A Passage to India Part 2
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A Passage to India Part 2
- Spoiler:
- Chapter Sixteen:
Aziz waits in the cave, smoking, and when he returns he finds the guide alone with his head on one side. The guide does not know exactly which cave Miss Quested entered, and Aziz worries that she is lost. On his way down the path to the car that had arrived from Chandrapore, Aziz finds Miss Quested's field glasses lying at the verge of a cave and puts them in his pocket. He sees Fielding, who arrived in Miss Derek's car, but neither he nor anyone else knows where Adela has gone. The expedition ends, and the train arrives to bring them back into Chandrapore. As they arrive in town, Mr. Haq arrests Dr. Aziz, but he is under instructions not to say the charge. Aziz refuses to go, but Fielding talks him into cooperating. Mr. Turton leads Fielding off so that Aziz goes to prison alone.
Analysis:
The central event of the novel occurs during this chapter, but Forster chooses not to describe it, instead shifting the perspective to Dr. Aziz outside of the cave. The details of the event are deliberately vague: all that Forster indicates during this chapter is that Adela has some physical confrontation in one of the Marabar caves and flees the scene. However, he does establish some points that will come to be important in future chapters, such as the fact that Aziz finds Adela's field glasses. The discovery of the field glasses is perhaps the only explicitly stated event in the chapter, but it is a key event that establishes for the reader that Aziz was not in Adela's presence when she lost them. Nevertheless, the fact that Aziz has the field glasses can easily be misinterpreted as material evidence against him.
Despite the vague circumstances surrounding the attack on Adela Quested, Forster does establish that Aziz is not responsible. By framing the chapter from his perspective, Forster establishes that Aziz could not possibly have been in the cave at the time. However, at this early point only Fielding is ready to avow that Aziz is innocent. Fielding emerges as the pragmatic voice of reason in this chapter, the one English character who attempts to make sense of the attack. Already there seems to be a sharp divide between the other English characters who are united against Aziz and Fielding, who will prove the one exception to this trend.
Chapter Seventeen:
Fielding speaks to the Collector, who tells him that Miss Quested has been insulted in one of the Marabar Caves and that he would not allow Fielding to accompany Aziz to preserve him from scandal. Fielding thinks that Adela is mad, a remark that Mr. Turton demands that he withdraw. Fielding explains that he cannot believe that Aziz is guilty. Mr. Turton tells Fielding that he has been in the country for twenty-five years, and in that time he has never known anything but disaster whenever Indians and the English interact socially. He tells Fielding that there will be an informal meeting at the club that evening to discuss the situation. Fielding keeps his head during the discussion; he does not rally to the banner of race. The Collector goes to the platform, where he can see the confusion about him. He takes in the situation with a glance, and his sense of justice functions although he is insane with rage. When he sees coolies asleep in the ditches or the shopkeepers rising to salute him, he says to himself "I know what you're like at last; you shall pay for this, you shall squeal."
Analysis:
The worst qualities among the Anglo-Indians emerge in this chapter, as they rally to Miss Quested's cause as a means to show their contempt for the Indians. In the eyes of the Collector, Aziz is already guilty and his impending trial shall serve as a retribution for all that Mr. Turton believes to be the faults of the Indians. However, he places some degree of the blame on Adela, claiming that nothing but disaster occurs when Indians and English interact socially. This is an ironic statement, for whatever happened to Miss Quested occurred when she was not in Aziz's presence. It is insufficient interaction between Adela and Aziz that allowed Adela to be assaulted.
Fielding will serve as Aziz's advocate among the English, to his personal and social detriment. If Mr. Turton is adamant that Aziz is guilty, Fielding is equally adamant that Adela must have made a mistake; his staunch belief in Aziz leads Fielding to make damaging statements against Adela. This indicates that, whatever the outcome of the trial, Adela is destined to become a victim once again, suffering whatever indignity actually occurred in the caves and becoming vilified by supporters of Aziz for her mistake. Forster also indicates that Fielding will soon become an outcast among the English. When Mr. Turton tells Fielding that the English will meet at the club to decide a course of action, he presupposes ethnic solidarity. This brings up the theme of the demands of racial identity. Turton assumes that Fielding's status as an Englishman indicates that he will support Adela, while Fielding adheres first to ideas of justice and only secondarily to racial solidarity.
Chapter Eighteen:
Mr. McBryde, the District Superintendent of Police, is the most reflective and best educated of the Chandrapore officials. He receives Aziz with courtesy, but is shocked at his downfall. McBryde has a theory about climatic zones: all unfortunate natives are criminals at heart, for the simple reason that they live south of latitude 30. They are thus not to blame, for they have not a dog's chance. McBryde, however, admits that he seems to contradict this theory himself. The charge against Aziz is that he followed her into the cave and made insulting advances; she hit him with her field glasses, but he pulled at them and the strap broke, and that is how she got away. They find that Aziz has the glasses. Fielding asks if he may see Adela, but the request is denied. McBryde admits to Fielding that she is in no state to see anyone, but Fielding believes that she's under a hideous delusion and Aziz is innocent. Fielding explains that, if Aziz were guilty, he would not have kept the field glasses. McBryde tells him that the Indian criminal psychology is different, and shows Fielding the contents of Aziz's pocket case, including a letter from a friend who keeps a brothel. The police also find pictures of women in Aziz's bungalow, but Fielding says that the picture is of Aziz's wife.
Analysis:
Even the "best educated and most reflective" of the Chandrapore officials is susceptible to the racist attitudes of his peers, as Mr. McBryde demonstrates, but there are obvious flaws in his reasoning that even Mr. McBryde himself can admit to himself. McBryde is a symbol of the errors of judgment in the educated English. Although he uses reasoning to support his racist views, his judgment, as he even admits, is not quite sound.
Aziz faces great difficulties confronting the charges against him, which become more clear in this chapter. Although the evidence against Aziz, including the field glasses, can be dismissed through rational thought and examination, Forster suggests that there is the possibility that Aziz will not even receive this mere consideration. A Kafkaesque atmosphere surrounds the prosecution of Aziz, as even such evidence as a photograph can confirm the British officials' suspicion that Aziz is an immoral man and must be guilty. The picture of Aziz's wife becomes important for a third time; at first a sign of Aziz's devotion to his deceased wife and then a symbol of his friendship with Fielding, it finally ends up as an ill-used symbol of Aziz's supposed guilt equivalent to pornography.
Fielding believes that, by meeting with Adela, he may solve the misunderstanding between her and Aziz, but even this simple request is denied. For the English, the trial seems to concern first the prosecution of Indians in general and second the specific prosecution of Aziz. Aziz and Adela are merely objects in the struggle between the two ethnic groups. Fielding, in contrast, views the matter in terms of the two persons involved rather than in terms of the larger issues involved.
Chapter Nineteen:
Hamidullah waits outside the Superintendent's office; Fielding tells him that evidence for Aziz's innocence will come. Hamidullah is convinced that Aziz is innocent and throws his lot with the Indians, realizing the profundity of the gulf that separates them. Hamidullah wants Aziz to have Armitrao, a Hindu who is notoriously anti-British, as his lawyer. Fielding feels this is too extreme. Fielding tells Hamidullah that he is on the side of Aziz, but immediately regrets taking sides, for he wishes to slink through India unlabelled. Fielding has a talk with Godbole, who is entirely unaffected by Aziz's plight. He tells Fielding that he is leaving Chandrapore to return to his birthplace in Central India to take charge of education there. He wants to start a High School on sound English lines. Godbole cannot say whether or not he thinks that Aziz is guilty; he says that nothing can be performed in isolation, for when one performs a good action, all do, and when an evil action is performed, all perform it. He claims that good and evil are both aspects of the Lord. Fielding goes to see Aziz, but finds him unapproachable through misery. Fielding wonders why Miss Quested, such a dry, sensible girl without malice, would falsely accuse an Indian.
Analysis:
Much like the expedition to the Marabar Caves, the trial of Aziz assumes absurdly grand proportions. The trial becomes not about the specific injustice against Adela Quested, but about the relationships among the ethnic groups in India, whether English, Muslim or Hindu. Even the selection of Armitrao as the barrister underscores this, showing the solidarity between the Muslim and Hindus against the British. Fielding therefore must sacrifice his particular racial identity and side with Aziz out of considerations of justice, contrary to his wish to travel throughout India without any particular group status. Forster portrays this situation as a situation of grotesque irony. A mysterious and likely nonexistent event in the Marabar Caves leads to a grand confrontation between the races in Chandrapore.
Professor Godbole's response to Aziz's plight places the trial in different context from the others' consideration of it. Godbole views the trial in terms of humanity as a whole instead of in terms of distinct races. Yet this larger perspective on the situation obscures the details; Godbole appears callous and indifferent to the fate of his friend. Godbole can appear this way because of his inner sense of repose and satisfaction. Since he is convinced that nothing can be done for Aziz, he shows no sense of outrage at the injustice.
Fielding poses the central question of the trial, specifically why the sensible Adela Quested would falsely accuse an Indian. Forster seems to allow for two answers to this question: Adela has been influenced by those around her, forced into inflating her charges by the prejudiced English officials, or Adela may not in fact be sensible. Forster has established that Adela is somewhat impetuous and indecisive; her decision to charge Aziz may be the most dangerous manifestation of this characteristic.
Chapter Twenty:
Miss Quested's plight had brought her great support among the English in India; she came out from her ennobled in sorrow. At the meeting at the club, Fielding asks whether there is an official bulletin about Adela's health, or whether the grave reports are due to gossip. Fielding makes an error by speaking her name; others refer to both Adela and Aziz in vague and impersonal terms. Each person feels that all he loved best was at stake in the matter. The Collector tells them to assume that every Indian is an angel. The event had made Ronny Heaslop a martyr, the recipient of all the evil intended against them by the country they had tried to serve. As he watches Fielding, the Collector says that responsibility is a very awful thing, but he has no use for the man who shirks it. He claims that he is against any show of force. Fielding addresses the meeting, telling them that he believes that Aziz is innocent; if Aziz is found guilty, Fielding vows to reign and leave India, but now he resigns from the club. When Ronny enters, Fielding does not stand. The Collector insists that he apologize to Ronny, but then orders Fielding to leave immediately.
Analysis:
Forster finally returns to the point of view of Miss Quested for the first time since the expedition to the Marabar Caves. Suffering has ennobled Adela and given her social standing as well as a sense of purpose. She is not sickly, as has been reported, but is rather held by the British as a perpetual victim and symbol of Indian barbarity. Certain taboos surround Adela as victim; she does not exist as a person, as the injunction against speaking her name demonstrates. Ronny becomes a martyr to the same degree as Adela, an ironic circumstance considering Adela's revelation that she did not love Ronny immediately preceding the attack. For the British, the circumstances of the trial are both personal and public, as the officials feel that their safety and well-being depend on the proper outcome.
Fielding, who has slowly become an outcast among the British, severs his ties to them completely in this chapter by declaring Aziz's innocence and vowing to resign from his post. His actions are righteous yet foolish. Fielding makes the error of refusing to stand when Ronny enters and behaves rudely to the others. Like the rest of the English, Fielding focuses his anger on the wrong target, essentially blaming Ronny for Adela's own mistake. Nevertheless, although Ronny breaks from his race he cannot completely abandon his identity. Fielding demonstrates the limits of racial identity, for it is essentially fixed but still fluid. Fielding can never totally disavow the English, but can become an outcast from them.
Chapter Twenty-One:
Fielding spends the rest of the evening with the Nawab Bahadur, Hamidullah, Mahmoud Ali, and others of the confederacy. Fielding has an inclination to tell Professor Godbole of the tactical and moral error he had made in being rude to Ronny Heaslop, but Godbole had already gone to bed.
Analysis:
Essentially banished from his own race, Fielding joins the Indians in the defense of Aziz, but this choice is a difficult and problematic one. Fielding regrets both the circumstances that force him to choose sides in the conflict and his own decisions which have made it impossible for him to remain sympathetic to the British. Forster establishes several characters as the victims of circumstance, including Aziz and Adela, and Fielding in this chapter definitively joins this select group. Forster portrays Fielding as a man uneasy about his decision: he chooses his friendship with Aziz and sense of justice over his English identity, but still feels that he has made a sacrifice. Fielding, who at the novel's beginning could easily maneuver between associations with the English and Indians, must now accept that he does not have this freedom of association.
Chapter Twenty-Two:
Adela lay for several days in the McBryde's bungalow; others are over-kind to her, the men too respectful and the women too sympathetic. The one visitor she wants, Mrs. Moore, kept away. She tells that she went into a detestable cave, remembers scratching the wall with her finger nail, and then there was a shadow down the entrance tunnel, bottling her up. She hit him with her glasses, he pulled her round the cave by the strap, it broke, and she escaped. He never actually touched her. She refuses to cry, a degradation worse than what occurred in the Marabar and a negation of her advanced outlook. Adela feels that only Mrs. Moore can drive back the evil that happened to her. Ronny tells her that she must appear in court, and Adela asks if his mother can be there. He tells her that the case will come before Mr. Das, the brother of Mrs. Bhattacharya and Ronny's assistant. Ronny tells Adela that Fielding wrote her a letter (which he opened). He tells her that the defense had got hold of Fielding, who has done the community a great disservice. Adela worries that Mrs. Moore is ill, but Ronny says that she is merely irritable at the moment. When she sees her, Adela thinks that she repels Mrs. Moore, who has no inclination to be helpful; Mrs. Moore appears slightly resentful, without her Christian tenderness. Mrs. Moore refuses to be at all involved in the trial. She tells that she will attend their marriage but not their trial. She vows to go to England. Ronny tells her that she appears to want to be left out of everything. She says that the human race would have become a single person centuries ago if marriage were any use. Adela wonders whether she made a mistake, and tells Ronny that he is innocent. She feels that Mrs. Moore has told her that Aziz is innocent. Ronny tells her not to say such things, because every servant he has is a spy. Mrs. Moore tells Adela that of course Aziz is innocent. Mrs. Moore thinks that she is a bad woman, but she will not help Ronny torture a man for what he never did. She claims that there are different ways of evil, and she prefers her own to his. Ronny thinks that Mrs. Moore must leave India, for she was doing no good to herself or anyone else.
Analysis:
Forster portrays Adela as primarily a victim of the circumstances surrounding her attack rather than a victim of the attack herself. Adela approaches the events of the cave as simple if unpleasant facts, but her real degradation occurs with regard to the others' treatment of her. The way that the Anglo-Indians treat Adela places her as a perpetual victim, handling her like a fragile child. Adela refuses to play the role of the helpless victim, however, partially to retain her dignity and partially because she remains unsure of the actual legitimacy of her charges.
Two significant forces trouble Adela. The first is her doubt that Aziz is guilty of the crime with which she has charged him, and she even tells Ronny that she believes she has made a mistake. Mrs. Moore confirms this doubt, definitively stating to Adela that Aziz is innocent. Her statement contains great significance, for Mrs. Moore serves as a paragon of behavior for Forster and the statement serves to shatter the atmosphere of condescending tenderness that surrounds Adela. Mrs. Moore's statement that Aziz is innocent is a turning point in the novel: it is the first time that anybody confronts Adela with the idea that she may be mistaken.
The second factor that concerns Adela is the state of Mrs. Moore. She has been kept apart from Adela, perhaps because she might serve as an advocate for Aziz. However, during her separation from Adela Mrs. Moore has become bitter and cynical; despite her status as perhaps the most moral character in A Passage to India, Mrs. Moore doubts her own virtue, considering herself to be in some sense evil. Her actions, however, demonstrate the contrary, as she opposes her son and confronts Adela with what she believes to be the truth. Mrs. Moore's conversation with Adela serves as a turning point for Mrs. Moore as well as Adela. It is here that Mrs. Moore breaks from her depression to take an active role in the story. She reasserts herself as the moral force in the story, a role that Adela's isolation and Mrs. Moore's solipsism had forced her to abandon.
Ronny's realization that his mother must leave India is tainted with some degree of malicious self-interest. He seems to fear that she will interfere with the events of the trial by proclaiming Aziz's innocence and appears ready to send his mother back to England where she cannot oppose his interests. This is perhaps the most disturbing evidence that Ronny and his colleagues are interested not in the facts of the case but in the larger social ramifications. Ronny is ready to manipulate his mother and secure the conviction of an innocent man as part of Anglo-Indian politics.
Part Two, Chapters 23-32
Chapter Twenty-Three:
Lady Mellanby, wife of the Lieutenant-Governor, had been gratified by the appeal addressed to her by the ladies of Chandrapore, but she could do nothing; she does agree to help Mrs. Moore get passage out of India in her own cabin. Mrs. Moore got what she desired: she escaped the trial, the marriage and the hot weather, and will return to England in comfort. Mrs. Moore, however, has come to that state where the horror and the smallness of the universe are visible. The echo in the cave was a revelation to Mrs. Moore, insignificant though it may be. Mrs. Moore departs from Chandrapore alone, for Ronny cannot leave the town.
Analysis:
Another event of unfortunate ambiguity occurs in this chapter, as Lady Mellanby uses her influence to ensure that Mrs. Moore leaves Chandrapore. Although Forster portrays this as a kind and considerate act in the part of Lady Mellanby, it is the ladies of Chandrapore who make the request to secure Mrs. Moore passage out of India. This fits with the possible interpretation that Ronny forces Mrs. Moore to leave so that she cannot defend Aziz's innocence, a portrayal of the situation that contains a modicum of truth but is nevertheless a grave misrepresentation.
Mrs. Moore leaves India without the tender Christian spirit with which she entered Chandrapore. Although she is no less noble than before, Mrs. Moore no longer has faith in the stability of the universe, finding it vast and uncomforting. The echo in the Marabar Caves proves the pivotal event for Mrs. Moore, a reminder of the emptiness that surrounds her. While her son and the others in Chandrapore inflate the events of the Marabar Caves to absurd proportions, only Mrs. Moore sees her circumstances as pitifully small and unimportant.
Chapter Twenty-Four:
The heat accelerates after Mrs. Moore's departure until it seems a punishment. Adela resumes her morning kneel to Christianity, imploring God for a favorable verdict. Adela worries that she will break down during the trial, but the Collector tells her that she is bound to win, but does not tell her that Nawab Bahadur had financed the defense and would surely appeal. The case is called, and the first person Adela notices in the Court is the man who pulls the punkah; to Adela, this nearly naked man stands out as divine as he pulls the rope. Mr. McBryde behaves casually, as if he knows that Aziz will be found guilty. He remarks that the darker races are physically attracted to the fairer, but not vice verse, and a voice is heard from the crowd asking "even when the lady is so much uglier than the man?" Mahmoud Ali claims that Mrs. Moore was sent away because she would have testified that Aziz is innocent. The audience begins chanting Mrs. Moore until her name seems to be Esmiss Esmoor, as if a Hindu goddess. The magistrate scolds Armitrao and McBryde for presuming Mrs. Moore's presence as a witness. Adela is the next to testify; a new sensation protects her like a magnificent armor. When McBryde asks her whether Aziz followed her, she say that she cannot be sure. Finally, she admits that she made a mistake and Dr. Aziz never followed her. The Major attempts to stop the proceedings on medical grounds, but Adela withdraws the charge. The Nawab Bahadur declares in court that this is a scandal. Mr. Das rises and releases the prisoner, as the man who pulls the punkah continues as if nothing had occurred.
Analysis:
As Mrs. Moore turns away from her secure faith in Christianity during her exit from India, Adela returns to her spiritual belief to strengthen herself before her trial. Her worries that she will break down during the trial stem partially from her doubt in the legitimacy of her charge against Aziz; the chapter builds to her final admission in court that she in fact falsely accused the doctor. No actual explanation for Adela's charge against Aziz is yet given, but Forster indicates that Adela has been pressured into accusing Aziz by the British officials. Despite the fact that Adela permitted Aziz to suffer in jail for so long, Forster portrays her action as noble and self-sacrificing. When she attempts to revoke the charge, McBryde immediately turns on her, essentially declaring that she has gone mad. This is one of several indignities that Adela suffers throughout the chapter. Both McBryde and Mahmoud Ali humiliate her when she testifies during the trial for her questionable sanity and her unattractive appearance. The embarrassment that she suffers generates some sympathy for Adela, who comes out of the trial a victim for a second time. However, the trial is not the end of her suffering. By revoking her charge she has alienated herself from those persons who once supported her. This, as well as racist accusations by McBryde about the sexual proclivities of Indians, demonstrates that the trial does not essentially concern the attack on Adela, but instead the English bureaucracy's racism against Indians.
Mrs. Moore becomes in some sense immortal during this chapter as her mortality becomes more and more questionable. She is the paragon of English kindness and compassion toward Indians, yet her actual mortality seems more and more important. Upon her exit from India and foreshadowed death, Mrs. Moore becomes a symbol of both English kindness, for she genuinely cared for Aziz, and English injustice, for the Indians believe that she was taken away so that she could not exonerate Aziz. There is some irony in Mrs. Moore's fate, for just as she turns away from spirituality she becomes a religious icon.
Chapter Twenty-Five:
Miss Quested renounces his own people and is drawn into a mass of Indians and carried toward the public exit of the court. Fielding finds her, and tells her that she cannot walk alone in Chandrapore, for there will be a riot. She wonders if she should join the other English persons, but Fielding puts her in his carriage. One of Fielding's students finds him and gives him a garland of jasmine, but Fielding has wearied of his students' adoration. The student vows to pull Fielding and Miss Quested in a procession. Mahmoud Ali shouts "down with the Collector, down with the Superintendent of Police," but the Nawab Bahadur reprimands him as unwise. A riot nearly occurs, but Dr. Panna Lal calms the situation. Although Dr. Lal was going to testify for the prosecution, he makes a public apology to Aziz and secures the release of Nureddin, for there are rumors that he was being tortured by the police.
Analysis:
Miss Quested joins Fielding as a fellow excommunicate from the English race upon the end of the trial. Despite the acquittal of Aziz, Adela and those around her have created such animosity between the English and the Indians that the damage cannot be undone. Fielding and Adela are literally swept off their feet by the actions of others in this chapter, as chaos breaks out around Chandrapore and a riot nearly occurs. Once again, an event grows out of proportion to its actual significance. Forster shows this through the various rumors that abound concerning the trial, such as the reported incidents of torture.
Victory makes the Indians of Chandrapore bold, but the behavior of several of the Indian leaders is foolish and dangerous. Forster shows that, although they are the victims in this situation, they are capable of short-sighted behavior that equals that of the English. It is only through small gestures such as the apology by Dr. Panna Lal that full disaster is averted. Nevertheless, the acquittal of Dr. Aziz is not the end of the Anglo-Indian conflict. Forster foreshadows that the conflict will continue to plague Chandrapore, at the expense of Adela and even Fielding and Dr. Aziz.
Chapter Twenty-Six:
Fielding and Miss Quested remain isolated at the college and have the first of several curious conversations. He asks her why she would make a charge if she were to withdraw it, but she cannot give a definitive answer. She tells him that she has been unwell since the caves and perhaps before that, and wonders what gave her the hallucination. He offers four explanations, but only gives three: Aziz is guilty, as her friends think; she invented the charge out of malice, which is what Fielding's friends think; or, she had a hallucination. He tells her that he believes that she broke the strap of the field glasses and was alone in the cave the whole time. She tells him that she first felt out of sorts at the party with Aziz and Godbole, and tells him that she had a hallucination of a marriage proposal when there was none. Fielding believes that McBryde exorcised her: as soon as he asked a straightforward question, she gave a straightforward answer and broke down. She asks what Aziz thinks of her, and Fielding tells Adela that Aziz is not capable of thought in his misery, but is naturally very bitter. An underlying feeling with Aziz is that he had been accused by an ugly woman; Aziz is a sexual snob. Fielding offers the fourth explanation: that it was the guide who assaulted Adela, but that option is inconclusive. Hamidullah joins them, and alternately praises and reprimands Adela. Fielding and Hamidullah are unsure where Adela could go, because no place seems safe for her. Fielding has a new sympathy for Adela, who has become a real person to him. Adela thinks that she must go to the Turtons, for the Collector would take her in, if not his wife. Ronny arrives and tells them that Mrs. Moore died at sea from the heat. Fielding tells him that Adela will stay at the college but he will not be responsible for her safety.
Analysis:
The mutual isolation from the other Anglo-Indians forces Fielding and Adela to be reluctant allies, and Fielding's natural sense of justice causes him to rally to Adela's defense. Yet like all alliances in A Passage to India, there is a chance for misinterpretation, particularly considering Aziz's monumental ill-will toward Adela and Fielding's lack of concern for attacks on his reputation. This plays into Aziz's tendency to overreact to situations and behave melodramatically. He will certainly dislike that his ally Fielding is aiding the person he believes is his sworn enemy.
Forster still does not offer a concrete explanation for the events in the Marabar Caves, but he presents several viable options for the attack on Adela. The most likely of these is that the attack was in part a hallucination. Adela's behavior before the caves seems to confirm this observation; Forster has established her as an intellectual with little grip on the reality around her. For Adela, the event in the cave relates to her possible marriage to Ronny; it was he whom she was thinking about before she entered the cave, and Adela relates the events in the cave to the imagined marriage proposal. This indicates how deeply felt her anxieties about her marriage to Ronny truly are; it has, in some sense, driven her to delusion.
Only when she is forced to confront actual facts, as when McBryde questions her during the trial, does she return to clarity. This particular option shows that Adela was not motivated by malice against Aziz; the indignities that she will suffer from both Aziz and the Anglo-Indians will thus seem unjust punishment for the deluded girl. Already the Anglo-Indians abandon Adela, refusing to accept her for thwarting their plans; Aziz himself will seek retribution as well.
Forster develops the more sinister side to Aziz in this chapter. Although certainly the wronged victim in this situation, Forster does not elevate him to martyrdom. His understandable contempt for Adela Quested takes an unfortunate form. His hatred for Adela is in no small part superficial; he hates that such an unattractive woman made the charge nearly as much as he hates the charge itself. The change in Aziz's character indicates the detrimental effect that the trial has had on him. He leaves his imprisonment not ennobled, but bitter, cynical and vindictive.
Chapter Twenty-Seven:
After the Victory Banquet at Mr. Zulfiqar's mansion, Aziz and Fielding discuss the future. Aziz knows that Fielding wants him to not sue Adela, for it will show him to be a gentleman, but Aziz says that he has become anti-British and ought to have become so sooner. Aziz says that he will not let Miss Quested off easily to make a better reputation for himself and Indians generally, for it will be put down to weakness and the attempt to gain promotion. Aziz decides that he will have nothing more to do with British India and will seek service in some Moslem State. Fielding tells Aziz that Adela is a prig, but perfectly genuine and very brave. He tells Aziz what a momentous move she made. Fielding offers to be an intermediary for an apology from Adela, and Aziz asks for an apology in which Adela admits that she is an awful hag. Aziz finally agrees to consult Mrs. Moore. However, when Fielding blurts out that she is dead, Aziz does not believe him.
Analysis:
The events surrounding the Marabar Caves and the subsequent trial have a detrimental effect on each of the characters involved: Mrs. Moore loses her faith in the universe, Adela and Fielding lose their social standing among the British, and Aziz suffers the injustice of prison. However, the temporary loss of his freedom is only secondary to the major loss that Aziz suffers. Aziz loses the sense of kindness he demonstrated upon meeting Mrs. Moore and Miss Quested, instead becoming petty and vengeful. His malice toward Adela is the understandable consequence of the previous chapters' events, but nevertheless renders him unsympathetic. His character assaulted by the British, Aziz now obsesses over his reputation and wishes to make Adela pay in order to maintain dignity.
The death of Mrs. Moore had been foreshadowed earlier in the novel, but the timing of the announcement to Aziz is significant. Fielding tells Aziz about her death as he relishes the possibility of punishing Adela, as if intending to punish Aziz for his selfish behavior. Yet the death of Mrs. Moore also symbolizes the severing of Aziz's connection with Anglo-India. Mrs. Moore is the only truly English character to have a genuine friendship with Aziz, for Fielding belongs to his race only when it is pragmatic. When she dies, this ends the possibility that Aziz might find a complete reconciliation with the British in India.
Forster emphasizes the significant sacrifice that Adela made during the trial. Despite her erratic behavior, Adela behaved with a sense of courage and honor when she admitted her mistake. If her mistake in accusing Aziz is the most significant of the novel, her sacrifice of her own safety and status is equally momentous.
Chapter Twenty-Eight:
The death of Mrs. Moore assumes more subtle and lasting shapes in Chandrapore than in England. A legend sprang up that Ronny killed her for trying to save Aziz's life, and there was sufficient truth in that legend to trouble authorities. Ronny reminds himself that Mrs. Moore left India of her own volition, but his conscience is not clear, for he behaved badly to her. Adela will leave India and not marry Ronny, for that would mean the end of his career.
Analysis:
Mrs. Moore continues to develop a mythology after her death, an appropriate fate for a woman whom Forster portrays as a paragon of kindness and morality. Even Ronny feels a sense of regret concerning the trial. His actions operate on several levels: although he can convince himself that he did nothing inappropriate when sending his mother from India, he must remind himself that his motives were not entirely pure. The suspicions about Ronny contain a particular irony: he is unfairly suspected of engineering his mother's death in the same manner that he wrongly assumed that Aziz assaulted Adela Quested.
Chapter Twenty-Nine:
Sir Gilbert, the Lieutenant-Governor of the Province, visits Chandrapore. Fielding finds himself drawn more and more into Miss Quested's affairs, and appreciates her fine loyal character and humility. Victory had made the Indians aggressive, attempting to discover new grievances and wrongs. Fielding uses Mrs. Moore as an attempt to persuade Aziz to let Adela off paying. Adela admits to Fielding that she was thinking of Ronny when she first entered the cave, and now she no longer wants love. Adela leaves India. On her travel out of India, Antony tries to blackmail her by claiming that she had an affair with Fielding, but she turns him away. When Adela arrives in England, she vows to look up Ralph and Stella and to return to her profession.
Analysis:
That the Lieutenant-Governor of the Province must be called in to Chandrapore demonstrates the impact of the trial upon the town and on relations between the British and the Indians. However, as the British were the aggressors during the trial, the role shifts to the Indians, who use the false charge against Aziz as an example of all their grievances. Their behavior is simply that of the British; the only difference is that they lack the bureaucratic clout to effect their plans. Fielding's invocation of Mrs. Moore shows that Aziz still retains some of the kindness and receptivity to others that he demonstrated before the trial. For Aziz, Mrs. Moore exemplifies the ideal of behavior for western culture. Forster even juxtaposes Aziz's dedication to Mrs. Moore with Adela's similar reverence for her. Although Aziz and Adela are in a significant sense enemies, both characters hold Mrs. Moore as a symbol of ideal behavior.
Forster continues to build on his portrayal of Adela Quested as courageous and noble as she is afflicted with various indignities. The events surrounding the Marabar Caves expedition have made her cynical, as they have done with Aziz, but she continues to behave with humility and honor. In some sense she assumes some of the characteristics of Mrs. Moore, a change made more evident by her intention to visit Ralph and Stella when she returns to England. Adela leaves England having suffered greatly and having caused equal suffering, but nevertheless she leaves the country a stronger woman who can better face reality.
Chapter Thirty:
Another local consequence of the trial is a Hindu-Moslem entente. Mr. Das visits Aziz, seeking favors; he asks Aziz to write poetry for the magazine he publishes. Aziz accommodates him, but asks why he should fulfill these when Mr. Das tried to send him to prison. Aziz thinks that the magazine for which Mr. Das asks him to write is for Hindus only, but Mr. Das tells him that it is for Indians in general. When Aziz says there is no category of "Indian" (only Hindu and Moslem), Das says that after the trial there may be. Hamidullah gossips with Aziz, telling him that Fielding may have had an affair with Adela, but this does not faze Aziz, for he claims that he has no friends and all are traitors, even his own children.
Analysis:
This chapter serves to show how the political alliances in Chandrapore change because of the trial. The new political power that the Muslims gain from Aziz's victory leads to an alliance with local Hindus, while Aziz himself becomes a local hero to all Indians. While other characters convey a sense that the trial has forged a new Indian identity, Aziz correctly judges that this is merely an ephemeral shift in the political dynamic. Although Aziz's contempt for Adela Quested has clouded his judgment since the trial, he nevertheless can accurately see that the trial is an altogether divisive event in the long run. The inevitable rumors about Fielding and Adela Quested, earlier foreshadowed, reach Aziz in this chapter, but he appears unfazed by the gossip out of his newfound cynicism. However, part of this aggressive lack of trust seems forced and defensive; Aziz's true feelings on the matter are yet to be revealed.
Chapter Thirty-One:
The sequence of the events had decided Aziz's emotions and his friendship with Fielding began to cool. He assumes that the rumor about Fielding and Adela is true and resents it. Aziz speaks to Fielding about it, but Fielding tells him not to speak so melodramatically about "dismay and anxiety." Aziz speaks about enemies, but Fielding seems to dismiss the idea that either of them have great enemies. Fielding becomes angry that Aziz thinks that he and Adela had an affair during such a difficult time, but the two clear up the misunderstanding. Aziz and Fielding discuss their future plans. Fielding is conscious of something hostile against him. He leaves Chandrapore, with Aziz convinced that he will marry Miss Quested.
Analysis:
The rumored affair between Adela and Fielding causes an inevitable rift between Fielding and Aziz. Fielding has little conception that reputation matters and that his support of Adela placed him against those persons he originally supported, while Aziz, afflicted with great suspicion, can see only in terms of allies and enemies. In both characters there is a sense of naïveté, for Aziz assumes the worst must always be true and Fielding assumes that alliances do not matter in India. This again demonstrates the possibility for misinterpreting situations, for both character approach the situation in different ways. Aziz conceives of Fielding's behavior in terms of friends and enemies, while Fielding approaches it in terms of literal facts, which he believes are sufficient. This misunderstanding motivates Fielding's departure from India, which gives Aziz additional reason to believe that Fielding will marry Adela Quested.
Chapter Thirty-Two:
Fielding leaves India for travels in other exotic parts of the world. Fielding found Egypt charming, as well as Crete and Venice. He felt that everything in Venice and Crete was right where everything in India was wrong, such as the idol temples and lumpy hills. Elsewhere there is form that India lacks.
Analysis:
Like Adela Quested, Fielding leaves India, yet while Adela was strengthened by her suffering in India, Fielding leaves in mere disgust. He idealizes each of the places that he visits, simply because they are different from India. Fielding's complaint that India lacks form relates back to the earlier comment that India is a muddle.' Both complaints about India have their basis in the idea that the nation does not conform to expectations and reveal the limitations of western interpretations of the country. Despite Fielding's liberalism and ability to appreciate India, he still lacks some ability to fully understand the culture and be entirely part of it. Fielding's escape from India is thus in some part an attempt to rejoin the western culture he abandoned during Aziz's trial.
Part Three, Chapters 33-37
Part Three: Temple
Chapter Thirty-Three:
Hundreds of miles west of the Marabar Hills, Professor Godbole stands "in the presence of God" during a Hindu birth ceremony. Godbole prays at the famous shrine at the palace at Mau. Godbole is now the Minister of Education at Mau. He sings not to the god who confronts him during the ritual, but to a saint. The ritual does not one thing that the non-Hindu would consider dramatically correct. By chance, while thinking about a wasp that he sees, Godbole remembers Mrs. Moore, even though she was not important to him.
Analysis:
Forster releases the dramatic tension that had built concerning the Marabar Caves expedition in this chapter, which takes place removed from the conflict in Chandrapore. This chapter, with the exception of the reference to Mrs. Moore, exists entirely in reference to Indian culture. Forster makes the important point that the birth ceremony is dramatically incorrect for westerners, but nevertheless is appropriate for its particular context.
Godbole's sudden remembrance of Mrs. Moore is an odd intrusion into the specifically Hindu ceremony, but not entirely inappropriate. Mrs. Moore remains the only English character in A Passage to India who proved herself able to fully interact with Indian culture. It is she, and not Fielding, whose pragmatism and independence make him unsuitable for both eastern and western culture, who best achieved reciprocity between the two cultures.
Chapter Thirty-Four:
Dr. Aziz, who had taken part in the ceremony, leaves the palace at the same time as Godbole and sees the Professor, who tells him that Fielding arrived at the European Guest House. Fielding is making an official visit; he was transferred from Chandrapore and sent on a tour through Central India to see what the more remote states are doing with regard to English education. Fielding had married; Aziz assumes that his bride is Miss Quested. In Mau the conflict is not between Indians and English, but between Brahman and non-Brahman. Aziz had destroyed all the letters that Fielding had wrote to him after he learned that Fielding had married someone he knew. Unfortunately, Aziz never read any letters past the phrase "someone he knew" and automatically assumed it was Miss Quested. Aziz still remains under criminal investigation since the trial. Colonel Maggs, the Political Agent for the area, is committed to investigating Aziz, still convinced that he must be guilty based on events in Chandrapore. Aziz receives a note from Fielding, but he tears it up.
Analysis:
Forster bases this chapter on a misunderstanding between Aziz and Fielding. Aziz remains angry at Fielding for supposedly marrying Miss Quested, but there is no definitive information that it is actually Miss Quested that he has married. In fact, for Fielding to do so and expect friendship with Aziz seems quite unlikely. Rather, the identity of the person whom Fielding has married will soon be revealed. There is some irony in the situation. Aziz deliberately causes this rift between him and Fielding by refusing to finish a sentence.
Aziz remains bitter and cynical because of the events at Chandrapore, but upon leaving the area his temper has cooled significantly. There is still a core of resentment, but Aziz is no longer obsessed with revenge against the English in general and Adela Quested in particular. The different political dynamic at Mau contributes to this greater sense of repose; the omnipresent conflict between the English and the Indians in Chandrapore cedes to different lines of faction in Mau. This new balance of power shows that the problems in India are not part of irreconcilable lines of conflict between east and west; rather, the problem stems from the natural human tendency for factions. In Mau, the English-Indian differences are secondary to other alignments. This is significant because it shows that there is no irreconcilable rift between the English and Indians.
Chapter Thirty-Five:
There are two shrines to a Mohammedan saint in Mau. These commemorate a man who, upon his mother's order to "free prisoners," freed the inmates at the local jail, but whose head was cut off by the police. These shrines are the sites where the few Mohammedans in Mau pray. Aziz goes to the Shrine of the Head with his children, Ahmed, Jemila and Karim. The children see Fielding and his brother-in-law, and tell Aziz. They suggest throwing stones at them, but Aziz scolds them. Aziz, who is fortunately in a good temper, greets Fielding, although he had not intended to do so. Aziz greets the brother-in-law as "Mr. Quested," but he says that his name is Ralph Moore. Fielding had married Stella, the daughter of Mrs. Moore. Fielding blames Mahmoud Ali for the ill will between them, for he knew definitively that Fielding had married Stella. Aziz behaves aggressively and says that he forgives Mahmoud Ali. He tells Fielding that his heart is for his own people only. He leaves Fielding and returns to his house, excited and happy, but realizes that he had promised Mrs. Moore to be kind to her children, if he met them.
Analysis:
Although the reason behind Aziz's anger toward Fielding disappears once the misunderstanding is cleared up, Aziz cannot let go of his long-held dissatisfaction against Fielding. Aziz has been so prepared to think of Fielding as married to Adela that he can barely comprehend that he is mistaken. However, part of the anger that Aziz shows toward Fielding must certainly stem from both pride and embarrassment. Aziz must justify that he has been so angry with his good friend for so long, but feels somewhat foolish for the absurd mistake, for the deception by Mahmoud Ali, and for behaving poorly toward the son of the beloved Mrs. Moore. Also, having been angry at Fielding for so long, Aziz finds it difficult to let go of his bitterness so hastily. Once again, however, Mrs. Moore proves to be the factor that motivates Aziz to behave with more kindness.
Chapter Thirty-Six:
The birth procession had not yet taken place, although the birth ceremony finished earlier. All would culminate in the dance of the milkmaidens before Krishna. Aziz could not understand the ceremony any more than a Christian could, puzzled that during the ceremony the people in Mau could be purged from suspicion and self-seeking. Godbole tells Aziz that he has known that Fielding was married to Stella Moore for more than a year. Aziz cannot be angry with Godbole, however, because it is not his way to tell anybody anything. Aziz and Godbole continue in the procession as it leads out of town. Aziz becomes cynical once again. He thinks that the pose of "seeing India" is only a form of conquest. Aziz goes to the Guest House where Fielding stays and reads two letters lying open on the piano. In the East the sanctity of private correspondence does not exist. The letters primarily concern Ralph Moore, who appears to be almost an imbecile, but there is a letter from Adela to Stella in which she says that she hopes Stella will enjoy India more than she did and says that she will never repay a debt. Aziz notices the friendly intercourse between these people, men and women, and believes that this is the strength of England. Ralph Moore enters, and Aziz claims that he is there to bring salve for his bee stings. Aziz abruptly prepares to leave, but apologizes. Ralph tells him that his mother loved Aziz, and Aziz claims that Mrs. Moore was his best friend in the world. Aziz offers to take Ralph Moore out on the river, as an act of homage to Mrs. Moore. Ralph is curious about the procession, which marks him as Mrs. Moore's son. The boat which Ralph and Aziz are in collides with another boat carrying Fielding and Stella.
Analysis:
Forster juxtaposes the Hindu birth ceremony that culminates in this chapter with the rebirth of the Dr. Aziz of the first chapters of A Passage to India. Aziz begins to demonstrate once again those characteristics he showed toward Mrs. Moore when he behaves kindly to Ralph Moore and offers to show him Mau. Nevertheless, like the Hindu birth ceremony, the rebirth' of Aziz's generosity is a slow process.
Godbole's random revelation to Aziz that he has known about Fielding's marriage to Stella Moore highlights how absurd the conflict between Aziz and Fielding really is. If he had bothered to inform Aziz, or if Aziz had bothered to read the entirely of the letter Fielding had sent to him, there would be no conflict. This in turn shows the absurdity of Aziz insisting on remaining angry at Fielding. Other than pride and stubbornness, there is no reason for Aziz to feel any ill will toward Fielding. Fortunately, Aziz finally relents and abandons his aggressive stance toward the Fieldings and Ralph Moore. The impetus for this is the memory of Mrs. Moore, who still pervades the events in A Passage to India long after her death. When Aziz takes Ralph Moore on the river, this recalls Aziz's first meetings with Mrs. Moore in which he attempted to show her Indian culture out of pure kindness.
The crashing of the two boats forms the climax of A Passage to India. The event proves a sharp confrontation between Aziz and Fielding, but one that is more foolish and absurd than dramatic. The melodrama of the clashing of two cultures, east and west, that drives the majority of the novel gives way to a comic clashing of two boats. This is an ironic event, for the reconciliation between Aziz and Fielding occurs only after a comedic mishap. This also serves as a reminder of the foolishness of most of the dramatic events in A Passage to India. The mini-tragedy of the crashing of the boats occurs out of misunderstandings and understandable errors in judgment. The major difference between the crashing of the boats and the other events of the novel is that Fielding and Aziz choose to accept the event as comedy rather than tragedy.
Chapter Thirty-Seven:
Fielding and Aziz are friends again, but aware that they can meet no more. After the funny shipwreck there is no bitterness or nonsense. Aziz admits how brave Miss Quested was, and claims that he wants to do kind actions to wipe out the wretched business of the Marabar forever. Fielding realizes that his wife does not love him as much as he loves her. They realize that socially the two men have no meeting place. Fielding cannot defy his own people for the sake of a stray Indian, and Aziz is but a memento. Aziz explains what he can of the birthing ceremony to Fielding. They discuss who should rule India. Fielding mockingly suggests the Japanese, but Aziz wants his ancestors, the Afghans, to rule. To Aziz, India will then become a nation. Aziz cries "down with the English. That's certain," then states that only then will he and Fielding be friends.
Analysis:
Forster ends A Passage to India with a bittersweet reconciliation between Aziz and Fielding, but also with the realization that the two cannot be friends under contemporary conditions. Aziz makes an important concession when he admits that Adela was brave to withdraw her charges, and expresses regret for the aftermath of the Marabar expedition. Aziz thus completes a movement from kindness and generosity of spirit to bitter and cynicism and back. Fielding, in contrast, realizes that he is in fact a true Englishman and belongs among his own race; to defy his race and maintain an active friendship with Aziz would be just, but not pragmatic. This brings back the theme of responsibilities and limitations of racial identity, as Fielding accepts the sacrifices he must make to retain his English identity. In this manner Forster ends A Passage to India as a tragic but platonic love story between the two friends, separated by different cultures and political climates.
Forster does not express any definitive political standpoint on the sovereignty of India in this chapter. Fielding suggests that British rule over India, if relinquished, would be replaced by a different sovereign that would be perhaps worse than the English. However, Aziz does make the point that it is British rule in India that prevents the two men from remaining friends. Forster thus indicates that British rule in India creates significant problems for India, but does not offer an easy or concrete solution.
رد: A Passage to India Part 2
thank you so much
سعد الدهيمي- عضو مميز
- عدد المساهمات : 262
تاريخ التسجيل : 07/12/2010
الموقع : منتديات الأدب واللغة الانجليزية
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» ملخص انجليزي لرواية A Passage To India )1(Part one)
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» ملخص الرواية في السينما A passage to India
» فيلم A Passage to India
» A Passage to India Quiz
» اسئلة مقالية عن A Passage To India
» ملخص الرواية في السينما A passage to India
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