Edward Morgan Forster wrote among many other novels, A Passage to India in 1924. The novel happens to be his peak hit in the ladder of success. The novel exposes a dramatic comparison between the colonial political reign using a brief but fictions narration of an English woman named Adela Quested and the Indian man Dr. Aziz. He expounds their experience in the Caves of Marabar shortly after his arrival from India during the British governance in South Asia (which now turns countries of Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Bhutan et cetera). The book entered a golden record amidst hundreds of English literature in archives and got a memorial prize for friction work.
In the introductory passage, Forster writes about three characters, on their journey to a Marabar caves. The Englishwoman alleges Dr Aziz of attempt rape. Forster demonstrates a sound knowledge in revealing ethnical differences between the residence Indian nation and the British colonial master. This he logically demonstrates with a good comprehension of Indian culture.
The story reports Aziz trip to Marabar, inviting Mrs. Moore and Ronny Heaslop after a tea party at Fielding’s place. Down the cave, Mrs. Moore faces fright by the sudden fear of being alone in the cave, though after some time the “Boum” sound echoes override the claustrophobia. She was put off by the persistence fear leaving alone Aziz, and Adela Quested to continue with the tour with a local man guiding as they ascend the cave. Following brief conversation between them in the cave that got Aziz slightly upset, Aziz excused them for a while only to return later and found the broken binoculars belonging to Adela without her being there, concluding she is lost since the following guide cannot equally ascertain her where about. After a while he saw the company of the duo down the hill – miss Derek and Adela driving away without bidding a goodbye. Aziz shockingly got arrested for sexual assault on his way back to Chandra-pore in a train. Adela misconception of the experienced shock in the cave which is similar to that of Mrs. Moore, gets her psychological ripped and expressly relayed the ugly incidence to the British authorities. Whereas, the shock runs her out of control emotionally, with temporary excitement and psychologically distressed.
To the surprise of the Indian, the opportune trial unleashes the amassed racial electric tension among them and the British. Majority of the British seem not to be astonished, claiming that the black Indians usually lost after the white woman. Fielding, a white, stood ground in defending Aziz, but this is considered a betrayer of “blood-race” and leads to his banish from the British society. The Indians receive him heartily for he is considered making attempt to prevent the bastardizing of their reputation with ugly communal degeneration of the alleged issue. Though untrue, they care less owing to the inherent racism as a backdrop in their minds. Few days ahead of Aziz’s trial by the British authorities, Mrs. Moore was apparently silent in sharing her own true side of the story which invariably will help out Aziz, she began to feel “apathetic and irritable” out of the blue, showing a loss of interest in Homo sapiens.
The novel demonstrated how conscience holds grip of Adela as she when call to upon to present her case to the authority. The novel expounds how human beings in the face of the truth succumb to conscience threat; this is metaphysical, extremely abstract to understanding, not of how the imaginary picture of the cave runs across her inner vision swiftly and gets emotionally arrested to have begged for few minutes to make a self-reconciliation before speaking the heavy truth. Of course, the teaming supporters are taken aback and annoyed. It was such an open shame, of what turn out to ironically be a betrayal of the white genealogy. She later reveals the whole truth on how the echo results in the whole dirty show, costing her the proposed engagement and fled England by sea.
Forster in this fiction expresses Aziz’s bitterness on knowing that his own close friend, Fielding would, after all, still go ahead to befriend Adela knowing full well that Fielding had earlier successfully persuaded him from suing Adela. This betrayal up turns his repulsive view of all The Whites around him, he moves to Mau and lead new existence with a vow not to befriend white again.
Fielding returned later with his wife when Aziz had become a Chief Physician in Mau, Indian. The novel in its last sentence indicates non readiness for Aziz to continue friendship with Fielding – “at least not until India is free of the British Raj. Even the earth and the sky seem to say…” “Not yet.”
In the part one, Dr Aziz is called out by Major Callendar to a mosque where he meets Mrs. Moore. She introduces him to Mr. Ronny, her child. At a party, Adela and Mrs. Moore receive an invitation to visit Marabar Caves. Among others, Mr. Fielding, Rafi Haq, Mr. Ram, visits Aziz home. Fielding and Aziz became close thereafter. In Part two, the novel geographically describes the beauty of the cave and how Mr. Fielding and Godbole arrived late and miss a schedule train. Here in this chapter is the parting of Adela and Dr Aziz after the mysterious shock experience in Marabar caves. Dr. Aziz never sees her twice before his arrest at a rail station. Still in this section, Adela Quested later withdraws her accusation, the British colonial nation feels betrayed. The unexpected relationship between Fielding (Aziz close friend) and Adela after an open embarrassment episode shocked Aziz and promised not to be close with any White again, well, may be in another world to come. In part three of the fiction book, Dr. Aziz stays in Mau after Fielding departs for England with Adela. The later distant relationship existing between Fielding and Aziz births out of the fact the Fielding does not marry Adela Quested. They soon get involve in seeing to the well being of Indian future, discussing its political issues collectively.
Reference
King’s College Archive Centre, Cambridge, The Papers of Edward Morgan Forster (reference EMF/19/6)”. Retrieved on 2008-08-16.
