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A Passage to India by E.M. Forester is set in India during the reign of the British Raj. This novel looks at the disparaging atmosphere between the British and the Indians. The British took to seeing themselves as refined, civilized, and essentially as good human beings. In contrast they viewed the Indian people as uncivilized barbarians who were prone to committing evil acts. The Indian people were very resentful towards their treatment and undermined British authority with rude slights of propriety and petty comments.
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The British view themselves as civilized because they come from the Western world which is full of rules, culture, and aristocracy. The Indians view themselves as civilized because they come from a world with rules, culture, and aristocracy. The difference is that the West views India as an exotic and unexplored world that is full of mystery and eroticism. For instance, Adela wants to explore India and discover the mysticism of the culture. Her desire to explore is not because she wants to know the people or the culture but because she wants her view to be fulfilled.
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Her reality becomes shattered as she enters the caves with a local Indian doctor (Aziz) and is confronted by the darkness within herself as well as from the outside. It causes her to ask personal and rude questions about Aziz's marriage and implies that he is practices polygamy. Aziz is very frustrated and hurt by this insult and storms off. Adela has a mental breakdown and fabricates this story about being accosted in the caves.
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The British people believe Adela because
1. She is British and Aziz is Indian.
2. She has privilege and more stature than Aziz.
3. She is engaged to a man of power and so her word must be valid.
4. Obviously, all Indians are savages and Aziz has been masquerading as well-refined doctor for so long.
The British people believe that the caves brought about Aziz's true nature, but in reality they brought to like Adela's. Adela's nature is to point fingers and be fearful of the Indian people. This shows that her rash conclusion and fear of not actually wanting to marry Ronny caused her to have a breakdown, but her first inclination wasn't to acknowledge that something wasn't right with her, but that something was wrong with the man who must have accompanied her even though he left her. Because how could there be anything wrong with someone civilized when faced with the truth in the darkness of a cave? This is the question I believe cushioned Adela to make her accusation.
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Nothing really changes by the end of the novel. The British still think Aziz did it and the Indian still hate the British. This is shown through Aziz and Fielding's broken and shattered friendship. They both want to repair it, but the damages of the British civility have been done. The friendship is irreparable just like the Indian people will never be able to fully trust or listen to the authority of the British. There is a rift in the country and it is reflected in the friendship of the East and the West.
What are your thoughts on the colonization and perspectives addressed in A Passage to India? Let me know down below in the comments.
See you soon,
Sarah Johnson
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