIAN RELATIONS IN THE NOVEL Introduction “A Passage to India” tells the story of Aziz a young muslim doctor and his friendship with Fielding against the turbulent background of Anglo-India in the early decades of the twentieth century. The novel is divided into three parts of unequal length but these are so contrived as to constitute a triangle of forces keeping the plot. “India, which Forster visited in 1912-13 and to which he returned as the acting Private Secretary of the Rajah of Dewas Senior in 1921, offered a vast physical and mental landscape in which to develop more fully many of the themes he had already explored in novels and short stories. These may be conveniently summarized as the importance of personal relations, the sanctity of the emotional life, the problems of reconciling worldly success and spiritual salvation, the importance of the relationship of man and nature.” Indo-British Ties (John Calmer) One theme, that is the theme of the relationship between the Indians and the Englishmen is considered by some critics as downplayed by others. It is said that A Passage to India is an anti-colonial and anti-imperialistic novel. It highlights the cruelty and snobbery of the Englishmen while at the some time exaggerating the pettiness of the Indians. Commenting on the under-developed heart of the Englishmen, Abinger Harnest says, “And they go forth into a world that is not entirely composed of public school men or even Anglo-Saxons, but of men who are as various as the sands of the sea, sands of the sea, into a world of whose richness and rufflety they have no conception. They go forth into it with well-developed bodies, fairly developed minds, but under-developed hearts. And it is this under-developed heart that is largely responsible for difficulties of Englishmen abroad.” In this connection, it should be noted that Forster held certain beliefs all his life- He was against the British Public School system because, he felt, it created class-consciousness and narrowness of mind. He believed that though English people had a fairly developed mind, their heart was not equally developed. It was mainly because of this deficiency that they could not keep the natives (including Indians) satisfied, and it is mainly for this reason that they lost the Empire in India. CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

213 Many, however think that the common English people never gave so much importance to the British Empire in India. The idea of the Empire appeared in their common life only marginally. In any case, it was believed that the Empire had to be given up one day. Lionel Trilling says “A Passage to India” is not a radical novel, its data were gathered in 1912 and 1922, before the full spate of Indian nationalism; it is not concerned to show that the English should not be in India at all. Indeed, not until the end of the book is the question of the expulsion of the English mentioned, and the novel proceeds on an imperialistic premise-ironically, for it is not actually Forster’s own— its chief point being that by reason of the underdeveloped heart the English have thrown away the possibility of holding India. For want of a smile an Empire is to be lost. Not even justice is enough. “Indians know whether they are liked or not,” Fielding says, “they cannot befooled here. Justice never satisfies them, and that is why British Empire rests on sand.” Mrs. Moore listens to Ronny defending the British attitude, ‘his words without his voice might have impressed her, but when she heard the self-satisfied life of them, when she saw the mouth moving so complacently and competently beneath the little red nose, she left, quite illogically, that this was not the last word on India. One touch of regret-not the canny substitute, but the true regret-would have made him a different man, and the British Empire a different institution. Nirad C. Chaudhari, the well-known Indian English writer says- “The consequences of pitting humane feelings against a political phenomenon are well illustrated in A Passage to India. One consequence is that it leads to pure negation. In the sphere of Indo-British relations the novel has no solution to offer except a dissolution of the relationship, which is not a solution of the problem, but only is elimination. The good feeling that such a dissolution can generate, and has in actual fact generated between Indian and the British after 1947, is the sort of kindly feeling one has for strangers or casual acquaintances. It is of no use whatever for a sane ordering of political relations which one is struggling to raise from an amoral or even immoral level to a moral one. Our suffering under British rule, on which a book as noble as Alfred de Vigny’s Servitude at Grandeur Militaries could have been written, is deprived of all dignity. Our mental life as depicted in the book is painfully childish and querulous. Lastly attention is diverted away from those Indians who stood aloof from the world the book describes and were aristocratic in their ways although possessing no outward attribute of aristocracy. When we consider all this we feel Mrs. Forster’s literary ability, which has given the book its political importance, as grievance. Human Relationship Even Mr. Chaudhari believes that in ‘A Passage to India’ human relationship is more important than just Indo-British relationship. “At the root of all this lies the book’s tacit, but confident assumption that Indo-British relations presented a problem of personal behaviour and could be tackled on the personal plane. They did not and could not. The great Indians who brought about the westernization of their country and created its modern culture had none of the characteristic Indian foibles for which Mrs. Forster invokes British compassion. They were men of the stature of an Erasmus, Comenius, or Holberg, who could hold their own with the best in Europe. Yet some of them were assaulted, some insulted, and other slighted by the local British. None of them had any deep personal relations with any member of the British ruling community. There were also thousands of Indians who had adopted western ideals and were following who had adopted western ideals and were following them to the best of their ability, CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

214 British Poetry of 19th and 20th Century - II who were no only not cultivated but shunned with blatant ostentation by the British in India. What you have got to stamp on is these educated classes,” they all said, like the Subaltern in the novel. This was due, not to any personal snobbery, but to that massive national snobbery which fused to share British and Western civilization with Indians. The contrast between the generosity of such Indians and the British narrowness reveals they key to the real failure of the British in India. It was the failure to see that a nation which was not willing to propagate its civilization and extend its spiritual citizenship was also incapable of perpetuating, not only an empire, but even friendly political relations with other nations not belonging to its own culture complex. The challenge before the British was to create an open society in the order of the mind. Their opportunity was to make India an extension of the Western world. By they failed as completely in using their opportunity as they did in meeting the challenge. Compared with this failure, which was a betrayal of the West in India, their bad manners were mere peccadillo’s.” Gertrude White’s Views “The value of personal relationships, the holiness of the heart’s affections, always important in Forster’s novels, is central to the theme, the characters, and the episodes of A Passage. Error and evil are the inevitable consequences of the failure of love between human beings: of the disastrous personal failure of Adela, and the no less disastrous social and political failure of the English officials and their wives. And whatever is saved from the wreck— Aziz’s life, Adela’s reason, Fiedling’s and Aziz’s friendship-is saved by love alone: the lover represented by Mrs. Moor’s spirit. Whatever the level, human or divine, love is the only salvation. ‘Kindness’ more kindness, and even after that more kindness. I assure you it is the only hope. This theme is the dominant note of A Passge, the keystone of its structural arch.” Conclusion: G. Lowes, Dickinson, the mentor of Forster has called the novel “a classic of the strange and tragic fact of history and life called India.” The novel breathes themes of evil of love and human separation but all the themes are closely connected. Forster’s own commentary on Fielding-Adela relationship cannot be ignored- A friendliness as of dwarfs, shaking hands was in the air. Both man and woman were at the height of their powers-sensible honest, even subtle. They spoke the same language, and held the same opinions, and the variety of age and sex did not divide them. Yet they were dissatisfied. Forster wants to maintain that all human relationships are limited in essence and there is always a limit beyond which they cannot go. 10.4 RACIAL ISSUE IN A “PASSAGE TO INDIA” OR CRITICISM OF IMPERIALISM IN THE NOVEL Introduction The Anglo Indian Problem: The political implications of “A Passage to India” are neither simple nor obvious at first sight. To take the crudest and most extreme statement of the question, we have Ronny Heaslop’s understanding of the white man’s burden in relation to the Government of India. Early in the story (in Chapter 5) there is a lively conversation between Mrs. Moore and her son soon after her arrival in India. Ronny Heaslop views the question without any kind of idealistic CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

215 or sentimental haze. The English have conquered the country by force and like to govern it by force. The missionary, the sentimentalist and representatives of coming revolutionary parties may hold other views on this question, but so far as the ‘steel-frame’ is concerned—and Ronny Heaslop is a member of the bureauracy which has been compared to the steel frame— the problem is simply one of law and order. In maintaining them, the English have to be inspired and sustained by their own sense of duty and their devotion to the concept of the empire. Ronny’s Point of View Forster is at great pains to expound Ronny’s point of view, which is intended to be realistic account of Indian conditions and Indian character. The Indians are represented as dishonest, litigious and undependable. They are engaged not only in cheating one another but in cheating the Government. Their sense of morality is so low that they would stoop to every crime in crime in order to achieve their ends. Consequently, the task of the administrator in India is of special delicacy, since he had to determine which of the two parties is less dishonest instead of finding out which is the right side and which is the wrong side! In carrying out his duties amidst such handicaps, the English official in India has a hope to get moral support only from his own people and not gratitude from those he governs. Every British official, when he first comes to India, naturally comes full of high ideas of governing the country according to the enlightened and progressive notions. Which obtain in his own country. But very soon he realizes that the conditions are utterly different and that very few of the values of English public life can be applied or made applicable to Indian conditions. In short, Forster makes it clear through the reveries of Ronny Heaslop that he believed almost entirely in Lord Morley’s famous “Fur-coat” Theory. The only concession that Forster makes is to indulge in a solitary reflection to the effect that the cardinal defect of the British ruler in Indai is complacency or pharisaism. But this looks very much like an effort to have the cake and eat it too. The gravamen of the charge of Indians against Britain is that Britain had no right to govern India. Once this proposition in granted, the British Empire ceases to have any locus standi. But if this proposition is contested and the British Empire has to rule the country, then whatever camouflage it may undergo, it will continue to be basically unacceptable to the people. In fact, the inadequacy of Forster’s recipe is well brought out in the comments of another critic, Mr. D.S. Savage, on A Passage to India: “The ugly realities underlying the presence of the British in India are not even glanced at, and the issues are handled as though they could be solved on the surface-level of personal intercourse and individual behaviour.” This is only another way of saying that ‘bridge parties’ and ‘tea parties’ can never bridge a gulf which had been set by law between the rulers and the ruled. Even on the personal plane, the relations between Fielding and Aziz, though intended to illustrate the possibility of mutual understanding and esteem, actually illustrate the insuperable difficulties created by psychological and emotional disparities and antipathies between people of different races. Let us take the very important crux in the story relating to the Fielding-Aziz friendship. We have seen how Aziz was loyally supported by Fielding through thick and thin. We admire the staunchness of the Englishmen towards the Indians. This is the more admirable, as it is purely as act of faith and does not depend upon any demonstrable evidence. CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

216 British Poetry of 19th and 20th Century - II But look at it from the opposite end. How does Aziz react to Fielding in circumstances of similar doubt and difficulty? Scandal-mongers have whispered in to Aziz’s ears that Fielding was on terms of illicit intimacy with Miss Quested while she stayed at the College. At first Fielding could not trust his ears, and with the shrinking delicacy and cultivated reticence of the Englishman, denies the charge in what seems to repeats the charge with more gusto and conviction. Fielding is outraged. He realizes in a flash how utterly unworthy, coarse and without class Aziz is to bring up such a charge against him. So he is stirred out of his own urbanity, and in a moment of justifiable exasperation calls Aziz “You little rotter!” It takes some time for Aziz to recover from the shock of such a brief but pungent condemnation and attack. He recovers somewhat painfully and tries to stand on his dignity, while Fielding, half ashamed of his outburst, makes sincere attempts to take the edge off his remark, not by apologizing or retracting his words, but by changing his tone and giving every indication of wishing to continue to be a friend of Aziz. And Forster indicates how hopeless it is for two such people, brought up so differently, to hit it off. It appears as though Forster is being driven to the disconcerting conclusion that even personal relationships between people of different races cannot be deep-seated enough, natural enough and stable enough to stand all the stresses to which they may be exposed. Blood is thicker than water. The race-feeling is still stronger than our sense of common humanity. We are all very enthusiastic about a world-state or a world-government as our ideal. But not one of the nations is prepared to submit its sovereignty to an outside authority as yet. So on both grounds— personal and political— Forster’s message is at best negative. Conclusion: The human relationships have two barriers to overcome. In some ways, the novel seems to depict a sort of ethnography or an examination of the customs of different cultures. On the English side, many cultural forces affect the characters. Ronny is good hearted but his ‘public-school mindset’ and the influence of his English peers compel him to become hardened and unkind to Indians. The other English expatriates view Adela as naïve for showing sympathy to Indians. They even confess that they also felt the same at first before realizing the truth. Overall, the pervading culture of the English in India is that one must adopt a racist, patronizing attitude to survive and thrive. One’s very English culture makes one superior to the Indians. Forster also examines the English tendency to be rational without emotion. On the individual level, Aziz is the best developed to cultural norms. Forster portrays the Indians as more emotional and imaginative. Overall, Forster shows that race and culture are forces that cannot be altogether avoided, no matter, a person’s individual intentions. He recognizes the pervasive influence of larger social forces. 10.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE TITLE “A PASSAGE TO INDIA” Introduction The title, A Passage to India, has an obvious suggestiveness which deserves to be elucidated. Not only does it carry a surface meaning, but is loaded with further significance by the author’s CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

217 liking for symbolism and allegory in the unfolding of the plot. It was one of the features of the novel at the time that Forster wrote, to represent parallel meanings or significances to plot, situation, character and dialogue with a view to enrich the appeal of the novel to different classes readers. It is said that E.M. Forster borrows the title of this novel from Walt Whitman’s poem ‘Passage to India’ celebrating the opening of the Suez canal. Whitman uses the occasion to urge a new synthesis between Western technology and Eastern spiritualism ‘A Passage to more than India’, in a tone of jubilance of optimism. People coming to India from abroad were first of all the rulers, secondly, missionaries and others anxious to study conditions in India or help the people in many ways. Or lastly they would be globe-trotters, sightseers, holiday-makers, people with money, drawn by the romance of the East. All these different classes of people had, however, one thing in common. Their passage to India always implied a return passage from India to their own homes. Indeed foreigners in India used to be called in olden days ‘birds of passage’. The idea underlying this is that none of them intended to make India his permanent home. Consequently, their interest in India was of a qualified, professional, specialist kind. Depth of Relation On further reflection we begin to glimpse a deeper meaning. A passage to India would become not merely a tourist affair, but a sincere effort to understand and appreciate the human scene as it unfolds itself in India. In other words, ideological, cultural and racial relations arising from the contact of two different peoples are also implied in such a title. Put briefly, the question is: can any one nation enter into the heart of another nation, especially when the relation between the two is marred by the political domination of one by the other? That is precisely the question that is put up in the book, and the entire plot is a kind of extended answer to it. The number of answers that may be given to this question are as varied as the number of characters in the story. Fielding, the most important character in the book, thinks that the English could work a passage into the Indian heart through friendship, tolerance, mutual respect and understanding. He himself makes a sincere and vibrant attempt to exhibit these traits in his relations with the Indians. Mr. Turton thinks in terms of impartiality and justice, fair-play and order, but the Collector in him is afraid of intimacy. The drunken subaltern wants to make the natives behave at the point of the bayonet. Godbole, the Indian representative, believes in ‘live and let live’. The world is wide enough for all. Aziz wants brotherhood on his own terms and gives pride of place to Islam. We thus see that no two of these are the same or can ever agree. Apparently the title ‘A Passage to India’ may signify a journey to India, but in fact, it is more than that. It is a journey of the mind in search of new ventures. Actually, Forster makes his plot out of the varied reactions of these people to the central problem. While attempting to find a conclusion in the native state of Mau, she actually leaves many of the loose ends purposely uncollected. From this we have to infer two things. Broadly, it makes relations at personal, racial, cultural and religious levels. The novel opens with a dialogue between two Indians debating “whether or not it is possible to be friends with an Englishman.” (chapter 2) The main focus of the book is the growing friendship between Aziz and Fielding across the racial divide, the brutal crisis of the Marabar disaster and the gradual estrangement that follows. In the first place, Forster admits that the establishment of personal relations on a basis of mutual confidence CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

218 British Poetry of 19th and 20th Century - II is not always sure, is that the racial question is frankly insoluble. This end of the story and particularly from the steady hardening in the outlook and mentality of Fielding himself. At least, one aspect of the problem, viz., the Hindu-Muslim relations, is sought to be solved by bringing Aziz and Godbole together in the native state. But even then, there is no union of hearts or hands between the two. From the point of view of the relationship between Englishmen and Indians, the novel ends with the temporary coming together of Fielding and Aziz only to part again because their horses took them in opposite directions. This is only a symbolical way of saying that much as they would have liked to be friends, their impulses, to thoughts and feelings pulled them apart from each other. It may seem a negative conclusion and not exactly cheerful; but that is the final impression which is left in our minds. So the title suggests a clash of two different cultures and civilizations and poses a question whether there can be friendly relations between the rulers and the ruled. The English bureaucrats looks upon the Indians from the angle of superiority. Their understanding of Indians is based on arrogance and prejudiced opinions. However, the last chapter of the book shows that two races can meet only on an equal footing. Fielding and Aziz cannot become friends as long as English are the rulers. The last journey of Mrs. Moore is very significant. She cannot leave the Indian ocean because it was she who had tried to know India and the Indians. She was the only lady who succeeded in he objective. Conclusion: Walt Whitman in his poem “Passage to India” wants the soul to take a journey to India for further advancement. The ‘passage’ that Forster explores is also a similar journey. Forster’s novel “A Passage to India” is a prophetic work in which Forster is concerned not only with the path to greater understanding of India but also with man’s quest for truth and understand about his existence on the earth. In fact, “passage” has three meanings through three successive levels of the story-political and racial tension, symbolic landscape and religious festivals. At a purely narrative level, the novel tries to build a passage between two countries which are divided not only geographically but also racially and politically. Unit can be achieved if people of both the races practice the principle of tolerance, understanding and kindness. At a deeper level, the novel builds a passage between the achievements of the west with the wisdom of India, between the physical and the spiritual. The word “passage” in fact is the fictional attempt to connect to find the key, the link between one way of life and another. Forster presents a mystical philosophy to contemplate the ultimate truth of life and universe. It may be said that the novel traces the passage undertaken by two sympathetic British ladies to “see the real India” to bridge the gap between the East and the West. The world and human life can be bettered by mutual understanding, harmony and love. Church, mosque or temple alone is not the way to salvation. The novel is, indeed, more than a passage to India— a spiritual search of one’s self and beyond. 10.6 RELIGIOUS SYMBOLISM IN THE NOVEL Introduction A careful reading of ‘A Passage to India’ reveals the subtle interconnection between Mrs. Moore and Professor Godbole themes. Not only is Mrs. Moore a character existing in her own right; CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

219 also, she is a symbol of something important in Forster’s emergent philosophy. Similarly with Professor Godbole: he is not there just to make up the Indian gallery in the novel fully representative. He serves as a symbol of Hinduism. Mrs. Moore has fine affinities with Mrs. Wilcox of the earlier ‘Howard’s End’. Both women are represented as somehow above the change of things and endowed with a perennial wisdom. They are the highest sanctions Forster can appeal to justify his interpretation of life. It is correct that in no way do they resemble his other “good” characters and in several aspects they even appear quite inferior to them. But it is they who give meaning to Forster’s categories: they are the touchstones, the sanctions, from whom all ‘goodness’ (in Forster’s sense) would appear to spring. They are the celestial fount of Virtue. Mrs. Moore’s death occurs under mystifying circumstances. She has a very strange experience in one of the Marabar Caves, the echoes of which appear to undermine her very hold on life. Nothing can be more ominous than this. We are confronted with the terrible question: is there some force or power in the world which can annihilate so sacred a thing as Mrs. Moore? For Mrs. Moore’s annihilation would mean the annihilation of the highest civilized values— in Forster’s case necessarily Western and Christian. Further, is there any source of escape for Western civilization from this plight? Presence of Evil Forster, too conscientious a thinker and writer, will not simplify the issue for us. He does straightway state what this force or power (necessarily evil) is. He even says he does not know what this Evil is, though he is sure of its presence in the world. He merely represents the Evil by the echo of the Marabar Caves. But it is significant that the echo is not confined to the caves. In Chapter 31 we find Fielding complaining about the echo. He is despairing about the worth whileness of all progress. He feels strongly that modern life is degenerating into a mere echo. However admirable the original might be, the echo can only be vile. This reflection of the Englishman is quite surprising. As a rule, he is not given to sentimentality or mysticism. And again unlike Mrs. Moore or Adela, he never had an experience of the echo in the caves. So the echo is not characteristic of the caves alone. For Forster it is a feature of all of Evil in the world, though he cannot quite identify it. He cannot identify the Evil, because of the absence in his mind, in his mental apparatus, of something vital. What is this something vital which would enable him to develop the echo and locate the Evil? Forster is determined to understand the echo, that is, the Evil in the world. From the customary frames of reference, he, like so many other contemporary artists, is unable to get any meaning into the present chaos. That is why Fielding is unable to develop his reflection on the echo. Formerly, man suffered, man struggled and Christianity gave him reasons for the suffering and even made them worthwhile. But when Christianity lost its supernatural sanctions, man floundered in a spiritual fog. His suffering and his existence (which was merely a sufferance) became meaningless. Instead of the former meaning, there was just the echo. (The essence of an echo is its dependence upon something else.) To understand and develop the echo till it achieves meaning, Forster through his Fielding looks round for other criteria, even religious ones if need be. The Islamic religion does not satisfy him. He comments in the novel that the mosque like him (Fielding) missed the meaning of the echo. So Islam is rejected. Then Forster turns to Hinduism. He is suspicious of its naked form. Like most Westerners, CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

220 British Poetry of 19th and 20th Century - II there is a notion in his mind that Hinduism and mysticism are alike. And the Western mind quickly identifies mysticism with muddle, which quite naturally it dislikes. And so difficulties crop up. But the path to a new religious faith is always difficult; and Forster patiently perseveres, and we have that magnificent Chapter 33 wholly devoted to Hinduism. It is a wonderful description of the charms and graces of the Hindu faith. Forster likes the element of gaiety and frolic inherent in the conception of the Hindu Deity, Shri Krishna. He also praises the universality of Hinduism in embracing all Creation. Christianity, on the other hand, is a little too anthropomorphic, a little too much concerned with man and sees in him the greatest of God’s creatures; salvation seems exclusively his privilege under that religion. Hinduism, on the other hand, excludes nothing from its aegis: everything (sentient or otherwise) is impelled by the spiritual forces inherent in the very conception of this religion, to its relative state of perfection. Completeness is aimed at, not reconstruction. Completeness is not some preconceived Absolute to which everything must necessarily ascend; but each develops according to its own capacities. To illustrate this concretely, Forster uses Professor Godbole. Godbole is brought to a state of ecstasy, a condition near to his completeness and his realization of the Absolute. The extreme tolerance of Hinduism, and its utter humanity is brought out in a flash by Godbole’s musings about the Englishman, the wasp and himself. We know that the old Englishwoman is none other than Mrs. Moore. We also know (and whether Godbole knows is irrelevant, and this because of the greatness of Hinduism) that Mrs. Moore is almost a superhuman being: at least that is how Forster wants us to view her. Her memory, then, endows Godbole’s experience (it is all the greater for its being a sheer chance that Godbole should think of Mrs. Moore at such a time) with a mystic finality. It also seems that Forster feels like so many before him that at the heights all religious are one, as all men are brothers and one in the eyes of God. Cardinal Point in Hinduism It also illustrates basic point in Hinduism: Godbole thinks of Mrs. Moore and the wasp, there are two things to remember. First, at almost the beginning of the book, Mrs. Moore is shown, just before retiring to bed, calling out fondly to a wasp. Second, if all creation is important, the wasp is just as important as Mrs. Moore (which it would not be in Christianity). So the evocation of Mrs. Moore and the wasp simultaneously in Godbole’s mind is far from irrelevant from the point of view of Hinduism. From the first (taking the Hindu point of view), Mrs. Moore is more than herself by virtue of her fellow-feeling for the wasp. Mrs. Moore is therefore an Oriental. This is also what Aziz says to Mrs. Moore in the mosque. From the second it follows without disparagement to either, that the Professor is more than himself by virtue of his simultaneous evocation of an English lady and a tiny wasp. From both follows the chief tenet of Hinduism: anybody becomes more than himself if he thinks of others. The message of Hinduism is- God is Love; God is all creation and created things. Therefore, in order to aspire to the condition of God, we must love all created things. We must put ourselves in the place of Shri Krishna, the Infinite Love and love all created things. Likewise, we must put ourselves in the place of all created things, and say to the Lord: “Come, Come”. The echo, i.e., Evil, therefore, although real, is the absence of Good, and absence, as Godbole tells Fielding, indicates presence, not non-existence. Therefore we are entitled to call on God to come. It is thus that Hinduism is able to explain the presence of Evil. CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

221 Mrs. Moore-Godbole Themes The significance and interconnection of the Mrs. Moore-Godbole themes can now perhaps be better understood. This interconnection, faint and unapparent at the beginning, the rapt way, for instance, in which she listens to the song about Shri Krishna, takes shape gradually, grows in outline. It emerges finally in Godbole’s moment of Heavenly rapture. Conclusion: There are three sections in the novel— ‘Mosque’, ‘Caves’ and ‘Temple’, ‘Mosque’ and ‘Temple’ are, separated by the section ‘Caves’ representing the gulf which lies between the Moslems and the Hindus in India. The Marabar Caves are associated with the idea of negation. The trip to it said to have “challenged the very spirit of the Indian Earth, which keeps men in compartments”, and ends in disaster. A rich and clear interpretation of the novel can be obtained through an analysis of the three major divisions of the novel— ‘Mosque’, ‘Caves’ and ‘Temple’ with the motifs of religion. Islam is shown as a decadent state reveling in past glory. The phrase that Mrs. Moore uses to describe Christianity little talkative Christianity seems to be Forster’s view of that religion. He chooses to use many Biblical illusions, often in an ironic manner which point up what Christianity professes but does not practice. The events of the story lead us step by step to a consideration of Hinduism. Professor Godbole its main proponent is depicted as a man of peace, a man of wisdom Fielding, however, crosses racial and national lines. 10.7 THEMES IN THE NOVEL Introduction What happens when two cultures come close and how they affect, engage or contradict each other is an important theme. The novel is quite explicit on the theme of love and goodwill and the necessity for British compassion. The theme of love and loyalty is evident in the tussle going on inside Adela and Ronny. Ronny is driven by his loyalty for the British and Adela is trying to find love for him. There is goodwill and friendship theme where Aziz and Fielding are good friends and learn to keep distance later on. On the theme of love and Goodwill and the necessity for British compassion, the novel is quite explicit, and it is not impertinent when Forster through. “One touch of regret-not the canny substitute but the true regret from the heart-would have made him a different man and the British Empire a different institution.” (Chapter 5) It is again Forster’s own voice when she says, “The desire to behave pleasantly satisfies God….. The sincere if important desire wins. His blessing….. Goodwill and more goodwill and more goodwill.” (Chapter 5) The Problem of Evil Evil is there in the world and the caves represent it in novel. While Christianity and Islam prove insufficient to remove it from the world, Hinduism is the only hope. Temple stands for conquering the prehistoric caves. Echo is the symbol of evil as it occurs and re-occurs repeatedly and increasingly- “Echoes generate echoes.” CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

222 British Poetry of 19th and 20th Century - II A critic sums up her Mr. Moore’s in these words- “She begins to wonder hesitantly whether God is a force in India; she find that the thought of God is with her more than it has ever been, but also that it has never been less satisfying.” Her mind encircles more and more on her God because he is the foundation and centre of her entire world view, but she’s less and less comforted because she is falling victim to cultural relativism. She is unable to accept a way of life so totally different from her own, so strangely foreign in its most assumptions….” Forster tries to highlight in the novel Hinduism while believing in inclusiveness and love for all can redeem mankind of evil which has to go into the caves. At the birth of Krishna, there is all round atmosphere of love and joy which even if short-lived, leaves its mark on the human heart. This is India’s message or oriental message. It is not just ‘muddle’, but ‘confusion and muddle,’ beauty and ugliness and even uncleanliness are all acceptable to Hinduism or to Indians. After all, human beings are not alone in the scheme of God. They spoke the same language, and held the same opinions, and the variety of age and sex did not divide them. Yet they were dissatisfied. When they agreed, ‘I want to go on living a bit’, or ‘I don’t believed in God’, the words were followed by a curious backwash as though the universe had displaced itself to fill up a tiny void. They had seen their own gestures from an immense height- dwarfs talking shaking hands and assuring each-other that they stood on the same footing of insight.” Aziz-Fielding Relationship Orientalism versus Occidentalism is a central focus in the novel. Forster shows a cultural clash happening in India where the British are trying to rule India. Aziz represents the oriental, Fielding the Western. But try hard to come closer and develop a real friendship, but they fail as neither the earth nor the sky wanted it. Aziz is a highly emotional man, but Fielding is a rational human being. Thus, they represent two separate cultures which refused to come closer, at least they are not ready to join hands in friendship for the present. Forster has tried to provide deep insight into various relationships at personal level— among them— Aziz-Fielding relationship,Aziz-Mrs. Moore, Aziz-Adela relationship etc. But quite impressive and even queer is the Fielding-Adela relationship. “Everything echoes now; there is no stopping the echo. The originals round may be harmless but the echo is always evil,” says Mr. Fielding who is normally rational as he is eager to present the western view-point. We need to examine Fielding’s words about Adela- “She was no longer examining life, but being examined by it-she had become a real person.” Fielding and Adela As Fielding and Adela develop a sort of liking for each-other, we have the authorial comments- “Both man and woman were at the height of their powers- sensible, honest, even subtle.” This, however, does not mean all-embracing comprehensibility had a rapport replete with the essence of understanding. “It is as if I ran my finger along that polished walls in the dark and cannot be further. I am up against something and so are you.” CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

223 Forster wants to maintain that all human (or personal) relationships are limited in essence, and there is always a limit beyond which they cannot go- “Worlds beyond which they could never touch, or did all that is possible enter their consciousness?” Godbole-Mrs. Moore Relationship : Good and Evil are Present On the surface of it, it would look odd to find a relationship between them. But both have something common, though they differ also. For instance, the caves communicate the following terrifying message to Mrs. Moore- “Pathos, piety, courage, the exist, but are identical and so is faith. Everything exists, nothing has value. It one had spoken vileness in that place, or quoted lofty poetry, the comment would have been the same-boum-Devils are of the North, and poems can be written about them, but no one could romanticize the Marabar because it robbed infinity and eternity of their vastness, the only quality that accommodates them to mankind.” (Chapter 14) As far as Godbole is concerned he finds no evil in the caves. In any case, good and evil live on equal planes for him. Both these characters believe in goodness and love and have divine faith. Godbole is a Brahmin Hindu and Mrs. Moore, though an English lady, is an “oriental”. Godbole sees in his vision both Mrs. Moore and the “little, little wasp” whom Mrs. Moore says, “Pretty dear” when she finds it sitting on the tip of a peg. Thus, they become identical in the ultimate realization of love which alone can solve the riddle of banishing evil from the world. Forster thus says about Godbole when he is there to celebrate Janmashtami in the town in Man: “Some hundreds of miles, westward of the Marabar Hills, and two years later in time, Professor Narayan Godbole stands in the presence of God.” Pointing out one fundamental difference between the outlook of the Indian and the English old woman, Forster says, “Godbole, unlike Mrs. Moore, requires no belief that God can come to him … To Godbole, union with God is always a desire, not a reality.” Godbole believes in mysteries, but Mrs. Moore does not dislike “muddle”. She says, I like mysteries but I rather dislike muddle. The Fielding rationalize or clinches the issue.” The subtle world has innumerable species (most of them ugly) and man is only a small part of scheme. However, Robert Langbaum has his own views when he says- “Thus the metaphysical adequacy of Hinduism, especially for the modern scientific view of the world, the fact than Hinduism operate way beyond good or evil, order and disorder, exclusiveness and inclusiveness, makes it for all practical purposes the most inadequate of the three cultures (Hindu, Muslim, Christian). Neither Forster nor his hero, Fielding, can finally accept it-though they see that it takes into a account more of reality than ‘poor talkative Christianity’ with its attempt to draw on ethical and rationalistic pattern from the most recent history of only one species, may in the vest round of animate and inanimate nature.” (The Modern Spirit, Oxford University Press, 1970). In this connection, Frederick C. Crews’ views are also worth-noting- “A Passage to India then, is a novel in which two levels of truth, the human and the divine, are simultaneously explored, never very successfully. Epistemological conclusions are reached, but they are all negative ones. Christian righteousness, we discover, helps us to misconstrue both God and CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

224 British Poetry of 19th and 20th Century - II man: Moslem love can scarcely reach beyond the individual personality; rational skepticism is willfully arid; and the Hindu ideal of oneness, though it does take notice of the totality of things, abolishes the intellectual sanity that makes life endurable to the western mind. The inescapable point of this demonstration way. It is a point that Forster dwelt upon at some length in his earlier novels, but always with a note of smugness; there was always the facile warnings that we should restrict our interest to the world that we know. Love and Goodness The theme of love and goodness comes to us in an indirect way in the feelings and utterances of certain characters: (i) She (Mrs. Moore) felt increasingly (vision or nightmare) that though people are important the relations between them are not, and that in particular too much fuss has been made over marriage; centuries of carnal embracement, yet man is no nearer to understanding man.” (ii) There is clear-cut Forster’s own viewpoint, when Mrs. Cryil Fielding says- “the world… is a globe of men who are trying to reach one-another and can best do so by the help of goodwill plus culture and intelligence.” (iii) Fielding’s fundamental goodwill is clear from the following authorial comments about him: “He saw that something had gone wrong, and equally that it had come right, but he didn’t fidget, being optimist where personal relations were concerned, and their talk rattled on as before.” Hamidullah says to Aziz- “Accept the consequences of your own actions like a man.” This is Aziz’s replay: “There are many ways of being a man; mine is to express what is deepest in my heart.” It is clear that Aziz’s goodness of heart is a point worth-making and the author is probably eager to bring him to the reader that- “He was sensitive rather than responsive. In every remark he found a meaning, but not always the true meaning, and his life though vivid was largely a dream.” According to Glen O. Allen, “The three part division of novel adumbrates three attitudes towards life-the path of activity, the path of knowledge, and the path of devolution. It is Forster’s triumph, he shows to weld these diverse paths together through delicate use of symbolic motifs so that they form a total satisfying, if mystifying pattern of life and art.” Janes Mc Conkey opines that “though such a pattern undoubtedly is a contributing factor in the expansion of A Passage to India it is not the major cause. The major factor in the expansion lies in the fact that, for the first time, Forster has realized that his two commitments- one of the world of human reality, the other to the mid-point between that reality and the transcendent reality beyond— can never be brought fully and satisfactorily together. Fielding and Godbole are separate and must remain so. Fielding’s clarity of reason, his desire to achieve brotherhood among men, his acceptance of the physical world as “reality”: these are not only desirable qualities, but necessary ones. Granted the contemporary condition as Forster describes it, the way of Godbole is the only possible way: love, even though to exist it must maintain a detachment from the physical world and human relationships, offers the single upward path from the land of sterility and echoing evil. And Godbole, CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

225 more than any other character in the novels, is as we have seen, the Forsterian voice itself. This is what Godbole (largely Forster’s mouthpiece) says in Chapter 19: “Good and evil are different as their names imply. But it my own humble opinion they are both of them aspects of my Lord. He is present in one, absent in the other and the difference between presence and absence is great…. Yet absence implies presence, absence, is not non-existence, and we are therefore entitled to repeat, “Come, come, come.” In A Passage to India however, Forster’s characters are given no choice; if they are to understand themselves and one-another they must grapple with metaphysics. They do their best, but it is very little— not because they are exceptionally weak, but simply because they are human. Forster implies that we ourselves, his readers, are equally blocked off from meaning, we cannot fall back on reason and the visible world, for we see how these are falsely coloured by personality. Even if we could, we ought not seek Mr. Moore’s “dignified and simple’ identification with the universe, for this is annihilism in disguise. Theme of Separateness: Theme of separateness is quite prominent in the novel. It exists not only between the Indians and the English but also between the Hindus and the Muslims. Hindu and Muslim cannot really approach each other. Some Muslims are very violent. According to Forster separateness is inherent in the Indian soil. Thus Aziz and Fieldling in spite of their best efforts cannot remain together for ever. There is a theme of separation of Indian and the English as the English cannot in hands Join friendship. Aziz and Fielding part ways for each. Conclusion: Forster’s novel “A Passage to India” provides an exposure of the evils of the British rule in India. Its degrading effects had on the rulers and the ruled. The imperialistic prejudice produced a rigid system in which humanity was divided. The Anglo-Indians acted as a heard. Genuine friendship is shown to be partially possible between the rulers and the ruled. However the theme of personal relations is emphasized as between Fielding and Mrs. Moore. There develops a warm bond of understanding between Mrs. Moore and Dr. Aziz which survives many strains. Forster shows goodwill and spontaneity bridge the gulfs between the people of different races. But the novelist also shows that there are problems of separation and unity, affirmation and negation which should be tackled at a deeper level. There are occasional glimpses of harmony in the novel. Suggestions of harmony and union are found throughout the novel. Story from ‘Mosque’ to ‘Caves’ indicates the possibility of a resolution of all hurdles in the Divine Love The novelist tries to explore the barriers between man and man, and between man and the world he lives in. The characters who are submitted to the negating mess of the caves also pass through the liberating mess of the Temple. 10.8 CHARACTERIZATION IN THE NOVEL Introduction E.M. Forster has shown his mastery in the art of character portrayal in the novel. The novel contains a gallery of characters who are very much life-like and real. There are a variety of characters such as English, Indians Hindus, Muslim, men and women of different races. Every great novel has great characters, and “A Passage to India” contains quite a few memorable CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

226 British Poetry of 19th and 20th Century - II portraits. Each one of them exists in his or her own right except perhaps Miss Adela Quested, who, it must be confessed, begins promisingly but after the trial, fades of into insignificance and insanity. She derives her importance solely due to the stresses and strains she imposes on the Aziz-Fielding relationship. Once this duty is performed— and how well she performs it!— she makes her exist from the book as quietly as she entered it. But the remaining characters cannot be dismissed so lightly. Fielding To start with the portrait of Fielding. This is in every way successful as also in a few ways altogether unexpected. It is obvious that Fielding is very close to the author, holding a number of the author’s views on controversial subjects. He is an agnostic, a liberal at the fag-end of the Victorian liberal era, cynical as to sexual morality with however a belief in the value of the individual. The portrait is convincing in many particulars, but towards the end of the book we are jolted from our notions of probability by Fielding’s marriage to Stella. We are totally unprepared for it and also, the author, in all hints that he has furnished us about Fielding, has encouraged a belief that Fielding was a complete cynic as regards marriage’. Aziz and Fielding The inconsistency is clearly due to Forster’s anxiety to reconcile Aziz and Fielding, for it must be held as certain that Fielding’s marriage to a daughter of Mrs. Moore had a very strong effect on the pliable Aziz. The unfortunate thing here is that the problem of the plot thus solved (with Fielding’s marriage to Stella and his consequent reconciliation to Aziz) Forster resumes his original portrait of Fielding by making the Englishman say that he does not understand what his wife is after. Forster may plead honesty and integrity in his Fielding, but Love is as exiguous here as in Ronny’s case. Aziz, too, is not always convincing. There appears something a trifle fatuous about a young Muslim doctor employed in an English hospital being so leisurely in his attitude to life that he can take Islam so seriously as to write poetry about it, not one line of which is given to us throughout the book! The funny thing is that Aziz is an advanced, English-educated Muslim, quite critical (though not consistently) of the purdah and such other traditional practices. What poetry such a man can write about the decay of Islam, it is difficult to apprehend, yet his portrait is one of the glories of the book. Adela Quested’s portrait is perhaps the most convincing of all if the least spectacular. She is a young sexless prig with a scientific mind and a matter-of-fact lover. There is only one difference between her and Fielding and that is, he is a man and she is a woman. But, were she a man, she would be even less successful in life than Fielding. It Fielding were a woman, he would make a fine wife and a capital mother. Perhaps we may sum up Miss Quested by saying that it is impossible to imagine her as a mother. For all her correctness there is something terribly unnatural about her as if Nature had wanted to make a man and changed her mind at the last instant. Mrs. Moore She is Ronny Heaslop’s mother and sharply different from her son who is bred to be a British official. She has come to India with her future daughter-in-law Adela Quested. A kind and noble lady who has come to see the real India and feels suffocated among the British. She comes across CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

227 Dr. Aziz and finds his company comfortable. Mrs. Moore enters next, like some great dignitary, perhaps the Queen of some vast Empire in some far-off remote planet, gracious and sweeping in her approach. She does not belong to us, and even the author is awe-struck in her presence. If Forster is remembered by coming generations it will be for being her creator. Godbole Godbole, the Hindu Professor, has been something of a puzzle. He is convincing, all right, and his function is unmistakable, but the doubt will assail any careful reader whether in chapter 19 the Professor is simply and straightforwardly portrayed (and it is here that he makes his longest appearance) or mercilessly satirised and exposed. It is difficult to see through the authors’ intention, but whatever that is, it certainly is not free from ambiguity and equivocation. In that chapter it is as if Forster suddenly wanted to expound his suppressed Hindu philosophy and finding old Godbole around, decided to make that crony his mouthpiece. (Forster manages to make even the formidable Mrs. Moore a mouthpiece for some of his ethical philosophy but that is only after he has succeeded in annihilating her original personality. Indeed in these portions Mrs. Moore gives the impression of being in a trance and speaking as a medium.) Among the other characters, Ronny is convincing in the beginning but suddenly he loses his outline and gradually fades away. Turton, the Collector, is not bad, but the portraits of Major Callendar and Superintendent McBryde are clearly the products of preconception and bias. Indeed these are not so much portraits as caricatures of types. Forster writes as if almost every Englishman was like Callendar or McBryde, but surely that is wrong. It is probable that, shocked by the incivilities and arrogance of which he was very likely a witness, Forster is exaggerating the vices of Englishmen in India and openly ignoring their possible virtues. Turton alone is dealth with considerately. Conclusion: Characterisation is convincing and sometimes spectacular. There is great variety and farious purposes. An instance is the use Forster makes of Dr. Panna Lal. No racial thesis gets illustrated in the process of the Hindu doctor’s humiliation; simply, a fundamental and basic trait of human nature: its essential shamelessness. Had Forster been less interested in human beings, his episode might have been side-tracked here and the episode might never have found a place in the story. But, as it is, Forster is more interested in the eternal traits of his Panna Lals and less in their idiosyncrasies, and the episode finds its place in the novel to add to our delight and merriment at the exposure of the weakness of such time-serves. 10.9 FORSTER’S PHILOSOPHY OF LIFE IN THE NOVEL Introduction Forster’s writing especially his early writings, have always revealed a very sublime faith in humanism. The humanitarian ideal has always Been prominent. Its opposites have been strongly satirized. But this humanitarian feeling shows a somewhat steady decline down the years. In “A Passage to India” it appears that Forster has lost his faith in human relationships as the universal panacea. He still has some love for human beings, though it is rather thin and combined with a good- CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

228 British Poetry of 19th and 20th Century - II humoured distrust. His love for human beings is shaken though not lost. His Fielding in “A Passage to India” is a case in point. Here is a man who is sensible, good- natured and clear-eyed on all fundamental issues. But a capacity for emotion or intimancy with another human being, he finds it difficult to attain. His affection for Aziz, though striking, does not stand the strain of misunderstanding. It is his relationship with Miss Quested that is the real test case. He understands her and respects her also to some extent. But he cannot sympathise with her or feel esteem for her, much less affection. He calls her ‘a prig’; and thus almost exposes himself to the charge of being either supercilious or cynical. The truth is that he views men and women against a background of immense blanks represented by the past and future with the result that human life is reduced to insignificant proportions. This merely shows that Forster believes that goodness and kindness have limits. It also points to the essential loneliness and isolation of the individual soul. It may mean that goodness and fondness have limits. The humanitarian feeling has shown a declining trend with the passage of time. We may therefore say that the sense of life that “A Passage to India” conveys is somewhat prosaic. Forster appears to say, “Oh yes, it is all very difficult. There are no easy short-cuts, let us try and be sensible and unsentimental. Above all let us be honest, and one day things will be bit better no doubt” if Forster believed in virtues, but had no faith in the practice of them. The truth is that in his determination to avoid any kind of humbug, Forster tends to underplay just those things in life which give rise to humbug. For instance, human love and its attendant states are quite frankly exaggerated by poets and novelists alike. Forster does not like this, or at any rate he came to dislike it by the time he began to write “A Passage to India”. So he writes of Miss Quested in Chapter 14, that though she was Heaslop (both of which should have rendered every instant sublime), she was particularly vexed and unhappy. It is true that Miss Quested is not an ideal woman nor is her love for Ronny of the most impassioned variety, but still Forster appears to be generalizing here. His comments are not be taken as directed only at Miss Quested’s somewhat colourless personality. His tentativeness, then, in accepting anything whole-heartedly may lead some to think that some chill had got into his affections, but this in fact is not so. The ‘perhapses’ that lie at the core of his novels, do not spring from uncertainty or timidity, for he is a writer of scrupulous intelligence and abiding insights. He is never afraid of the big issues or the difficult ones and he scorns comfortable commonplaces. His very lack of dogmatism and a priori statement gives him his strength and his place among the enduring novelists of English literature. Forster conveys a disillusionment and a scepticism about the value of imperial rule in India. He recognizes its corrupting influence on the governors and the governed. “Only connect” might be the motto his work. He shares Moore’s belief of that “personal affection and aesthetic enjoyments include all the greatest and by far the greatest goods we can imagine.” Forster supports a morality of private life. Personal relationships for Forster were a fundamental human value. From them, he deduced the general need for tolerance and goo temper any sympathy. He knew very well that these three qualities were very often ineffectual, but they are “what matters really and if the human race is not to collapse, they must come to the front before long.” Their admitted inadequacy in the face of force and violence did not sap his conviction that these virtues are real and that force and violence are evil. Civilisation can be defined as “intervals of history when force and violence have not prevailed. Intervals when all great creative actions and all decent human relations tend to occur.” CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

229 Conclusion: Lord Cecil is of the view that like Fielding and Adela, Forster himself lacks the visionary apparatus for judging. Forster presents Fielding’s liberal agnostic humanitarian philosophy as a good one but equally he seems to suggest that there are dimensions of experience, problems or mysteries of evil or negation symbolized by the Caves. The Caves symbolize a spiritual vacuum which means absence of love. This idea is reorchestrated in “The Temple” section. A strange echo is heard in the Caves, a constant monotonous sound described as “boum”. The echo lingers in the minds of several characters. The sound seems to represent a level of sameness and uniformity in the cosmos that ultimately obliterates all meaning to human life. Mrs. Moore’s yearning to make connection with Indians is destroyed in Marabar. However, ideological, cultural and racial relations arising from the contact of two different peoples are also implied in the novel. 10.10 CHARACTER SKETCH OF FIELDING Introduction An understanding of Fielding’s character is important for more than one reason. He is a simple but extraordinary character. He is an important deviation from the common Britishers in the novel. He does not possess ugly mindset. He is sympathetic towards the natives. He knows and understands them and their emotions. He is introduced as a learned man of reserved nature. It tells us not only something about the essential characteristics of the man Fielding, but also what Forster thinks should characterize every other man. Had Fielding been born in ancient Greece he might have been a rambling philosopher, had he been born in China centuries ago he might have been something like Confucius preaching the doctrine of sanity and wise living. But as it is, he is an Englishman of the twentieth century in India, urbane, helpful, agnostic and with no particular illusions about life. At the beginning of the novel he is a bachelor in the middle forties, the Principal of the Government College at Chandrapore, with few friends and no enemies. At the end of the book he is still In the middle forties, still in the Educational service, but married, with fewer illusions about life, fewer friends and some enemies. Fielding’s character is pivotal to the very plot of the novel because it is he who sets in motion the whole action which begins with the party that he gives, goes through the incident of the Marabar Caves, and the fever-pitched trail, re-enters the tunnels uncertainly, and finally emerges into the serene and tranquil phase where all bitterness is forgotten and only the golden essence of friendship remains. At Collectors’ Party We meet him first at the Collector’s party where he distinguishes himself by his cordiality towards the Indian guests. He fraternizes with them so naturally and simply that he wins golden opinions from all of them. It is in the course of that evening that he invites Mrs. Moore and Miss Quested to tea promising to introduce them to some interesting Indians. The ladies are immensely pleased, the more so as they did not approve of the supercilious way in which the Englishmen and women treated the Indian guests at the official party. His rhetoric strikes at the root of evil— the British mindset from which all the problem emanates. We thus come to the party that Fielding gives to his select Indian and English friends. It is a CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

230 British Poetry of 19th and 20th Century - II contrast to the dismal affair at the Collector’s. This one is distinguished by the informality and graceful affability of Fielding himself. To start with, Aziz arrives too early when Fielding is just getting dressed. Aziz is a little embarrassed, but the embarrassment is soon forgotten in the quickening warmth of Fielding’s geniality. The two soon become fast friends. Later Fielding goes out of his way to reissue the invitation to Miss Adela Quested and Mrs. Moore on Aziz’s behalf and also secures official permission for Aziz from his boss Major Callendar to be away for half a day. It Aziz felt grateful for all these little obligations, it is as nothing compared to the bold and heroic stand that Fielding takes on his side in the hour of his great ordeal. Fielding and Aziz Instinctively and in the teeth of seemingly overwhelming evidence, Fielding asserts Aziz’s innocence and incurs social ostracism and calculated insult. The blustering falsities of McBryde, the swaggering bellicosities of the Callendars and all the other crude and revolting manifestations of the herd instinct of the English, make on impression on him. He does not hate Miss Quested but tries to understand her. He reconsiders the whole case in detail, step by step, searches for clues patiently, ascribes various causes, suggests many hypotheses, and finally allows himself to be convinced that Miss Quested is to be fully forgiven. It is In trying to communicate this piece of knowledge that his friendship with Aziz suffers a strain before being restored in the closing pages of the novel. Though he is urbane, Fielding can be impulsive on occasion. He does not like Miss Quested at first and thinks she is a prig; he does not like Ronny Heaslop because Ronny has no sense of delicacy; and he is completely indifferent to the Callendars, the Turtons and truly the whole English tribe that congregates at clubs, sits in conferences, decides on important points and comes to definite conclusions. As a Humanist Fielding is a humanist. Though he has no faith in God he believes in the values of life. Only, his faith in the value of permanent relationships with the other sex is shaken, because he had been jilted by a woman he loved. The result is that while he likes or dislikes individual women, he becomes suspicious of them when they become wives. For instance, although he loves Stella and is quite sure of her fidelity, he is unsure of her in a vague intellectual way. He feels that he and she belong to different orders of being with no link except that of husband and wife. Again, Fielding is not an ascetic. He confesses to Aziz (it is to Aziz that he makes most of his confidences though he dislikes confidences as a general rule) that he is not, nor ever has been, seriously bothered about moral scruples. But this is only in theory, for we are assured that he does love his wife and his child. Fielding is unconventional. Being receptive to life, he lets himself into every sort of situation and since each situation will appear different to an intelligent man, Fielding’s reactions are always different and variable. In the vital issues of life and conduct, he does not allow himself to be bullied into the dominant practices of the herd. Fielding is unashamedly an individualist with little love for abstractions or tiresome nostrums. Conclusion: Fielding is the pivot of the novel as the whole novel revolves around him. He understands the pain of the natives of all the characters in the novel, he is clearly the most associated with Forster himself. He is a liberal humanist. Forster and Fielding treat the world as a group of CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

231 individuals who can connect through mutual respect, courtesy and intelligence. He has no patience for the racial categorization that is so central to the English grip on India. He honours his friendship with Aziz over any alliance with members of his own race. He does not believe in marriage but favours friendship. However, his character changes in the aftermath of Aziz’s trail. Fielding becomes less likable in his acme of identification. But he is a strong character and it shows at the time of the trail of Dr. Aziz. He likes Aziz and his friendly nature but feels pathetic to see Indians acting in a childish and irresponsible manner. He is sure of Aziz’s innocence because he knows of Aziz’s true nature and that he is no fiend. 10.11 CHARACTER OF DR. AZIZ Introduction If we compare “A Passage to India” to the human body, Fielding would be represented by the head, Mrs. Moore by the spinal cord and Aziz by the heart. He is one of the central characters in the novel. He is an affable character. It is Aziz who vitalizes the whole action in the plot. In fact the whole story can be told in terms of the sequence of his emotions. For his emotions, unlike the emotions of certain other people are not shut up. They seek outlets in action or impulsive speech. These have sometimes good consequences and sometimes bad consequences, although the nature of the consequences has hardly any determinable relation to the nature of the emotion. For example, early in the novel, Aziz rudely asks Mrs. Moore if she has her shoes on. Partly owing to Mrs. Moore’s great personality but mainly owing to Aziz’s own nature, this meeting which starts so inauspiciously blooms into a great friendship which shapes the main turns in the plot. Miss Rose Macaulay says of Aziz. “Restless, friendly, volatile, vain, he (Aziz) darts emotionally about, like an affectionate and self-conscious peacock, happy in talking with his friends, resentfully sensitive to English snubs, fixing his affection on any new friend who will sympathise with him, pouring out his grievances, his affairs, passionately, racially patriotic, lavishly hospitable, generous to his friends and to his guests, vulgarly insulting when angry, often a bounder shocking Fielding by his common and unchivalrous taunts, pleasing him by his confidences.” This description of Aziz’s temperament must give us some idea of the life that he habitually led, as also of the nature of his relationships with people. And Aziz is just the sum total of his relationships with various people. These relationships determine him in a complete degree, and set him before us as a very likable man in spite of his loudness and vulgarity. Relationship with Fielding At first sight it appears as if Aziz had contributed the greater share of the friendship. But at critical turns, it is Fielding who remains steadfast in his faith in Aziz, it is Fielding who is the constant factor, the king-pin of the friendship. As an example, we may take Fielding’s first invitation to Aziz to tea, the latter’s ill-mannered indifference and the former’s renewed request a month later, worded without even the semblance of a rebuke for Aziz’s earlier lapse. But once thus cornered and his shyness or distrust overcome, Aziz takes charge and becomes lively and amusing. He is full of talk and he even becomes jealously possessive of the friend. Clearly, then, Aziz holds the dominant CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

232 British Poetry of 19th and 20th Century - II position with Fielding, though now and again the position is reversed and Fielding dictates. Then at what seems the very peak of their friendship, that ugly monster jealousy stalks in and the clear blue sky of their friendship becomes overcast. When Fielding presses him to drop his claim for damages against Adela, Aziz comes to suspect the Englishman’s bona fides. He too readily accepts Hamidullah’s story that Adela was Fielding’s mistress during her stay in the Principal’s bungalow. And he never confronts Fielding with his suspicions. Thus he allows a wound to be inflicted on their mutual friendship, and to the last this wound never heals absolutely. Aziz’s friendship for the Englishman cannot be said to he deep- rooted. Aziz and Mrs. Moore On an entirely different footing stands the relationship between Aziz and Mrs. Moore. No single word, or definition can sum up this enigmatic relationship. Like a globule of mercury, it is dazzling to view but almost impossible to seize. We know that Mrs. Moore and Aziz met fleetingly at a mosque, talked a little, and parted, met again at a party, and met for the last time on the Marabar expedition when for most of the time they were not together. These are the all too prosaic facts, but what are facts in the spiritual sphere of friendship and love? It is more than friendship, more than love it borders on religion. Aziz worships Mrs. Moore, purely, altruistically, for the sake of no material gain or delusive expediency. He worships her as a poet should, without claims, without flattery and with an incurable pang in his unfeigned rapture. She cannot do a thing that can displease him. It does not even enter Aziz’s head that his goddess has deserted him in his hour of trial and shameful ignominy. Indeed we are made to feel, as Aziz perhaps does feel and Adela presumably, that the invisible presence of Mrs. Moore broods over the whole turbulent trial of Aziz. That strange Presence guards her devotee from harm and indeed purges the evil and wrong mysteriously away to the eternal discredit of Aziz’s foes. And if at the end of the novel we are sure of one impression, it is the rescue of Aziz by his goddess Mrs. Moore when things for the young Muslim look desperate and hopeless. Poetic Nature Aziz is not only a lover and a mystic but also a poet. Poetry is as natural an activity of his soul as singing is to the nightingale. He is a philosophical poet, for his themes are Religion and Love (for love is another religion). He poetises on the decay of Islam and the brevity of love. His own Islamic devotion is hurt by scepticism and critical awareness of changes brought about by the advance of civilization. For instance, he does propaganda for the abandonment of an age-old Muslim custom, the purdah, though on an earlier occasion he defends it for sentimental reasons! The same may be said of his love for his dead wife, which is indeed so brief that early in the novel we are told that he contemplates visiting a brothel in Calcutta. Later on he eventually marries a second time. Quite frankly his love, like Fielding’s, seems a little too strongly tinged with animality which, however, does not make it any the less sincere. Aziz is a doctor almost by accident. Neither the author nor Aziz himself seems unduly bothered about his professional aspect which is just a detail thrown in to set the man before our eyes. Indeed at Mau if, as we are told, Aziz dropped inoculation and let his instruments rust, how much of the doctor, we wonder, could have remained in him? CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

233 Politically Conscious Person Politically he is very self-conscious, the spirit of young, forward Muslim India. He is very Muslim, very un-Hindu (witness his insensitiveness to the Hindu festival at Mau) and definitely anti- British. He is often exposed to snubs from the English and these embitter his soul. He does not mind India under an Afghan domination, instead of under the English Raj. The last part of the novel in fact ends with a heated discussion between him and Fielding over the vexed subject of Anglo-Indian amity. The discussion ends with Aziz affirming political unity and political freedom at the expense of a great personal relationship, though the reader senses a faint fatuity about the whole business. The author for once appears to have lost his hold in thus transforming a very personal Aziz into an impersonal unit of another impersonal fictitious unit, Free India. The Aziz of the last pages is the pale ghost of a once enchanting man, a fragment, let us say, of future fractional India. Conclusion: There are a few things respectable about Aziz like his love and reverence for his religion, admiration for art and poetry respect for Mrs. Moore, trust in Fielding and his longing for his deceased wife. But we love him in spite of his defects. He is in many ways child-like and in many ways mature. We cannot forget to pay a passing tribute to his magnificent gesture in not pressing his suit for damages against Miss Quested. 10.12 CHARACTER OF MRS. MOORE Introduction Mrs. Moore, endowed by nature with an understanding heart is steeped in Christian tradition. She is Ronny Heaslop’s mother and sharply different from her son who is bred to be a British official. Ralph and Stella are also her kids. The personality of Mrs. Moore is wrapped in mystery. She is inscrutable, baffling and enigmatic. For a while, in the early parts of the novel she maintains a cheery exterior and her actions are explicable, but after the visit to the Marabar Caves and her experience there, her whole personality is transformed. It is like passing through a vast sunny plain suddenly into a long unending tunnel. Only there is no re-emergence from the dark tunnel. For Mrs. Moore it is a one-way passage. Qualities of Mrs. Moore It is impossible to ignore Mrs. Moore. She has a compelling charm which later becomes pervasive. She is nowhere and everywhere. Even Forster does not see very clearly about her though he invests her with every kind of charm and mystery. She is something more than the sum of her individual qualities. Mrs. Moore is something more than herself and hence arises her mystery. The very first appearance she makes in the novel is in the mosque where she meets and talks with Aziz. The ensuing conversation reveals several aspects of her character. First is her natural poise and fellow feeling. These qualities, good in themselves, are combined with a curious unsentimentality. She does not appear very friendly at first and her remarks are somewhat oracular and cryptical. But once her feelings are involved, she becomes genuinely friendly and understanding. But her understanding does not move in the way it moves with other peoples; it is not logical or CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

234 British Poetry of 19th and 20th Century - II schematic. It is almost intuitive. She seems to have a mystic power of seeing into things, a power which Adela clumsily describes as telepathic. She is deep and simple. After Visit to Marabar Caves But after her trip to the Marabar Caves complications set in. She enters the first of the caves, feels uncomfortable physically, rushes out, subsides into her desk-chair and for a while appears all right. Then the trouble starts. Mrs. Moore feels unhealthy at the Marabar Caves. Everything around her starts shaking and life feels hollow. She feels even more lost after Aziz’s arrest and suggests Adela that Aziz is a simple and honest person. Attempting a letter to her children in England she finds the task quite impossible. For now the echo she heard in the caves begins to recur to her troubled mind and thoroughly unsettles her. Suddenly she appears to lose her grip on life. Her trouble in intellectual terms may be put as follows: Christianity had hitherto offered to her a scheme of life, a pattern of living, a means to salvation, and she had uncritically accepted it. Her religion gave her a criterion for good and bad. But now the barren echo of the cave appeared to challenge her conception of good and bad. It seemed to deny the distinction between the two. So far Mrs. Moore had been used to the world in terms of her Christianity, but now that she has lost the sanction for her customary usage, her faith in life is undermined. After the Marabar expedition Mrs. Moore becomes totally incomprehensible. It is ridiculous to call her just cynical and apathetic for there are just symptoms of a higher malady. But it is the cynicism and the apathy that affects the lives to those around her. She has not kind word for Adela or Ronny; all we know is that she is vexed and unwell and anxious to get back to England. Her mood throughout the critical part of the book is unexplained. Her behaviour fits in with no preconceptions we may have about life on the people in it. It has the awkward unexpectedness of an irrelevance. She is bored and tired, only fit to play patience, and go home in the heat; and not even fit for that, as she dies on her voyage. So she sails for England without a word for Aziz. It certainly seems unlike her great and gracious ways to go on her journey, cryptic, reticent, bored, throwing Aziz to the mercy of English tyrants, Adela into confusion and Ronny into an irritated perplexity. Spirit of Mrs. Moore But even in death her spirit survives. Her name is changed outside the court room with a religious intonation. And we can feel her spirit at work when Miss Quested gives evidence, all in a trance, before a hushed audience and a perplexed Judge. Adela retracts her earlier version and Aziz is made a free man. The shrines and tombs which the inhabitants of Chandrapore build in memory of Mrs. Moore may be the outward forms but she remains for ever enshrined in the hearts of Adela, Fielding and Aziz. Nothing of any significance that happens afterwards in the novel is unconnected with her memory. The character of Mrs. Moore, then, is full of significance. She is the greatest among Forster’s superb elderly ladies. If there is an element of mistiness in her, Forster is to blame. It is as if knowing her immense possibilities, Forster confronted her with an experience which he himself as a liberal agnostic had failed to understand. The experiment is fatal to Mrs. Moore what turn the novel would have taken had Mrs. Moore sensed the calamity, it is quite impossible to say. Probably Mrs. Moore had to die for the novel to survive. Anyway before she leaves the novel physically, Mrs. Moore achieves much. She brings people together, and through her annihilating vision in the caves, outlines CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

235 and dark passage that links Hindusim with Christianity. If she had regained her old self and found tongue to articulate her mystic experience, she might have achieved the impossible. But as it is, the effect is too much for her, and she goes down, a great and sad failure, with the secrets of infinity locked in her gentle bosom. Conclusion: She leaves this world in the middle of the novel but her presence is felt strongly towards the end in the third part ‘Temple’. In Mau, she again enters the story. She remains a binding force for Aziz, Fielding and three other friends including Godbole. She has kept their hearts light and in Fielding’s life, Stella’s presence marks a pleasant and stable chage. One recognizes the value of her character at the end. She enjoys good reputation among the natives and better relationship with Aziz than Adela. 10.13 CHARACTER OF MISS QUESTED Introduction Forster’s “A Passage to India” is a somewhat unusual novel inasmuch as it has not got the conventional hero and heroine to support its plot. At first, it looks as if Miss Adela Quested is intended for the role of the heroine. But as the story unfolds itself, we realize that she cannot be the heroine. For one thing, she fades out of the story before it reaches its conclusion. We must thus realize that she is intended to be only one of the important characters in the novel. She is betrothed to Ronny and has come to India for her marriage. She wants to see and know India. She is with Mrs. Moore who is worried, about her son’s marriage. However, Adela’s curiosity gives rise to difficulties for both her and others. Arrival in India She arrives in India in the company of Mrs. Moore. The object of her visit is to cultivate the company of Ronny Heaslop with a view to marrying him. But she has none of the endowments and attractions of a bride-to-be, except her youth and her sanguine, amiable temperament. Forster makes her plain, prosaic and unattractive. Since Ronny is deeply immersed in the responsibilities of his official position he has neither the time nor the inclination to luxuriate in love. So also Quested is of the earnest, inquiring and improving sort who wants to understand the significance of life and to play her part in it according to the highest ideals which she can see before herself. Her motive in coming out to India was partly the desire to know all about the people and to be of some service to them in their progress and advancement. She views her prospective marriage to Ronny as giving her an opportunity to study the Indians and help them from an advantageous and influential situation. All her preliminary ideas are, however, tentative; for, when she is asked whether she would live in India, she replies that it is unlikely, although we know that she has come out to marry Ronny. This is one of the instances of prophetic irony, since she has to go back to England without fulfilling her first aim. Her Qualities Her simplicity, enthusiasm and candour are very appealing, and Mr. Turton is induced by her eagerness to give a party to enable her to meet Indian ladies and gentleman. But the party proves a CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

236 British Poetry of 19th and 20th Century - II failure, since the right attitude is lacking among the English. It is also perhaps the intention of the novelist to make gentle fun of her, since her desire to know India and Indians is nothing more than a kind of idle curiosity. Nor is the progress of her love for Ronny at all romantic. In fact, it is a very prosaic and humdrum affair on both sides. Miss Quested breaks, makes and again breaks the engagement. The reasons given at each stage are comic. She tries to evoke love and tenderness but does not succeed. Having heard of the raptures of love and not experiencing them herself, she becomes uneasy and breaks the engagement. The drive with Ronny in the Nawab Bahadur’s car gives them a physical proximity which leads to a mistaken sense of romance. But this is too flimsy a fancy to stand the strain of the trail, especially when Miss Quested herself recants in the course of it. Not only does the entire English colony boycott Adela but Ronny himself feels intense relief at the break-up of their engagement. His wife must be a companion to him in his official career. If Miss Quested is washed out, he would doubtless find someone else to suit him. As for Adela, she too goes out of the story leaving not a trace of herself behind her. She has lost her image before the Indian community and the British community has rejected her. In such a time, she finds help from Fielding. Caves’s Experience But the supreme moments of her existence were two. The first of these was the experience that came to her in one of the caves into which she had gone alone. She felt as if some man had assaulted her. Just before the incident took place, she is represented as being engaged in a somewhat irrelevant but suggestive conversation with Aziz. She asks him how many wives he has. It is a bold, almost improper question to ask of a comparative stranger. She imagines quite naturally that being a Muslim, he would have more than one wife. But why should that particular idea cross her mind? Most probably she was unconsciously stirred by his handsome personality to think erotic thoughts. It is under the influence of this idea that she got into one of the caves. The darkness, the novelty of the scene and its frightening associations blended with her admiration for Aziz. The result was her imagining the rest of an illusion. In fact, that is the only and significant patch of romance she was ever to taste in life. She had enjoyed a forbidden pleasure; but the very next moment, her conventional feelings and training asserted themselves, and made her view the episode as an outrage on her modesty. This is the only way to explain the incident in the cave which is so pivotal to the story. False Charge of Aziz The other great moment in her life was when she saw with courageous clarity the falsity of her charge against Aziz. Subconsciously she had realized that her impressions had played her false, and that no assault was intended against her or carried out by anyone. She might have kept to herself the knowledge that came to her in her sober moments and allowed Aziz to go to his unmerited doom. But it is precisely here that her sense of justice and fair-play come out most pleasingly and heroically. By her withdrawal of the charge, she atones for all the drabness, pointlessness and futility of her whole life, and touches the heights of heroic self-condemnation. For the withdrawal of the case means discrediting herself in a comprehensive fashion. She rises in our estimation by her candid and obvious confession. While many things happened to her, and she played a passive role for the most part. She reveals the strength of her character in one single act of her own free will. Conclusion: She is a young English woman who comes to India to decide whether or not to CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

237 marry Ronny. Adela is intrigued by India and desires to see the real India and befriend the natives. Later on, she has a horrifying experience at the Malabar Caves and accuses Aziz of assaulting her. However, at the trial, she goes against her peers’ influence and confesses that she was mistaken. She returns to England amid mess and chaos. In India, she is enmeshed in an illusion between intellectualism and God. Her love for India is not as real as Mrs. Moore’s. 10.14 CHARACTER OF PROFESSOR GODBOLE Introduction Professor Godbole is acting as a foil to Aziz who represents the Hindu type in the story. He is pictured as a hide-bound, conservative and orthodox Hindu who partakes of his refreshments at tea in a surreptitious manner without however minding the presence of outsiders! He is described as gentle, suave, smiling and profound. He is called ‘Ancient Night’ in one context by the author. This suggests something mysterious and sinister. The phrase gives us an indication of a foreigner’s attitude to Hinduism. The Hindu’s secret of survival strikes the author as uncanny. The Muslim can be read inside out, for he wears his heart on his sleeves. But the Hindu is as slippery as an eel and as baffling as night. Contribution of Godbole Godbole makes a comic contribution to social conversation by singing a Hindu philosophic song the burden of which is intended to be symbolical or allegorical. It is a familiar idea of ‘Bhakti’ poetry in India that the devotee calls upon God to come and save him but God does not oblige readily. This is but a poetical way of indicating the difficulties to be overcome in our attempts to reach God. We next hear of the Professor as an authority on the Marabar Caves, but all questions addressed to him about their significance are evade in a most adroit fashion, leaving them a settled and standing mystery in our minds. He is to form one of the party that plans to examine the caves, but fails to join it through a ludicrous accident. He is supposed to have missed the train because of having dawdled too long over his prayers. So he and Fielding get left out of the party. This seeming accident is vital to the plot, for the episode of the caves might not have happened if they had accompanied Aziz and the rest. His Lack of Concern for Aziz When Aziz is arrested, Godbole shows an apparent unconcern that sounds odd and unnatural. Thus we are given an idea of the philosophic manner in which exciting events are taken for granted by a Hindu. When everybody is worried over the case, Godbole does something which is comically irrelevant. He goes to Fielding and asks him to suggest a name for a new high school which he proposes to start. It is difficult to resist the impression of caricature when reading this part of the story. Head of the Education Departments We next see him as head of the Education Department in the Hindu State of Mau, but devoting all his time to the celebration of Hindu festivals like the Gokulashtami. He ignores a letter which he CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

238 British Poetry of 19th and 20th Century - II receives from Fielding and allows the latter to fend for himself. He pays no attention to his regular duties, and the school which he is said to have established is found to be non-existent! He is thus represented as a pious fraud and humbug. Although Fielding has come to Mau as a State-guest, no endeavour is made to bring about a meeting between the Professor and his old chief. Instead, Fielding is seen most of the time in Aziz’s company, while Godbole becomes rarefied into a symbol of catholic Hinduism pursuing its immemorial ways and methods. Fielding does not make anything out of him. Incidentally, Godbole is made to speak English sometimes correctly, sometimes after the Bahu manner. This is a flaw, for the two styles cannot be found in one and the same person. Another curious thing is that Aziz speaks normal and natural English throughout while no other Indian Is given such facility. Professor, Godbole strikes us as more adroit, more seasoned and more philosophical with however an outward appearance of simplicity and childishness almost. From this we may infer that Mrs. Forster has never had the chance of getting into close touch with any Hindu in real life. This is the only reason for his failure to create a living, convincing Hindu character in the story. If Aziz is more realistic, it is merely owing to the fact that Fielding has known Muslims better. But Hindu or Muslim, high or low, it is a distressing fact that not a single character is presented to us without a touch of acidity or satire or irony or a general superciliousness proceeding from the subconscious feeling that the Indians as a class are inferior to Englishmen. This is such a gross travesty of truth as to defeat itself. However, by way of compensation, it is the Hindu character who contributes to the serenity, balance and poise of the story. For without the section entitled Temple, the plot could not have been rnunded off; and the spirit of the temple is most fully embodied in the character and personality of Godbole. He may be a shifty, undependable and uncommunicative or enigmatic Hindu; but there is no means of ignoring him either In fiction or in fact. Conclusion: Professor Godbole is an elderly man who works with Mr. Fielding at Government College. He has a spiritual attitude towards life. He feels a spiritual connection to Mrs. Moore. After the trial a Aziz, he becomes a Minister of Education in the independent state of Mau and helps Aziz get a job there. He represents Hinduism in the novel. Although Hinduism does not appear to dominate the book until the final section, a backward look will show the effect of it in the other two sections. It is the Professor’s haunting song that affects both Adella and Mrs. Moore. But he is not preaching Hinduism as a panacea for all evils. His very name shows that he is associated with divine as his name contains the word ‘God’. 10.15 CHARACTER OF RONNY HEASLOP Introduction Ronny Heaslop is Mrs. Moore’ son and Magistrate at Chandrapore. Though likable and sympathetic at first, Ronny is influenced by his Anglo-Indian peers and becomes more prejudiced and unkind to Indians with the flow and passage of time. The open minded attitude with which he has been brought up has been replaced by a suspicion of Indians. Ronny Heaslop’s character is an interesting study. We learn from a talk he has with his mother CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

239 that, while in England, he was fair-minded and his judgments were balanced. But a few months of India seem to have ruined Ronny and converted him into a despotic imperialist. Environment has modified character and conduct. Our first impressions of Ronny are not very encouraging. He is busy taking his mother to task for respecting an Indian and showing him unnecessary courtesy. In an earlier snatch of conversation Ronny has told us the fantastic way in which Indians abuse their little privileges. It appears that he had invited pleader Mahmoud Ali for a smoke and that worthy had sent touts all over the place to announce the fact to litigants and would-be litigants. When his mother points out sagely that his mistake was in not inviting all the pleaders, Ronny complains of lack of time. Ronny remarks it was impudence on Aziz’s part to ask his mother to take off her shoes. She ought not to have answered. Well he would report the matter to Aziz’s boss, Major Callendar. Mrs. Moore begs her son to desist from such a step. After much argumentation, he agrees. An Englishman It is in the course of anther such debate over the treatment of Indians that Ronny gives the typical Englishman’s recipe for governing India. He is voluble about the white man’s burden and the need for putting down the natives where they belong. His mother’s appeal that natives are also children of God touches not a chord in Ronny’s bosom. He dislikes the intrusion of God in his practical life. The Ronny of Grasmere, full of humanitarian talks, has, under the stress of Imperialism, degenerated into the Ronny of Chandrapore, City Magistrate, out to hold India by force against the ignorance and blindness of the natives. As a lover, Ronny comes out somewhat better. Even here he never seems to have touched the heights; indeed, his love knows no heights. It is just a commonplace, plain affair, with animal thrills and mechanical embraces leading eventually to the altar. If Adela’s love for Ronny is riddled with doubts, Ronny’s love for Adela is a little weak. He seems inhibited and unable to let himself go. Adela’s crisis merely whips him into a last blaze, but the end is near and when Adela goes over to the other camp, Ronny, like a spent swimmer, seizes the temporarily abandoned life-belt of safe bachelorhood firmly. He seems to feel absolutely no regrets; there is even a suggestion of relief in the second and final breaking of his engagement of Miss Quested. Oxford Trained He is the conventional type of the public school and Oxford-trained product of the English middle class. He is public-spirited, devoted and conscientious. He has a sense of justice and decency. He is conscious of belonging to the class of rulers of the British empire, though he does not approve of the ill-treatment meted out to Fielding by other Englishmen. He is honest, but is eager to suppress his individuality in the interests of the British Raj. The herd instinct is natural to him, and he is content to live the artificial life of English exiles in different parts of the empire. Conclusion: Forster is somewhat sympathetic in his portrayal of him. His ambition to rise in the ranks of British India has not completely destroyed his natural goodness. Ronny cares about his job and the Indians with whom he works. CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

240 British Poetry of 19th and 20th Century - II 10.16 SUMMARY OF THE UNITY 1. There are three parts of the novel namely “Mosque”, “Caves” and “Temple”. The first chapter describes the town of Chandrapore where the story takes place. Chapter two describes how Dr. Aziz gets summons from the Civil Surgeon, Major Callender at the house of Hamidullah. Where he is taking dinner. Chapter three introduces the new character Adela Quested who is to be engaged and married to Ronny Heaslop. Chapter 4 tries to create a friendly atmosphere at a gathering of Nawab Bahadur landowner of the district. Chapter five describes the Bridge Party in the garden of the club which remains unsuccessful due to the attitude of the English people towards Indians. Chapter six tells that Dr. Aziz does not attend the party as he has to pay obeisance to his deceased wife. Chapter seven introduces Cyril Fielding, an educationist, who arranges a tea party which is attended by Aziz, Adela Quested, Mrs. Moore and Godbole. In Chapter eight, Adela Quested is taken away from the party by Ronny. Chapter nine presents an idea of gulf between the Indians and the British. Chapter ten reveals the idea that heat makes no distinction between men and animals. In chapter 11, Aziz suggests Fielding to get married but Fielding is stunned at this idea. “Caves” Chapter 12 describes the Malabar Hills and Malabar Caves where the novelist takes the readers to primitive times. Chapter thirteen explains that Adela in interested to see the Caves. Chapter fourteen also describes the caves where Mrs. Moore is frightened to hear the ‘echo’ which suggests unity and symbolizes oneness. Chapter fifteen describes the conversation between Aziz and Adela Quested in the caves. It leads to the problem of Aziz where Adela blames Aziz for rape. In Chapter sixteen, Aziz is arrested for charge of rape. In chapter seventeen, tells Mr. Turton, the Collector, about the racial tension. In chapter eighteen Police officer Mc Bryde informs Fielding about the misconduct of Aziz. In chapter nineteen, Godbole shows no concern for the arrest of Aziz. Chapter twenty shows that there is a hatred against the natives in the minds of the British. Chapter twenty one reveals that Amrit Rao agrees to defend Aziz. His bail application is rejected and applied again. Chapter twenty two describes that the reverberation of echo keeps ringing in Adela’s ears. In chapter twenty three, Mrs. Moore leaves for England but realizes what she had seen earlier was not the complete India. CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

241 Chapter twenty four describes an uproar in the court as the trial for Aziz begins. Aziz is, however, released without any blame. In chapter twenty five Adela goes to Fielding for protection. The Nawab Bahadur pacifies the crowd and violence is averted. Chapter twenty six tells that Indians are planning a hugue compensation for Aziz which pinches Fielding. Chapter twenty seven shows that Aziz is adamant to ask for damages from Adela but Fielding is against it. So a conflict ensues between Fielding and Aziz. There spreads a rumour in chapter 28 that Ronny killed Mrs. Moore as she wanted to save Aziz. It, however, upsets him. Chapter twenty nine shows that Aziz feels sad for the death of Mrs. Moore. He decides to get the costs only from Adela and no damages. Chapter 30 shows that the trial brings the Hindus and the Muslims together. Chapter 31 describes two rumours in Chandrapore — Mcbride is to be divorced and Adela lived in Fielding’s house as his mistress. At this Fielding is hurt. Chapter thirty two tells that Fielding leaves for England where he gets peace. Temple Chapter thirty three describes the festival of Janamashtami where Godbole sees Mr. Moore and a wasp. The chapter signifies universal love and brotherhood. Chapter thirty four expresses Aziz’s gratefulness to Godbole for having brought to him Hindu town. Chapter thirty five shows that Aziz feels ashamed for his conduct to Fielding. In chapter thirty six Aziz becomes an instrument of reconciliation between the Indians and the English. Chapter thirty seven shows that circumstances donot allow Fielding and Aziz to become friends again. Summary: Q2: Anglo-Indian Relations Forster was against the British Public School System. The novel tells the story of Dr. Aziz and his friend Fielding against the background of Anglo-India. There is contrast between the generosity of Indians and British narrowness. The challenges before the British was to create an open society in the mind. Summary Q3: Racial Issue Ronny Heaslop is a member of the bureaucracy and the English have to be inspired by their own sense of duty. The Indians are presented as dishonest and their sense of morality is lo. Every British official comes to India to govern the country. But Forster makes it clear through the reveries of Ronny Heaslop who believed in Lord Morley’s famous “Fur-coat” theory. Infact, Britain had no right to govern India. ‘Bridge parties’ and ‘Tea parties’ can never bridge a gulf which has been set by law between the rulers and the ruled. CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

242 British Poetry of 19th and 20th Century - II Even the personal relations between Aziz and Fielding show the psychological and emotional disparities. Aziz levels charges against Fielding for immodesty. However, Aziz realizes his mistake later on. Forster has depicted in the novel that even personal relationships between people of different races cannot be deep-rooted. Race feeling is stronger than our sense of common humanity. The novel shows, one’s very English culture makes one superior to the Indians. Summary Q4: Significance of the Title of the Novel E.M. Forster borrows the title of the novel from Walt Whitman’s poem “Passage to India.” Foreigners in India in olden days were called “birds of passage”. i.e. they never intended India to be their permanent home. The title of the novel implies ideological, cultural and racial relations arising from the contact of different people. Fielding thinks that the English can have good relations with the Indians through understanding. Aziz wants brotherhood on his own terms. The title “A Passage to India” may signify a journey to India but it is more than that. It makes relations at racial, cultural and religious levels. But there is a conflict and poses a question if there can be friendly relations between the rulers and the ruled. There is racial division between Aziz and Fielding and the crisis of Marabar Caves is an evident of the same. The last journey of Mrs. Moore is very significant. She had tried to know India and the Indians. The novel conveys the message that life can be bettered by mutual understanding, harmony and love. Summary Q5: Religious Symbolism in the Novel Godbole in the novel serves as a symbol of Hinduism. Mrs. Moore’s death occurs under mystifying circumstances who faces a strange experience in Marabar Caves. Forster merely represents the Evil by the echo of the Marabar caves. Echo is not the characteristic of Caves alone. It is a feature of all Evil in the world. Fielding is unable to develop his view on the echo. Even Islamic religion does not satisfy him. He comments in the novel that the mosque like him missed the meaning of echo. There is a notion among the Westerners that Hinduism and mysticism are alike. But again difficulties rise. Forster, however, praises the universality of Hinduism which embraces all creation. Christianity is somewhat different. The extreme tolerance of Hinduism is brought out in a flash by Godbole’s musings. Mrs. Moore is almost a super human being as viewed by the novelist. Mrs. Moore is more than herself by virtue of her fellow feeling. Also Professor Godbole is more than himself. CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

243 The message of Hinduism is: “God is love; God is all creation and created things” Hinduism is able to explain the presence of Evil. Summary Q6: Themes in the Novel The novel is quite explicit on the theme of love and good will and the necessity for British compassion. There is tussle between Ronny and Adela. Aziz and Fielding show goodwill and friendship. Problem of Evil exists in the world and Hinduism is the only hope. There is love and enjoy at the birth of Krishna which may be short-lived. Human beings are not alone in the scheme of God. Orientatlism versus Occidentalism is the central focus in the novel. Aziz represents the Oriental, Fielding the Western. There is deep insight into various relationship like Aziz-Fielding, Aziz-Mrs. Moore, Aziz-Aziz-Adela relationships etc. Godbole finds no evil in the caves. Good and evil live on the equal planes to Godbole, “Union with God is always a desire not reality Godbole believes in mysteries but no muddle. Godbole says : “The world……… is a globe of men who are trying to reach one another and can best do so by the help of goodwill plus culture and intelligence.” Theme of separateness is prominent in the novel. Summary Q7 : Characterisation in the Novel: E.M. Forster has shown his skill in the art of character portrayal. There are a variety of characters in the novel. Fielding is in many ways successful but he was a complete cynic regarding marriage. His marriage to Mrs. Moore’s daughter had a strong effect on Aziz. Aziz is not always commencing. He is an advanced English-educated Muslim. Adela Quested’s portrait appears to be convincing of all, if the least spectacular. Mrs. Moore does not belong to us. Forster has created her as something marvellous. Godbole has been something of a prizzle. Ronny is convincing in the beginning but suddenly loses his outline. Summary Q8: Forster’s Philosophy of Life in the Novel: Humanitarian ideal is very much prominent in the novel. At places, it seems the novelist Forster has lost faith in human relationship. Forster believes that goodness and kindness have limits. The humanitarian feeling has shown a declining trend with the passage of time. Forster tends to underplay those things in life which give rise to humbug. Forster says that Adela Quested is not an ideal nor her love for Ronny of the most impassioned variety. Forster conveys a disillusionment and scepticism about the value of imperial rule in India. ‘Only connect’ might be the motto of his work. He shares Mrs. Moore’s belief that “personal affections and aesthetic enjoyments include all the greatest and by far the CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

244 British Poetry of 19th and 20th Century - II greatest goods we can imagine.” Personal relationships for Forster Carried fundamental value. Mrs. Moore’s yearning to make connections with Indians is destroyed in Malabar. So there is a gulf between the relations. Summary Q9: Character Sketch of Fielding Fielding is a simple but extraordinary character. He is sympathetic towards the natives. He is introduced as an educated person. He wins golden opinions at the collector’s party. Fielding takes the side of Aziz in the hour of his great ordeal. Fielding asserts innocence of Aziz and incurs social ostracism and calculated insult. He does not hate Miss Adela Quested but tries to understand her. He realises that she should be fully forgiven. His friendship with Aziz suffers a strain Fielding is a humanist though he has no faith in God and believes in the values of life. Fielding is not an ascetic and not bothered about moral scruples. Fielding is unconventional. He is the pivot of the novel. He is a liberal humanist. Summary Q10: Character of Dr. Aziz Dr. Aziz is the heart of the novel. He is restless, friendly, volatile vain, happy in talking, racially patriotic, insulting when angry and so on. His rhetoric strikes at the root of evil. Fielding and Aziz become good friends but it suffers a strain before being restored in the closing pages of the novel. However, Aziz holds a dominant position with Fielding. Aziz and Mrs. Moore relations stand on a different place. Aziz is rescued by Mrs. Moore when things for Aziz become desperate. Aziz is a poet also which is an activity of his soul. By profession however, he is a doctor. He is self-conscious politically. He does not like the British rule. He is in many ways child like and in many ways mature. Summary Q11: Character of Mrs. Moore Mrs. Moore is Ronny Heaslop’s mother but sharply different from her son. She has a compelling charm which later becomes pervasive. She is more than herself and hence arises her mystery. She becomes genuily loving and understands the situations. She seems to have a mystic power of seeing into things, a power which Adela describes as telepathy. She feels unhealthy at the Marabar Caves. She feels lost after the arrest of Aziz. She has no kind word for Adela or Ronny. Her spirit survives even in her death. So Mrs. Moore’s character is full of significance. She met her end, perhaps, for the survival of the novel. Her presence is felt strongly towards the end of the third part ‘Temple’. CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

245 Summary Q12: Character of Miss Adela Quested: Adela Quested is betrothed to Ronny and has come to India for marriage. She has come with Mrs. Moore. She is of the earnest, inquiring and improving sort who wants to understand the significance of life. She wants to study the Indians. She is simple enthusiastic and very appealing. But her desire to know India is nothing more than a kind of idle curiosity. Her progress in love is also not romantic. She tries to evoke love and tenderness but does not succeed. She goes out of the story leaving no trace of herself behind her. She makes a falso charge against Aziz in the Caves……... But at the end, she withdraws the case and Adela rises in our estimation. Summary Q13: Character of Professor Godbole Professor Godbole is acting as a foil to Aziz who represents the Hindu type in the novel. He is an authority on the Marabar Caves but all questions put to him about their mystery are evaded. Godbole shows apparent no concern for Aziz when he is arrested. He later on becomes the Head of the Education Department in the State of Mau. He devotes his time in the celebration of Hindu festivals. Professor Godbole strikes us as more adroit, more seasoned and more philosophical. However, he does not preach Hinduism as a panacea for all evils. Summary Q 14: Character of Ronny Heaslop Ronny Heaslop is Mrs. Moore’s son and Magistrate at Chandrapore. He does not leave a good impression on us since he is prejudiced for Indians. His mother’s appeals also donot touch his heart. If Adel’s love for Ronny is riddled with doubts, Ronny’s love for Adela is a little weak. Ronny is public – spirited and the herd instinct is natural to him. He is honest but eager to suppress his individuality in the interests of the British rule. 10.17 KEYWORDS/ABBREVIATIONS 1. Ostracism : Exclusion, rejection, avoidance 2. Hostrums : Remedy, wonder drug, quack 3. Inoculation : Immunisation, vaccination remedy 4. Cryptical : Hidden, mystical 5. Sanguine : Optimistic, hopeful 6. Suave : Urbane, decorous, soft-spoken CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

246 British Poetry of 19th and 20th Century - II 10.18 LEARNINGACTIVITY 1. What is the purpose of Part III ‘Temple’ in the novel? Elaborate. 2. Discuss the theme of English – Indian friendship in the novel. 3. How does Forster present the concept of human relations in the novel? Elaborate. 10.19 UNIT END QUESTIONS (DESCRIPTIVE, SHORT AND MCQS) (A) Descriptive Type Questions 1. What is the message of “A Passage to India”? How does it relate to, imperialism and the “White man’s burden”? Discuss. 2. Discuss the character of Aziz in the novel. 3. Discuss Forster’s philosophy of life in the novel. 4. Discuss the concept of racial conflict in the novel. 5. Discuss the significance of the title “A Passage to India.” 6. Sketch the character of Mrs. Moore in your own words. How is she different from others? Discuss. (B) Short Answer Type Questions 1. What was Professor Godbole like? Ans: He was a Deccani Brahmin who is a Professor at the college in Chandrapore. He represents Hindu philosophies in the novel. He is a man of calm character and utter repose showing no worry for the events around him, no matter how important. He acts as a foil to Aziz. He contributes to the poise of the story. 2. What is the role of Mr. Turton in the novel? Ans. Mr. Turton is the District collector of Chandrapore. He was an amiable person on his arrival from Europe. But his colleagues convert him to stern officer. However, he does appear eager to help the people. Mr. Turton has a conscience which tells him that it is wrong to flog every Indian alive avenge Miss Adela and punish Fielding in the Court. He has a sense of justice. 3. Evaluate the qualities of Mr. Mc Bryde. Ans. Mc Bryde is the District Superintendent of Police. He possesses certain pseudo scientific theories about the black races which he exploits for political purposes. He is more conscious of his position than Mr. Turtle. He is exposed at last having maintained illicit relations with Miss Derek. CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

247 4. Why did Aziz help Mrs. Moore and Miss Adela? Ans. Aziz is a sort of paradox to himself. He is certainly Indian but tries hard to get to endear himself to his British colonizers. Aziz is impressed by these women but in different ways. He wants to please them and treat himself as an equal. Aziz is exultant at the opportunity to be their guide to see the Marabar caves. 5. What is the significance of the events in the Marabar Caves? Ans. Marabar Caves serve a really exceptional significance. The cross-cultural tensions rise to its climax. In the caves, Mrs. Moore, Adela and Aziz are at together modified. The visit to Caves causes the physical and religious breakdown of Mrs. Moore which leads Adela to the verge of madness and Aziz falls to his ruin. It shows the racial prejudice of the Christians against Islam. They feel unwell. Adela files a charge of rape against Aziz. 6. What does Echo symbolise in the novel? Ans. The Caves are a surreal experience for Adela and Mrs. Moore. There is a sound of the echo in the cave Both women fear some inner fright from some part of life that they had not considered before. Mrs. Moore feels giddy and lost. She is completely deflated. Adela feels the reality of lacking love for Ronny and then the reflection of her assault which is a reflection of her tormented psyche. (C) Multiple Choice Questions and Answers 1. What phrase did Rudyard Kipling coin, for the supposedly moral ‘burden’ of governing colonies like India from the novel? (a) The ‘absurd burden’ (b) The ‘colonial burden’ (c) The British burden (d) The ‘White man’s burden 2. Which of the following is not a title of one of the three parts of the novel? (a) Mosque (b) Caves (c) Temple (d) Festival 3. What is the main reason when Aziz decides not to attend the Bridge Party? (a) It coincides with the anniversary of his wife’s death. (b) He feels sick (c) He wants to spend time with his children. (d) He is angry with Major Callendar. 4. Whose birth are the Hindus waiting for? (a) Jesus (b) Shri Krishna (c) Stella Moore’s baby (d) Adela’s baby 5. In which city is most of the action set? (a) Chandrapore (b) Bombay (c) Mau (d) Calcutta 6. What do the Marabar Caves represent? (a) Peace (b) Democracy (c) The relationship between the Englishmen and Indians (d) Nothingness CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)

248 British Poetry of 19th and 20th Century - II 7. What country does Fielding sail to at the end of the novel? (a) Germany (b) England (c) Italy (d) France 8. Which character presides over the trail of Dr. Aziz? (a) Mr. Das (b) Mr. McBryde (c) Mr. Turton (d) Nawab Bahadur 9. All of these are names of Mrs. Moore’s children except (a) Ralph (b) Stella (c) Adela (d) Ronny Answer. 1. (d), 2. (d), 3. (a), 4. (b), 5. (a), 6. (d), 7. (c), 8. (a), 9. (c) 10.20 REFERENCES 1. Bergonzi Bernard, Reading the Thirties : Texts and Contexts, Pittsburgh : Pittsburgh University Press, 1978. 2. Ashcroft, Bill, Gareth Griffiths, Helen Tiffin, eds, ‘The Postcolonial Studies Reader, London, Routledge, 1995. 3. Boehmer, Elleke; ‘Colonial and Postcolonial Literature : Migrant Metaphors, Oxford UP, 1995 4. www.litcharts.com>lit>themes/a-pas 5. www.resarchgate.net>publication 6. www.gradesaver.com CU IDOL SELF LEARNING MATERIAL (SLM)