 Hello and welcome to our video summarizing all you need to know about the novel A Passage to India by E. M. Foster. My name is Bani and in this video we will look at a passage to India, specifically beginning with some context related to the author as well as ideas at the time this novel was written that you will need to be aware of. We will then look into the novel's plot in detail and we will examine the necessary information you will need to understand before looking at each character in the novel in depth, key themes related to this novel as well as important symbols. This video is really useful, especially if you are studying a passage to India as part of your English coursework or exams as we will go into the details you will need to know to get top marks. So let's get started. Overview A passage to India published in 1924 is a novel by English author E. M. Foster set against the backdrop of the British Raj and the Indian independence movement in the 1920s. It was selected as one of the 100 great works of the 20th century English literature by the modern library and won the 1924 James State Black Memorial Prize for fiction. Time magazine included the novel in its all-time 100 novels list. The novel is based on Foster's experiences in India, deriving the title from Walt Whitman's 1870 poem, passage to India in Leaves of Grass. Context The story revolves around four characters. Dr. Aziz, his British friend Mr. Cyril Fielding, Mrs. Moon and Ms. Adela Quested. During a trip to the fictitious Marabar caves modeled on the Barabar caves of Bihar, Adela thinks she finds herself alone with Dr. Aziz in one of the caves, when in fact he is in an entirely different cave and subsequently panics and fleas. It is assumed that Dr. Aziz has attempted to assault her. Aziz's trial and its run-up and aftermath bring to boil the common racial tensions and prejudices between Indians and the British who ruled India. The Indian self-rule movement was a mass-based movement that encompassed various sections of society. It also went a process of constant ideological evolution. Although the basic ideology of the movement was anti-colonial, it was supported by a vision of independent capitalist economic development coupled with a secular democratic republican and civil libertarian political structure. After the 1930s, the movement took on a strong socialist orientation. The work of these various movements led ultimately to the Indian Independence Act 1947 which ended the sovereignty in India and the creation of Pakistan. India remained a dominion of the crown until 26 January 1950 when the constitution of India came into force establishing the Republic of India. Pakistan was a dominion until 1956 when it adopted its first republican constitution. Long before Forster visited India, he had already gained a vivid picture of its people and places from a young Indian Muslim named Saeed Ross Masood whom Forster began tutoring in England starting in 1906. Forster and Masood became very close and Masood introduced Forster to several of his Indian friends. Echoes of the friendship between the two can be seen in the characters of Fielding and Aziz in a passage to India. By the time Forster first visited India in 1912, the Englishman was well prepared for his travels throughout the country. At the time of Forster's visit, the British government had officially been ruling India since 1858 after the failed Sepoy rebellion in 1857 in which Indians attempted to regain rule from the British East India Company. The East India Company, a privately owned trading concern, had been gaining financial and political power in India since the 17th century. By the time of Forster's visit, Britain's control over India was complete. English governors headed each province and were responsible to parliament. Though England had promised the Indian people a role in government in exchange for their aid during World War I, India did not win independence until three decades later in 1947. Forster spent time with both Englishmen and Indians during his visit and he quickly found he preferred the company of the latter. He was troubled by the racial oppression and deep cultural misunderstandings that divided the Indian people and the British colonists or as they're called in a passage to India, Anglo-Indians. The prevailing attitude among the British in India was that the colonists were assuming the white man's burden, novelist Rudyard Kipling's face of governing the country because the Indians could not handle the responsibility themselves. Forster, a homosexual living in a society and era largely unsympathetic to his lifestyle had long experienced prejudice and misunderstanding firsthand. It is no surprise then that Forster felt sympathetic toward the Indian side of the colonial argument. Indeed Forster became a lifelong advocate for tolerance and understanding among people of different social classes, races and backgrounds. Forster began writing a passage to India in 1913 just after his first visit to India. The novel was not revised and completed, however, well until after his second stay in India in 1921 when he served as secretary to the Maharaja of Devas State Senior. Published in 1924, a passage to India examines the racial misunderstandings and cultural hypocrisies that characterize the complex interactions between Indians and the English toward the end of the British occupation of India. Moving on to the plot summary. Two English women, the young Miss Adela quested and the elderly Mrs. Moore travelled to India. Adela expects to become engaged to Mrs. Moore's son, Ronnie, a British magistrate in the Indian city of Chandrapur. Adela and Mrs. Moore each hoped to see the real India during their visit rather than cultural institutions imported by the British. At the same time, Aziz, a young Muslim doctor in India, is increasingly frustrated by the poor treatment he receives at the hands of the English. Aziz is especially annoyed with major calendar the civil surgeon who has a tendency to summon Aziz for frivolous reasons in the middle of dinner. Aziz and two of his educated friends, Hamidullah and Mahmood Ali hold a lively conversation about whether or not an Indian can be friends with an Englishman in India. That night, Mrs. Moore and Aziz happen to run into each other while exploring a local mosque and the two become friendly. Aziz is moved and surprised that an English person would treat him like a friend. Mr. Totan, the collector who governs Chandrapur, hosts a party so that Adela and Mrs. Moore may have the opportunity to meet some of the more prominent and wealthy Indians in the city. At the event which proves to be rather awkward, Adela meets Cyril Fielding, the principal of the government college in Chandrapur. Fielding, impressed with Adela's open friendliness to the Indians, invites her and Mrs. Moore to tea with him and the Hindu professor, Gudbule. At Adela's request, Fielding invites Aziz to tea as well. At the tea, Aziz and Fielding immediately become friendly and the afternoon is overwhelmingly pleasant until Ronnie Heelsop arrives and rudely interrupts the party. Later that evening, Adela tells Ronnie that she has decided not to marry him. But that night, the two are in a car accident and the excitement of the event causes Adela to change her mind about the marriage. Not long afterward, Aziz organizes an expedition to the nearby Maravar caves with those who attended Fielding's tea. Fielding and Professor Gudbule missed the train to Maravar so Aziz continues on alone with the two ladies, Adela and Mrs. Moore. Inside one of the caves, Mrs. Moore is unnerved by the enclosed space and is crowded with Aziz's retinue and by the uncanny echo that seems to translate every sound she makes into the noise, boom. Aziz, Adela and a guide go on to the higher caves while Mrs. Moore waits below. Adela, suddenly realizing that she does not love Ronnie, asks Aziz whether he has more than one wife, a question he considers offensive. Aziz storms off into a cave and when he returns, Adela is gone. Aziz calls the guide for losing Adela and the guide runs away. Aziz finds Adela's broken field glasses and heads down the hill. Back at the picnic site, Aziz finds feeling waiting for him. Aziz is unconcerned to learn that Adela has hastily taken a car back to Chandrapur. Aziz overjoyed to see feeling. Back in Chandrapur, however, Aziz is unexpectedly arrested. He is charged with attempting to rape Adela, while she was in the caves, a charge based on a claim Adela herself made. Fielding, believing Aziz to be innocent, angers all of British India by joining the Indians in Aziz's defense. In the weeks before the trial, the racial tensions between the Indians and the English fair up considerably. Mrs. Moore is distracted and miserable because of a memory of the echo in the cave and because of her impatience with the upcoming trial. Adela is emotional and ill, she too seems to suffer from an echo in her mind. Ronnie is fed up with Mrs. Moore's lack of support for Adela and it is agreed that Mrs. Moore will return to England earlier than planned. Mrs. Moore dies on the voyage back to England but not before she realises that there is no real India but rather a complex multitude of different Indians. At Aziz's trial, Adela under oaths is questioned about what happened in the caves. Shockingly, she declares that she made a mistake. Aziz is not the person that attacked her in the cave. Aziz is set free and fielding a Scots Adela to the government college where she spends the next several weeks. Fielding begins to respect Adela, recognising a baby in standing against her peers to pronounce Aziz innocent. Ronnie breaks off his engagement to Adela and she returns to England. Aziz however is angry that Fielding would befriend Adela after she nearly ruined Aziz's life and the friendship between the two men suffers as a consequence. Then Fielding sails off for a visit to England. Aziz declares that he is done with the English and that he intends to move to a place where he will not have to encounter them. Two years later, Aziz has become the chief doctor to the Raja of Mao a Hindi region several hundred miles away from Chandrapur. He has heard that Fielding married Adela shortly after returning to England. Aziz now virulently hates all the English people. One day walking through an old temple with his three children he encounters Fielding and his brother-in-law. Aziz is surprised to learn that the brother-in-law's name is Ralph Moore. It turns out that Fielding married not Adela quested with Stella Moore but Mrs Moore's daughter from a second marriage. Aziz befriends Ralph. After he accidentally runs his robot into Fielding's Aziz renews his friendship with Fielding as well. The two men go for a final ride together before Fielding leaves during which Aziz tells Fielding that once the English are out of India the two will be able to be friends. Fielding asks why they cannot be friends now when they both want to be but the sky and the earth seem to say No, not yet. No, not there. Moving on to a detailed summary of each chapter. Part 1 Chapter 1 Chandrapur is an undistinguished Indian town except for the outlying Mara Bar caves. The small, dirty city sits next to the river Ganges. Slightly inland from the city near the railway station lie the plain sensible buildings of the British Colonials. From the vantage point of these buildings Chandrapur appears lovely because its unattractive parts are obscured by tropical vegetation. Newcomers, in order to lose their romantic image of the city must be driven down to the city itself. The language that Foster uses to describe the town creates the feeling of monotony, vast space and infinity. The separation of the English settlement from the Indian is as distinct in the character and attitudes of the people as it is in the physical appearance of the houses and grounds. The British buildings and the rest of Chandrapur are connected only by the Indian sky. The sky dominates the whole landscape. Chapter 2 Dr Aziz, an Indian Muslim, arrives late to his friend Hamidullah's house where Hamidullah and Mahmood Ali are engaged in a debate over whether it is possible for an Indian and an Englishman to be friends. Hamidullah, who studied at Cambridge when he was young contends that such a cross-cultural friendship is possible in England. The men agree that Englishmen in India have all become insufferable within two years and all English women within six months. Aziz refers to happily ignore the English. Hamidullah takes Aziz behind the parter, the screen that separates women from public interaction to chat with his wife. Hamidullah's wife scolds Aziz for not having remarried after the death of his wife. Aziz, however, is happy with his life and sees his three children at his mother-in-law's house often. The men sit down to dinner along with Muhammad Latif, a poor, lazy relative of Hamidullah. Aziz recites poetry for the men and they listen happily, feeling momentarily that India is one. Poetry in India is a public event. During dinner, Aziz receives a sermon from his superior, Major Calender, the civil surgeon. Annoyed, Aziz bicycles away to Calender's bungalow. When Aziz's bicycle tire deflates, he hires a Tonga, a small pony-drawn vehicle and finally arrives at Calender's house to find that the major has gone and left him a message. Furthermore, as Aziz is speaking with a servant on the porch, Mrs. Calender and her friend, Mrs. Leslie, rudely take Aziz's hired Tonga for their own use. Aziz decides to walk home on the way he stops at his favorite mosque. To Aziz, the mosque with its beautiful architecture is a symbol of the truth of Islam and love. Aziz imagines building his own mosque with an inscription for his tomb-addressing, quote, those who have secretly understood my heart, unquote. Aziz suddenly notices an English woman in the mosque and yells at her angrily, for she is trespassing in a holy place for Muslims. The woman is humble, however, as she has removed her shoes upon entering and that she realizes that God is present in the mosque. Aziz is impressed. The woman introduces herself as Mrs. Moore. She is visiting her son, Ronnie Heelslop, the city magistrate. Aziz and Mrs. Moore discover that they each have two sons and a daughter. Aziz senses Mrs. Moore's friendly sympathy toward him. A sense confirmed when Mrs. Moore speaks candidly of her distaste for Mrs. Calender. The major's wife, because Mrs. Moore is intuitively able to sense whom she likes and does not like, Aziz pronounces her an Oriento. Aziz escorts her to the door of the white's only club. Chapter 3 Inside the club, Mrs. Moore joins a travelling companion, a young English woman named Adela quested. They sit in the billiard room in order to avoid the performance of the play, Cousin Kate, that is taking place in the next room. Mrs. Moore has escorted Adela from England at Ronnie's request. Adela and Ronnie are presumably to become engaged. Mr. Totem, the collector of the Chandrapur, enters and speaks highly of Ronnie as a type of young man he likes. The play lets out and the billiard room begins to fill. Adela expresses a desire to see the real India. She wants something more than the stereotypical elephant ride most visitors get. Cyril Fielding, the principal of the local government college, passes through the room and suggests that Adela goes to see some Indians if she wants to see the real India. The club ladies, however, are aghast at such a suggestion and they inform Adela that Indians are creepy and untrustworthy. Nonetheless, Mr. Totem, eager to please Adela, promises to round up some Indians for a bridge party so Adela can meet some of them. On the way home, Mrs. Moore points out the mosque to Ronnie and Adela and speaks of the nice young man she met there. Ronnie assumes for Mrs. Moore's stone that she is referring to an Englishman and he becomes angry when he realises she is speaking of an Indian. Back at the bungalow after Adela goes to bed, Ronnie quizzes his mother about her encounter. Using phrases, he is picked up from his superiors. Ronnie interprets each detail of Mrs. Moore's encounter as scheming on Aziz's part. Ronnie declares his intention to report Aziz to major calendar but Mrs. Moore dissuades him. In turn, Ronnie convinces his mother not to tell Adela about Dr. Aziz. Ronnie worries that Adela will become too preoccupied with whether or not the English treat the Indians fairly. They finish talking and Mrs. Moore goes to her bed. She notices a small wasp asleep on her coat hook and croons to it kindly. Chapter 4 Mr. Totem invites several Indian gentlemen to the proposed bridge party at the club. The Indians are surprised by the invitation. Mahmood Ali suspects that the lieutenant general has ordered Totem to hold the party. The Navar Bahadur, one of the most important Indian landowners in the area, announces that he appreciates the invitation and will attend. Some accuse the Navar Bahadur of cheapening himself but most Indians highly respect him and decide to attend as well. The narrator describes the room in which the gentlemen meet. Outside remain the Lolia Indians who receive no invitation. The narrator describes Mr. Greyford and Mr. Soley missionaries on the outskirts of the city. Mr. Soley feels that all men go to heaven but not lowly wasps, bacteria or mud because something must be excluded to leave enough for those who are included. Mr. Soley's Hindu friends disagree however as they feel that God includes every living being. Chapter 5 At the bridge party, the Indian guests stand early at one side of the tennis lawn while the English stand at the other. Mr. Soley's segregation dismisses the teller custard and Mrs. Moore. Ronnie and Mrs. Totten disdainfully discuss the Indian's clothing which mixes Eastern and Western styles. Several English women arrive and discuss the earlier production of Cousin Gate. Mrs. Moore is surprised to note how intolerant and conventional Ronnie's opinions have become. Mr. Totten arrives, cynically noting to himself that each guest has come for a self-serving reason. Reluctantly, Mrs. Totten takes the teller and Mrs. Moore to visit a group of Indian ladies. Mrs. Totten addresses the Indian women in crude Urdu and then asks Mrs. Moore and a teller if they are satisfied. One of the Indian women speaks and Mrs. Totten is surprised to learn that the women know English. Mrs. Moore and a teller unsuccessfully try to draw the Indian women out into more substantial conversation. Mrs. Moore asks one of them Mrs. Bhattacharya if she and a teller can visit her home. Mrs. Bhattacharya agrees to host the English women. Mr. Fielding, the upcoming Thursday and her husband promises to send his carriage for them. Mr. Fielding, who is also at the party socializes freely with the Indians and even eats on the Indian side of the lawn. He is pleased to learn that a teller and Mrs. Moore have been friendly to the Indians. Fielding locates a teller invites her and Mrs. Moore to tea. A teller complains about how rude the English are acting toward their guests but Fielding suspects her complaints are intellectual, not emotional. Fielding promises to invite the doctor to tea as well. That evening, a teller and Ronnie dine with the mech brides and Miss Sterrick. The dinner consists of standard English fare. During the meal, a teller begins to dread the prospect of a drab married life among the insensitive English. She fears she will never get to know the true spirit of India. After a teller goes to bed Ronnie asks his mother about a teller. Mrs. Moore explains that a teller feels that the English are unpleasant to the Indians. Ronnie is dismissive, explaining that the English are in India to keep the peace not to be pleasant. Mrs. Moore disagrees, saying it is the duty of the English to be pleasant to Indians, as God demands love for all men. Mrs. Moore instantly regrets mentioning God. Ever since she has arrived in India, her God has seemed less powerful than ever before. Chapter 6 The morning after Assisi's encounter with Mrs. Moore, Minjay Kalinde scolds the doctor for failing to report promptly to his summons, and he does not ask for Assisi's sight of the story. Assisi and a colleague, Dr. Panna Lal, decide to attend the bridge party together. However, the party falls on the anniversary of Assisi's wife's death, so he decides not to attend. Assisi mourns his loving wife for part of the day and then borrows Hamidullah Sponi to practice polo on the town green. An English soldier is also practicing polo, and he and Assisi spray together briefly as comrades. Dr. Lal, returning from the bridge party runs into Assisi's. Lal reports that Assisi's absence was noticed and he insists on knowing why Assisi did not attend. Assisi is considering Lal ill-mannered to ask such a question, reacts defiantly. By the time Assisi reaches home, though he has begun to worry that the English will punish him for not attending. His mood improves when he opens an invitation to tea. Assisi is pleased that Fielding has politely ignored the fact that Assisi forgot to respond to an invitation to tea at Fielding's last month. Chapter 7 Fielding's many worldly experiences keep him from being insensitive toward Indians like the rest of the English. English mildly distrust Fielding partly out of suspicion of his efforts to educate Indians as individuals. Fielding also makes offhand comments that distrusts the English such as that whites are actually pink or gray. Still Fielding manages to remain friendly with the men at the English Club while also socializing with Indians. Assisi arrives at Fielding's routine as Fielding is dressing. Though the two men have never met they treat each other informally which delights Assisi. Fielding breaks the collar stud for his shirt but Assisi quickly removes his own and gives it to Fielding. The relations between the two men sour only briefly when Assisi comments about a new school of painting to be dismissive of Assisi himself. Assisi is disappointed when Mrs. Moore and Adela arrive as their presence upsets the intimacy of his conversation with Fielding. The party continues to be informal even though with the women present. Assisi feels comfortable addressing the women as he would address men as Mrs. Moore is so elderly and Adela so plain looking. The ladies are disappointed and confused because the Bhattacharyas never sent Adela pronounces it a mystery but Mrs. Moore disagrees. Mysteries she likes but this is a model. Fielding pronounces all India a model as Assisi denounces the rudeness of the Hindu Bhattacharyas and invites the women to his own house. To Assisi's horror, Adela takes his invitation literally and tasks and asks for his address. Assisi is ashamed of his shabby residence and distracts Adela with commentary on Indian architecture. Fielding knows that Assisi has some historical facts but Fielding does not correct Assisi as other English men would have. At the moment, Fielding recognises truth of mood over fact. The last of Fielding's guests the Hindu professor, Kodpule, arrives. Assisi asks Adela if she plans to settle in India to which Adela spontaneously responds that she cannot. Adela then realises that in making this admission she is essentially told strangers that she will not marry Rani before she has even told Rani so herself. Adela's words fluster Mrs. Moore. Fielding then takes Mrs. Moore on a tour of the college grounds. Adela again mentions prospect of visiting Assisi's house but Assisi invites her to the Maravar caves instead. Assisi attempts to describe the caves but it becomes clear that Assisi has never seen them. Kodpule has been to the caves but he does not adequately describe why they are extraordinary. In fact, Assisi senses that Kodpule is holding back information. Suddenly, Rani arrives to take Adela to a polo match at the club. Rani ignores the Indians. Assisi becomes excitable and overly intimate in reaction to Rani's rude interruption. Fielding reappears and Rani privately scolds him for leaving Adela alone with Indians. Before the ladies leave Kodpule sings an odd sounding Hindu song in which the singer asks God to come to her but God refuses. In her ignorance, Adela regarded Assisi as India and never saw a mind that his outlook was limited and his method inaccurate and that no one is India. Chapter 8 Driving away from fieldings, Adela expresses annoyance at Rani's rudeness. Adela mentions Assisi's invitation to the Maravar caves but Rani immediately forbids the women to go. Rani mentions Assisi's unprint collar as an example of Indians' general inattention to detail. Mrs Moore, tired of bickering, asks to be dropped off at home. Adela suddenly feels ashamed of telling those at the party for attention to leave India. After the polo match, Adela quietly tells Rani that she has decided not to marry him. Rani is disappointed but agrees to remain friends with her. Adela sees a green bird and asks Rani what type of bird it is. Rani does not know which confirms Adela's feeling that nothing in India is identifiable. Rani and Adela begin to feel lonely and useless in each other's surroundings. They suddenly feel they share more similarities than differences. The Nawab Bahadur happens by and offers Rani and Adela a ride in his automobile riding in the back seat. The two feel dwarfed by the dark night and expansive landscapes around them. Their hands accidentally touch and they feel an animalistic thrill. The car mysteriously breaks down on a road outside the city. They all climb out and determine that the car must have hit something, probably a hyena. After a short while, Mr. Eric drives past them, offers them a ride back to Chandrapur. Driving back to Chandrapur, Mr. Eric jokes about her employer, an Indian noblewoman. Rani and Adela feel drawn together by their shared distaste for Mr. Eric's crass manner and for the Nawab's polite but long-winded speeches. When Adela and Rani arrive back at the bungalow, Adela says that she would like to marry Rani after all. He agrees. Adela, however, immediately feels a sense of disappointment, believing she will now be labelled the same as all other married English women in India. They go inside and tell Mrs. Moore of their plans. Adela begins to feel more pleasant joining Rani in poking fun at the Nawab Bahadur. When Rani and Adela tell Mrs. Moore of the strange car accident, the older woman shivers in flames that the car must have hit a ghost. Meanwhile, down in the city of Chandrapur, the Nawab Bahadur describes the accident to others. He explains that it took place near the site where he ran over and killed a drunken man nine years ago. The Nawab Bahadur insists that a dead man caused the accident that occurred this evening. Adela is skeptical, however, and feels that Indians should not be too superstitious. Chapter 9 Three days after tea party, Aziz falls ill. Exaggerating his illness, he remains in bed and contemplates a brief trip to a brothel in Calcutta to lift his spirits. Aziz takes a rather clinical view of his occasional need for women. Aziz knows that major calendar and others would be scandalised by his plans to visit the brothel. Nonetheless, Aziz does not mind the calls. He simply tries not to get caught. Aziz suddenly notices that flies cover the inside of his room, so he summons his servant Hassan to dispose of them. Hassan is inattentive. Hamidullah, Saeed Muhammad, Haqq and Saeed Muhammad's young nephew Rafi all crowd into Aziz's room to inquire about his health. Rafi gossips that Professor Kodbole has also fallen ill. The visitors briefly toss around a suspicion that Mr. Feeling poisoned the men at his steam. Saeed Muhammad and Haqq discuss how all disease comes from Hindus. Aziz recites an irrelevant poem by an Urdu poet. Though not all of the men comprehend the poetry, they are happily silent and for a moment feel that India is one. Hamidullah silently contemplates the nationalist meeting he must attend later in the day, which will gather Indians from many different sects. Hamidullah sadly considers that the group never achieves anything constructive and that the meetings are only peaceful when someone is denouncing the English. The visitors announce their intent to leave but they remain seated. Dr. Panna Lal arrives under major calendar orders to check on Aziz. Dr. Lal immediately realizes that Aziz is not very ill but he decides to cover for Aziz anyway in hopes that Aziz will return the favor one day. After some prodding, Dr. Lal reluctantly reports that Professor Kodbole's condition is serious, which prompts the men to scold Rafi with spreading rumors. Dr. Lal's troublesome driver Ramchand insults Rafi's uncle Saeed Mohammed and a loud argument picks out. At this moment, Fielding walks into the room. Aziz would normally be humiliated at Fielding's seeing his poor dirty room but Aziz is distracted. Concerned about showing hospitality to Rafi, Aziz murmurs to the boy and tries to make him comfortable again after his scolding. Dr. Lal talks about his belief in God, the declining morality of the West and what he thinks about England's position in India. Fielding enjoys being candid with the men. He explains that he is not certain that England is justified in holding India and that he is in India personally to hold a job. The men are shocked by the plainness of Fielding's honesty. Fielding, Fielding disappointed by his first visit to Aziz, leads the other men out of Aziz's sick room. Chapter 10 Fielding and the others emerge from Aziz's home and are suppressed by the weather and the general atmosphere outside. Several animals nearby make noises in a particulate animal world seems always more present in India than in England. The other men mount their cages and go home rather than back to work. All over India, people retreat inside as the hot season approaches. Chapter 11 Fielding stands on the porch of Aziz's house but no servant brings his horse for Aziz has secretly ordered the servants not to. This calls Fielding back inside. Though Aziz self-pittingly draws Fielding's attention to the shabbiness of his home Fielding is a matter of fact in response. Aziz directs Fielding to a photograph that he keeps in a drawer which is of his late wife. Flattered, Fielding thanks Aziz for the honour of seeing the picture. Aziz tells Fielding he likes him because he values men acting as brothers. They agree that the English government has tried to improve India through institutions when it should have begun with friendship. Fielding suddenly feels depressed Fielding that he cannot match Aziz's fervent emotions. Fielding wishes he had personal details to share with Aziz. He momentarily feels as though he will not be intimate with anyone but will travel through life calm and isolated. Aziz questions Fielding about his family but the Englishman has none. Aziz playfully suggests that Fielding should marry Adela. Fielding replies vehemently that Adela is a prick who tries to change India as though it were class at school. He adds that Adela has become engaged to Ronnie H. Slopp. Aziz is relieved assuming that this means he will not have to host a trip to the Mara Bar caves after all as it would be unseemly to escort an engaged woman. Aziz agrees with Fielding's distaste or Adela but Aziz objects to a lack of beauty rather than her attitude. Aziz suddenly feels protective of Fielding and wants him to be less frank with him as he might lose his job but the Englishman reassures him that it wouldn't matter. Fielding explains that he believes in traveling light which is why he refuses to marry. Fielding leaves and Aziz drifts off to sleep dreaming happily. Chapter 12 The hills containing the Mara Bar caves are older than anything else on earth. The rocky hills thrust up abruptly from the soils and resemble nothing else in the surrounding landscape. Each cave has a narrow entrance tunnel with a large dark circular chamber. If a match is lit inside the caves its reflection appears clearly in the polished stone of the cave walls. The caves seem to embody nothingness. The reputation spreads not just by word of mouth but seemingly through the earth itself or through the animals. On the highest hill of the rock formations precariously rests a large boulder which is thought to be hollow. The hill is called Kavadol. Chapter 13 Looking toward the Mara Bar hills one day I tell a remark that she would have liked to visit them with Aziz. Her servant over here is a remark an exaggerated word of it travels to Aziz who feels that he must make good on his earlier offer. The outing involves many details and much expense on Aziz's part but he organizes everything and invites Fielding and Gaut Bole along with the two ladies to Mara Bar. Ronnie gives permission for the women to go as long as Fielding goes along with them. The woman travels to the hills leaves just before dawn so Aziz, Mohammad Latif and many servants spend the night at the train station to avoid being late. Mrs. Moore, Adela and the women's servant Anthony arrive early in the morning. Adela dislikes Anthony and on Aziz's suggestion orders him to go home. Anthony refuses however on Ronnie's orders until Mohammad Latif drives him to leave. Chapter 13 Aziz has not yet arrived with Gaut Bole. Aziz is not nervous because he knows that Englishmen never miss trains. Aziz reviews the details of the trip with Mohammad Latif who is to oversee the railway carriage. Suddenly the train starts to move just as Fielding and Gaut Bole arrive at the station. Fielding yells that Gaut Bole's overlong prayers have made them late and the Englishmen tries unsuccessfully to jump on the train. Aziz panics and is desperate but Mrs. Moore and Adela reassure him that the outing will continue successfully without Fielding. Aziz suddenly feels love for the two women. Mrs. Moore especially for their graciousness and kindness to race. Chapter 14 Ever since they heard Gaut Bole sing his Hindu song at Fielding's tea Adela and Mrs. Moore have lived as though inside raccoons not feeling anything. Mrs. Moore accepts her apathy but Adela blames herself for her feelings of indifference. Adela even fakes excitement at times as she feels like she should be excited. During the train ride Adela thinks and chats with Mrs. Moore about her future plans. The elder English woman who is not in good health feels impatient with marriage. She thinks to herself that society's valuation of marriage over other relationships has stunted its understanding of human nature. Nearing the hills the train comes to a stop next to an elephant. For Aziz's benefit, Adela and Mrs. Moore feign excitement about taking an elephant ride. Aziz feels happy and relieved as he indeed went to great trouble to obtain the elephant. The group climbs up onto the elephant and many villagers gather and walk with it to the Marabar Caves. In the pale early morning light the landscape appears colourless and somewhat lifeless, suffused with an odd silence. Illusions abound but there is no romance. Adela mistakes a tree branch for a snake. The villagers concur that it is a snake and refuse to let Adela correct their error. The group finally reaches the hills but Adela and Mrs. Moore do not find them beautiful and Aziz does not know enough about the area to act as an effective door guide. While Aziz's servants prepare tea for the women, he reflects happily that the trip is a success for thus far. He likens himself to the Mughal Emperor Babur who never stopped showing hospitality and never betrayed a friend. The women ask Aziz about Babur and about another Mughal Emperor, Akbar. Aziz is only contempt for Akbar who foolishly thought that he could use religion to unite all of India when nothing can accomplish that goal. Adela expresses her hope that there will be something universal in India if only to keep her from becoming snobby and rude like the other English women. The group enters the first cave which becomes crowded when the villagers follow them. Mrs. Moore feels crowded and she panics when something strikes her face. She is terrified by the cave's echo which takes all the sounds and reduces them to the sound boom. The group exits the cave and Mrs. Moore realizes that she was only a baby that hit her face. She politely refuses to enter another cave which she encourages Adela to continue on with Aziz. At Mrs. Moore's suggestion Aziz forbids the villagers to accompany them into the next set of caves. Aziz Adela and the guide leave. Mrs. Moore tries to write a letter to children Stella and Ralph but she is haunted by the sound of the echo in the cave. The echo seems to suggest that nothing has value and it renders even the words of Mrs. Moore's Christianity null. Mrs. Moore becomes despairing and completely apathetic. Chapter 15 Aziz, Adela and the guide climb up together other caves higher in the hills. Aziz's mind is preoccupied with breakfast preparations. Adela is also distracted and suddenly realizes that she and Ronnie are not in love. Adela asks Aziz if he is married and if he has more than one wife. The second question shocks Aziz and he ducks into a cave to recover. Adela follows shortly and enters another cave. Chapter 16 Aziz exits the cave to find the guide alone. The two men hear the sound of a motor car. Aziz looks for Adela and the guide sees that she went into one of the caves. Aziz calls the guide for not keeping Adela in sight and together they shout for her. In frustration, Aziz slaps the guide who runs away. Then with relief, Aziz notices Adela already down the hills, speaking to a woman near the motor car. Aziz notices Adela's field glasses lying broken on the ground. He picks them up and proceeds back to the camp where he is elated to find that fielding has arrived Aziz sends a retinue down to escort Miss Derrick up to the camp but Miss Derrick and Adela have already started to drive back to Chandrapur. Aziz cheerfully accepts this new development but fielding senses that something is wrong with Adela. Aziz wanting to avoid the unpleasant memory of Adela's question about polygamy has already refined the facts of their excursion up the hill. Fielding presses Aziz for details because he feels the two women are rude to the Indian. Aziz barely realising he is lying reassures Fielding that the guide has escorted Adela down to the car. On the elephant ride back to the train Fielding figures that the expedition must have cost Aziz hundreds of rupees. The group boasts the train and rides back to Chandrapur. When they arrive at the city Mr. Huck, the Inspector of Police boasts the train and arrests Aziz. Aziz panics and attempts to run out another door but Fielding stops him. Fielding calms Aziz reassuring him that there must be some confusion and that they will straighten it out together. The two men walk out onto the platform by Mr. Totten orders Fielding to remain behind while Aziz goes to prison. Chapter 17 Mr. Totten looking fanatical and brave informs Fielding that Adela has been insulted presumably sexually assaulted in one of the Mara Bar caves. Adela herself has lodged the complaint. Fielding protests that Aziz must be innocent. Totten informs Fielding that there is to be an informal meeting at the club that night to discuss the accusations. Totten explains that Adela is quite ill and he is furious that Fielding is not as enraged as all the other English are. As Totten rides back to his bungalow he looks with self-satisfied outrage at each Indian he passes. Chapter 18 Mr. McBride, superintendent of police receives Aziz politely at the jail. McBride has a theory that Indians have criminal tendencies because of the climate. Thus the Indians' behaviour is not their fault. Fielding arrives at McBride's to get the details of the case. McBride explains that Adela has claimed that Aziz followed her into a cave and made advances on her. She hit at him with her field glasses and he broke the strap. McBride shows Fielding the broken glasses which the police have found on Aziz's person. Fielding wants to ask Adela if she is completely sure that Aziz attacked her. McBride sends to major calendar for permission but calendar refuses because Adela is so ill. Mahmood Ali and Hamidullah arrive in turn to consult Aziz. Fielding continues to refuse to believe that Aziz is guilty. Fielding of a letter from a brothel owner that has been found in Aziz's house. Fielding doesn't want to hear details however and he admits that he himself visited brothels at Aziz's age. A police officer arrives with evidence from Aziz's bedroom including pictures of women. Fielding explains that the photographs are of Aziz's wife. Fielding asks to visit with Aziz. Chapter 19 Fielding is anxious and impassioned. Hamidullah is calm and resigned. Hamidullah strategizes for Aziz's bail and defence team. Fielding feels deflated by Hamidullah's pragmatism and by the discrepancies in Aziz's story. But Fielding reassures Hamidullah that he is on their side though he regrets taking sides at all. Fielding returns to the college. Professor Goatboulay approaches Fielding about several trivial colleges that have been built fielding about several trivial college matters. Fielding asks Goatboulay if he has heard about Aziz. Goatboulay has particularly changes the subject. Fielding impatiently asks Goatboulay if he thinks Aziz is innocent or guilty. Goatboulay explains that according to his own philosophy an evil action was performed at the caves and that action was equally performed by Aziz, the guide, Fielding, Goatboulay himself, Goatboulay's students This response frustrates Fielding because it does not recognize the difference between good and evil. Goatboulay clarifies both good and evil are aspects of God as God is present in good and absent in evil. Goatboulay then changes the subject again. Fielding visits Aziz at afternoon finding the doctor miserable and incoherent. Fielding leaves and writes a letter to Adela. Chapter 20 The English gather at their club. The ladies feel compassion for Adela's suffering and suddenly regret that they were not nicer to her before. As if to make amends, Mrs. Dutton stands by the side of Mrs. Blackeston, a woman she previously snubbed. Mr. Dutton calms the women who fear for their safety. Once the women leave, Dutton speaks to the men. He tries to remain fair though everyone else overreacts the visibility that women and children are in danger. One of the men, a drunken soldier, recommends military presence, but Dutton urges everyone to act normally. The soldier fondly mentions an honorable Indian with whom he played polo. Major calendar arrives to report that Adela is recovering. He sits with the soldier and tries to bait Fielding. Calendar gossips that Adela's servant was bribed to remain outside the caves. The overlay too was bribed and that Aziz ordered villagers to suffocate Mrs. Moore. Calendar loudly alludes to Fielding's alliance with Aziz, but Fielding refuses to be provoked. Calendar suggests that troops be called, but Dutton is against using force. Ronny arrives and the men stand up and welcome him as a martyr. Fielding, however, remains seated. The drunken soldier calls attention to Fielding's rudeness. Dutton confronts Fielding, who announces that Aziz is innocent. Fielding adds that he would resign from service in India if Aziz is found guilty and that he resigns from the club effective immediately. Dutton becomes furious, but Ronny tells him to let Fielding go. Chapter 21 Riding into Chandrapur, Fielding passes some children preparing for the celebration of Muharram, an annual Muslim festival with the prophet Muhammad. Fielding meets with Aziz's friends who have renewed Aziz's bail request and hired a famous anti-British lawyer from Calcutta. Late that night, Fielding has urged to speak with Kodbole, but the professor is asleep. Kodbole slips away to a new job a day or two later. Chapter 22 Adela, in shock, remains at McBride's. Ms. Derrick and Mr. McBride return and pick out the hundreds of cactus spines stuck in her skin from her run down the hill. Adela's emotions swing wildly. She sobs, then tries to logically review what happened. She entered, started the cave echo by scratching the wall with a fingernail, then saw a dark shadow move toward her. She hit at him with her field glasses. He pulled her around the cave, then she escaped. She was never touched. It was the upsetting echo from the cave. She hopes Mrs. Moore will visit her and make her feel better. When Adela's condition improves, Ronnie retrieves her. McBride and Ronnie inform her that there was a near right when the procession of the Muharram festival attempted to enter the civil station. They explain to Adela that thus, Ronnie's Indian assistant will try her gaze. McBride shows Adela a letter from Fielding, which has been opened. McBride explains that Fielding has betrayed the English. Adela skims the letter and reads the line, Dr. Aziz is innocent. Ronnie takes Adela home. Adela is happy to be reunited with Mrs. Moore, but Mrs. Moore remains on the couch, withdrawn from Adela's advances. Adela tells Mrs. Moore about the echo she's been hearing and Mrs. Moore responds knowingly. Adela asks Mrs. Moore but the older woman refuses to put in words and she predicts morbidly that Adela will hear it forever. Mrs. Moore tells Ronnie she will leave India sooner than she planned. She will not testify at the trial. She will see her other two children into marriage then retreat from the world. Mrs. Moore is sick of marriage. She sees little difference between love in a church and love in a cave. Mrs. Moore leaves the room. Adela weeps, wondering aloud if she has made a mistake about Aziz. Adela thinks she heard Mrs. Moore say Dr. Aziz never did it but Ronnie insists Mrs. Moore never said such words. Ronnie finally convinces Adela that she is remembering lines from Fielding's letter. Ronnie urges her not to wonder aloud if Aziz might be innocent. Mrs. Moore returns and Ronnie asks her to confirm that she never said that Aziz was innocent. Indeed, Mrs. Moore never made such a statement but she nonetheless responds matter-of-factly that Aziz is innocent. Ronnie asks for evidence. Mrs. Moore replies that Aziz's character is good. Adela wishes she could call off the trial but she realizes how inconsiderate that would be to the men who have gone to so much trouble for her. Ronnie decides to have his mother leave India as quickly as possible. Chapter 23 The Lieutenant Governor's wife offers to let Mrs. Moore travel back to England in her cabin. As all the other cabins are full Ronnie is relieved and excited that his name will be made familiar to the Lieutenant Governor. Though Mrs. Moore does desire to go home she feels no joy as she has passed into a state of spiritual apathy. She recognizes that there are eternal forces behind life and different to these forces ever since her experience at the Mara Bar caves. To Mrs. Moore the echo in the caves seemed to be something very selfish something that predated the world. Since that time she has felt selfish herself. She even begrudges Adela all of the attention that she has received. Even so, Mrs. Moore's journey to Bombay is pleasant. She watches the sights outside her window and regrets she has not seen all that India has to offer. Bombay seems to mock her for thinking that the Mara Bar caves were India. For there are a hundred Indias. Chapter 24 The hot season has begun and everyone retreats indoors away from the sun. The morning of Aziz's trial the Turdens drive Adela to the courthouse with the police escort. On the way Mr. Turden thinks to himself that he does not hate Indians. For to do so would be to denounce his own career and the energy spent on them. He concludes that it is English women who really make matters worse in India. In front of the courthouse students cheer at the car. Rafi, hiding behind a friend yells that the English are cowards. Inside the English gather in Ronnie's office and loudly trade rumors about an Indian rebellion and fielding traitorous behaviour. Ronnie expresses confidence in his subordinate Thars, who is acting as judge for the case. Major calendar loudly denounces all Indians. He relates with satisfaction that the Nawab Bahadur's grandson recently suffered severe facial injury from car accident. All Indians should be similarly made to suffer. Everyone ignores Adela who sits quietly fearing she will have a breakdown during her examination. When the case is called the group files into the courtroom to their special chairs. Adela notices the lowly Indian servant operating the fan. He has a beautiful, godlike demeanor and appears aloof from everything taking place in the room. McBride opens the case for the prosecution. He presents a scientific fact his assertion that darker races lost after fairer races but not vice versa. An Indian in the audience protests that Adela is ugly. Adela becomes flustered. Calendar requests that Adela be moved to the platform for better air. All of the English then move to the platform. Amrit Rao, the lawyer from Calcutta protests that having all the English upon the platform will intimidate the witnesses. Thars agrees that everyone but Adela must return to the floor. Outside the courtroom word of this humiliation spreads and the crowd jeers. McBride argues that Aziz lives a double life simultaneously respectable and deeply praised. McBride dwells on Aziz's attempt to crush Mrs. Moore in the first cave. Mahmood Ali objects to this accusation as Mrs. Moore will not be testifying at the trial. Mahmood Ali bemoans the fact that Ronnie has sent Mrs. Moore away as she knew Aziz was innocent. Despite Thars's attempts to restore calm Mahmood Ali shouts that the trial is a farce and all of them slaves. He leaves the courtroom in protest. Mrs. Moore, as if it were a charm until the chant sounds like Esmiss Esmour. Adela goes up to the witness stand. She suddenly feels like she is back at Marabar and that it seems more lovely this time. As McBride questions her she visualizes each step of that day. When he asks if Aziz followed her into the cave she requests a minute to answer. Visualizing the caves she cannot answer. She states quietly that she has made a mistake. That Aziz never followed her. The courtroom erupts. Calendar tries to halt the trial on medical grounds. But Adela confirms that she would draw all the charges. The enraged Mrs. Dorton screams insults at Adela. Thars officially releases Aziz. Chapter 25. Adela is pushed along in the tide of where she is going. She responds listlessly so he reluctantly takes her to his carriage for her safety. Fielding students are gathered around the carriage. They convince Fielding and Adela to get inside and they then pull the two through town. Indians drape flowers around Adela though some are critical of the two English sticking together. The roads in Chandrapur are blocked with crowds and the English are cut off on the way back to the civil station. Adela and Fielding are pulled back to the college. Phone lines are cut and servants gone. Fielding encourages Adela to rest and lies down himself. Meanwhile, Aziz in his victory procession cries out for Fielding who has abandoned him. Mahmood Ali orders a procession to the hospital to rescue the Nawab Bahadur's grandson and word has circulated that Mahmood Ali overheard calendar bragging about torturing the young man. He urges restrained but the crowd proceeds to the hospital. Disaster is averted only by Padna Lal who mistakenly believes the crowd has come to the hospital to punish him for offering to testify for the English. Lal acts the buffoon to honour the vengeful men and he retrieves the Nawab Bahadur's grandson for them. The Nawab Bahadur averts for the disaster by making a long-winded speech in which he renounces his loyalist title. Aziz and friends to his house for a celebration that night. The baking heat of the hot season bears down on the city and nearly everyone retreats indoors to sleep. Chapter 26 Fielding reluctantly converses with Adela. She wants to discuss her behaviour but he is unwilling until she mentions that she has been ill. She says that she has been ill within Echo since the day of the trip to the Marabar caves in the Song. Fielding admits that he has always suspected she was ill or perhaps hallucinatory. Adela cannot quite describe the vision she had in court. Nonetheless Fielding appreciates Adela's meticulous honesty and apologises for his rudeness to Ronnie. Adela asks Fielding what Aziz thinks of her. Fielding uncomfortably thinks about Aziz's contempt for Adela's ugliness. Adela, Hamidullah arrives and is unhappy to see Fielding and Adela together. Hamidullah expresses severe disapproval of Adela because of the destruction she has scarcely brought upon her sees. Hamidullah invites Fielding to the Navar Bahadur's house for the victory celebration. Adela prepares to depart but Fielding invites her to remain at the college while he stays with Aziz's friends. Hamidullah however is eager to be rid of Adela for her emotionless demeanor repels him. While the two men discuss what to do with her, Hamidullah is relieved to notice Ronnie pull up. Fielding meets Ronnie outside and learns that Mrs. Moore has died on the voyage back to England and has been buried at sea. Fielding returns and sends Adela out. He and Hamidullah agree not to tell Aziz about Mrs. Moore until the next day. Adela returns distraught at death and asks to remain at the college. At Fielding's request Adela brings Ronnie inside. Hamidullah is unfriendly to Ronnie. Fielding and Ronnie settle the details of Adela's stay at the college and then Fielding and Hamidullah leave for the Navar Bahadur celebration. On the way, Fielding over hears Hamidullah saying that Adela should be fined 20,000 rupees. Fielding is distressed that Adela should lose her money and probably will lose her currency as well. Chapter 27 Late that night the celebrants at the victory party are bedded down on the Navar Bahadur's roof. Fielding and Aziz have a long talk. Aziz anticipates that Fielding will urge him not to make Adela pay any reparations. But Aziz no longer wants the English to admire him for his chivalry. Fielding explains that he himself changed his mind and now believes that Adela acted bravely to suffer enough as it is. Aziz dismisses Adela because of his lack of beauty. Fielding becomes angry with Aziz's sexual snobbery. Finally, Aziz says he will consult Mrs. Moore and do what she suggests. Fielding points out that Aziz's emotions are disproportionate. It was Adela who saved him while Mrs. Moore went away. Yet Aziz still loves Mrs. Moore and not Adela. Aziz rejects what he sees as Fielding's materialism, which measures love bound by bound. Fielding explains to Aziz that Mrs. Moore has died. But Hamidullah, overhearing the conversation, tells Aziz that Fielding is joking. Aziz takes it as a joke. Chapter 28 In Chandrapur, a legend arises that Rani killed his mother for attempting to save Aziz's life. Two different tomes are reported to contain Mrs. Moore's potty and dance people leave offerings at both. The English do not respond to the rumors. Rani knows that he was inconsiderate to his mother at the end, but he blames her for the trouble she continues to make with the legend of her death. Rani hopes the troublesome Adela will leave India too. He has not yet broken off their engagement, hoping that she will realise the marriage would ruin his career and therefore back out more likely. Chapter 29 Lieutenant Governor arrives in Chandrapur to survey the aftermath of the Marabar case. He congratulates Fielding for his upstanding behaviour before and during the trial. Adela continues to stay at the college and she and Fielding talk more frequently. He helps her draft an apology to Aziz. The apology seems unsatisfactory. Though Adela is just, she does not truly love India and Indians. Aziz and Fielding begin to quarrel about Adela's reparation payment. Fielding resorts to a mention of Mrs Moore and finally, Aziz gives in and agrees to ask Adela only to repay his legal costs. As Aziz has predicted, his generosity wins him no prestige among the English who will believe forever that he committed the crime. Rani visits Adela at the college and bakes off their engagement. Adela and Fielding talk afterward. Adela sadly repents for the trouble she has caused everyone. She admits though that she and Rani should not have thought about marriage in the first place. Like old friends, Fielding and Adela talk about the difficulties of love. Fielding questions Adela about the incident and the gave one final time. Indifferently, she accepts that it was the guide who assaulted her. She explains that only Mrs Moore knew for sure. Perhaps by telepathy, Fielding and Adela continue to chat but their practicality and friendliness are slightly plagued by a sense of something indefinable and infinite in the universe. Adela takes the ship home to England. She decides on the way to look up Mrs Moore's two other children Ralph and Stella when she arrives. Chapter 30 One consequence of Aziz's trial is improved relations between Hindus and Muslims in Chandrapur. Mr Das visits Aziz one day at the hospital and asks Aziz to write a poem for his magazine. The magazine readership is mostly Hindu but Das hopes to make it appeal to general Indians and believes that Aziz's poem might help. Aziz agrees and goes home to write. All his attempts at poetry are too extreme though. Aziz tries to envision a successful poem for Das. In this speculation leads him to visions of a successful India. Aziz vows to be friendly to Hindus and to hate the British. His character becomes hardened. Aziz meets with Hamidullah one day and explains his plan to take a job in a Hindu state. Hamidullah protests that such a job will not pay enough and scores Aziz again for not making Adela pay reparations. Then Hamidullah passes on a rumour he has heard that feeling was having an affair with Adela during the stay at the college. Aziz becomes explosive yelling that everyone has betrayed him. When Aziz comes down he and Hamidullah prepare to visit the women of Hamidullah's household in Pardha. Hamidullah mentions that the women seemed to be ready to give up Pardha at the time of Aziz's trial but that they have not yet done so. Hamidullah suggests that Aziz take a realistic view of the Indian lady as a subject for a poem. Chapter 31. Aziz muses on the rumour of Adela fielding for several days eventually believing it to be fact. When fielding returns from a conference Aziz picks him up and tries to address the rumour indirectly mentioning that McBride and Mr. were caught having an affair. Fielding is uninterested in this gossip however. Finally Aziz overtly mentions a rumour about Adela in fielding expressing fear that the affair will hurt Fielding's reputation. Aziz clearly is fishing for a straightforward denial but fielding does not provide one. Instead Fielding shies Aziz worrying too much about reputation and propriety. Aziz finally takes up a granted that fielding and Adela were having an affair and he states this directly. Fielding's totaled blows up at Aziz. Aziz is immediately pained at his own mistake and fielding's harsh words. Aziz agrees reluctantly to have dinner with fielding that night. Fielding runs into Totten at the post office. Totten demands Fielding's presence at the Englishman's club at six that evening. Fielding stops by the club briefly to find that many new officials have replaced the old ones but the tenor fields the same. Fielding likens this repetitive bigotry to an evil echo. At dinner Fielding tells Aziz that he is travelling to England briefly on official business. Aziz changes the subject to poetry. Fielding expresses hope that Aziz will be a religious poet because though Fielding is an atheist he thinks there is something important in religion that has not yet been celebrated. Perhaps something in Hinduism. Aziz asks if Fielding will visit Adela in England. Fielding indifferently says that he probably will. At this Aziz rises to leaf. Fielding asks forgiveness for his harshness that morning and rides away. Fielding depressed. He suspects that Fielding is going to England to marry Adela for her money. Aziz decides to travel with his children tomorrow so that Fielding will be gone for England by the time he returns. Chapter 32 Fielding's ship journey up to the Mediterranean and then docks at Venice. With the feeling of disloyalty Fielding rediscovers his appreciation for form in architecture unlike the random temples and lumpy hills of India the Venetian buildings appear in harmony with the earth. Fielding feels divided from his Indian friends because of their inability to appreciate form that has escaped muddle. On arriving in springtime England Fielding feels a romantic sense reawakening in him. Part 3 Chapter 33 Two years later and hundreds of miles west of Chandrapur Aziz lives and works as a physician to the Raja in the Indian ruled Hindu city of Mao. Professor Godbhulay also works there as minister of education. That night at the Royal Palace the Hindus of Mao celebrate the midnight birth of the God Krishna. Professor Godbhulay leads a small choir singing in singing hymns. On the wall one of the many multilingual science proclaims God See Love God is Love The crowd is large but calm Confusion abounds but the celebrants wear expressions of joy that make them all seem alike. The singers seem to become one with the universe and to love all men. Godbhulay straightens his prince-ness and thinks momentarily of Mrs. Moore and then of a wasp he once saw sitting on a stone Godbhulay tries to incorporate the stone along with Mrs. Moore and the wasp his vision of the oneness of the universe but his conscious effort fails. As midnight approaches Godbhulay and the rest of the crowd begin to dance and chant. The aging and the sick Raja the ruler of the state arrives to witness the birth ceremony. At midnight the crowd heralds the birth of Krishna the embodiment of infinite love. After overseeing the birth with tears of joy the Raja is taken away to see who tends to him. The crowd continues to celebrate for Krishna's benefit with practical jokes confused frolic and playful games. Chapter 34 On the way to his house Aziz runs into Godbhulay on the street Godbhulay still in religious ecstasy manages to tell Aziz that Fielding has arrived at the European guest house Fielding has come tomorrow on official business to check on education. Aziz reflects happily on Godbhulay who got Aziz his position at Mao. Aziz is pleased with Mao where rivalries exist only between Hindu Brahmans and non-Brahmans not Muslims or Englishmen. Though Aziz is a Muslim himself the Hindu people of the city accept him because he is respectful. Aziz does not want to see Fielding he sees to communicate with him after reading half of a letter from Fielding in England that seemed to say Fielding had married Adela quested. Aziz finally feels like a true Indian through his hatred of the English and he is happy with his wife away from English ruled India. His children live with him and he writes poetry. Aziz's poetry addresses the need to abolish the Prada and to create a new motherland. His life is only mildly disrupted by the local English political agent Colonel Max who is orders to watch Aziz as a suspected criminal. Following home, Aziz finds a formal note from Fielding forwarded from Godbole announcing the arrival of himself, his wife and his brother-in-law. The note, like all notes from visiting Englishmen asks for specific amenities and advice. Aziz tears up the note. Chapter 35 In Aziz's garden lies part of his shine in honour of a young Muslim saint who once freed all the prisoners before the police beheaded him. Aziz has come to associate the saint with his own time in prison and to appreciate the shrine. The morning after receiving Fielding's note Aziz walks with his children to the other section of the shrine which lies a short distance from their house. Aziz and the children wander through the small shrine in a joining mask and then admire the view from the old fort. It is the rainy season and the water tanks are full promising a good crop to come. A line of prisoners walks nearby. The children ask the prisoners which of them will be freed that night during the traditional Hindu procession of the Chief God. The Chief God moves through town. Stops at the jail and pardons one prisoner. The low caste prisoners will likely discuss the matter with Aziz's family. The prison guard asks Aziz about the rajas health. Aziz says that the rajas condition has been improving though in reality the rajas died the night before. Aziz is to keep the rajas death a secret until the festivities end. Aziz's children notice that Fielding and his brother-in-law are climbing up the ridge to the shrine. The two men enter the shrine but a swarm of bees jays them out. Fielding's brother-in-law is stunk and Aziz walks over to attend to the wound. Fielding in an unfriendly tone of voice asks Aziz why he never responded to any of his letters. Suddenly heavy rain begins to fall and they hurry down to the road to Fielding's carriage. Aziz helps the others into the carriage referring to Fielding's brother-in-law as Mr. Quested. Fielding is shocked for he married Mrs. Moore's daughter Stella not Attella Quested. Thus the brother-in-law is Mr. Moore. Aziz is suddenly embarrassed and elated. Fielding realizes the mistake that has caused Aziz's unfriendliness. With little sympathy Fielding blames the mix up on Mahmood Ali who knew that Fielding married Stella. Fielding explains that Mahmood Ali even referred to her as Hislop's sister in a letter. The name Hislop infuriates Aziz who is already angry at the realization of his mistake. Aziz asks Fielding not to visit him while in Mao. Aziz explains that he still feels almost as betrayed as if Fielding had actually married his enemy and taken what should have been his reparation money. By hand Aziz forgives Mahmood Ali all things because Mahmood Ali loved him. Aziz gathers his children around him and states in Urdu that he wishes no Englishman or Englishwoman to be his friend. Aziz returns home feeling excited. Chapter 36 At sundown that day Aziz remembers that he promised to send ointment over to the guest house to treat Fielding's brother-in-law's beastings. Aziz procures some of Muhammad Latif's ointment over himself as an excuse for a ride. Outside the procession of the god is about to begin. The two claimants to the Raja's throne sensing that the Raja might be dead have arrived at the palace. But they make no moves toward the throne while the festival continues. Aziz runs into Godbule on the street and tells the professor the news about Fielding's wife. Godbule, however, has known all along that Fielding married Stella Moe not Adela Quested. Aziz refrains from getting angry with Godbule out of respect for the festival time. Riding toward the guest house Aziz becomes cynical when he notices the English visitors in the guest house boat watching the Hindu festival from afar. Aziz resents this sightseeing which he views as rarely a form of ruling or patrolling India. Aziz rides on to the guest house which is guarded only by a sleeping sentry. He lets himself in and snoops around the rooms finally finding and reading a letter from Adela to Stella. Aziz resents the intimate tone of the letters. Frustrated, Aziz strikes the piano in front of him. Hearing the noise, Ralf Moe comes in startled. Aziz recovers from his surprise and briskly asks to see the Englishman's beastings. Ralf retreats from Aziz saying that Aziz's hands are unkind. Ralf asks why Aziz is treating him and the other English visitors so cruelly. Aziz mentions at Stella but the procession outside, nears the jail and an outburst of sorrow from the crowd distracts them both. Aziz decides to leave and shakes Ralf's hands absent-mindedly. Aziz suddenly senses that Ralf is no longer afraid of him. Aziz asks Ralf if he can always tell when a stranger is his friend. Ralf says yes, he can. Aziz pronounces Ralf an Oriento that shivers remembering that he once said those exact words to Mrs Moe in the mosque. Aziz is wary that a cycle is beginning again. The friendship of the mosque followed by the horror of the caves. Aziz impulsively offers to take Ralf out on the water for a few minutes. Once on the water, Aziz's old hospitality returns and he begins to speak colourfully about the Hindu celebration. Ralf points out what looks like the Raja floating on the water. Aziz admits that he does not know what it is, though he suspects it is the image of the old Raja which can be seen from only one point on the water. Aziz suddenly feels more like the visitor than the guide. Ralf asks Aziz to row to a vantage point closer to the procession of the god in which rockets and guns are being shot off. Aziz is afraid of disturbing the celebration and indeed Port Bole catch a sight of them and begins to wave his arms wildly. Suddenly, Aziz's boat collides with Fielding's boat. Stella throws herself toward Fielding and then forward toward Aziz. All four of them fall into the warm shallow water just as the Hindu festival in the water nearby reaches its climax. Their bodies, the props of the Hindu ceremony, Roni's and Adela's letters and the oars all swirl together. Chapter 37 After the boating accident, Aziz and Fielding suddenly revert to their old friendship. They go for a ride in the jungles of Fielding's departure. They know they will never see each other again. During the ride, Aziz gives Fielding a letter for Adela, thanking her for her brave action at the trial. Fielding questions Aziz about Hinduism, reluctantly admitting that Stella and Ralf appear strangely drawn to the religion and tomorrow. Aziz, impatient with the talk of Hinduism, changes her subject to politics. Aziz and Fielding differ politically than ever before though they speak about their opinions with trust. Fielding now believes the empire is necessary and he cares less about how polite it is. Aziz, however, hates the empire. He predicts that India will become its own nation in the next generation, at which time he and Fielding might finally be friends. The two men embrace and Fielding asks why they cannot be friends now as they both seem to want it. But the land and sky themselves seem to arise between Fielding and Aziz, declaring, not yet. Character Analysis Dr. Aziz is a warm-hearted, passionate, excitable person whose quick changes of mood lift him to heights of exuberance and cast him into the depths of despair with an exceedingly short space of time. He is high-spirited, fond-loving and hospitable to an exaggerated degree. When he is found in error, he is tremendously sensitive. His feelings are genuine, however, and his loyalty to his friends is unquestioned. His response to Mrs. Moore is one of quick affection that remains constant, even after her death. Although he refuses to read Fielding's letters, his deep sense of betrayal is caused by his great love, which he feels has been offended. Aziz's quick response to Mrs. Moore in Fielding is a part of the secret of the understanding heart which Foster emphasizes as the key to understanding among men. Aziz's name embodies the beginning and the end of human fail-ties, but he makes no mistake about the people who have the ability to judge on the basis of individual worth. Dr. Aziz is a skilled surgeon and a well-educated intelligent doctor, but the science of medicine is not a matter of deep concern to him and he gives it up quite readily to live and practice in a more primitive way in a remote Hindu state. Here, he is free to write his poetry, extolling the past glories of Islam and pleading for the freedom of women. His poetry exemplifies his quandary. He's a man at the crossroads. One way leads to western civilization which would abolish the paratha and establish sanitary practices. The other would retain eastern customs, traditions, and the primitive practices of the medicine man. Like Janus, Aziz has two faces. One faces back toward the India of the past, the other turns towards the west. The civilizing force of which can help conditions in India. Whoever deals with Aziz can never be sure which face he's presenting. Aziz is partly influenced against western thought by the high-handed ways of the English who do not make the western way of life seem attractive. Mrs. Moore, in doubt with an understanding heart is steeped in Christian tradition. Apparently, it has served her well in England. In India, with the problems that are more complex, she finds it inadequate. And although her innate sympathy with many of the tenets of Hinduism is indicated, her appreciation of all of God's creation, for example, that religion is also inadequate for her. While Professor Godbule withdraws peacefully into himself from human turmoil, Mrs. Moore's own withdrawal is far from peaceful. Therefore, she may be somewhat disappointing to the reader. She brings to India kindness and the understanding heart. But she turns morose and peevish. She refuses to become involved in helping Adela or Aziz in their time of need. She has, however, imparted her understanding nature to her younger children and has left an indelible mark upon Aziz. And at the trial, it has a chanted name that helps to clarify Adela's mind. Adela. She's presented as a plain young woman whose best qualities are her innate honesty and a kind of courageous decency. Her approach to life is completely intellectual. She's sensible, but not sensitive. She serves as an antithesis to Mrs. Moore who is ruled by emotional intuition. This difference in personalities affects the understanding of each other and of others. Adela's passionless disposition makes her unfit for marriage and of frank objectivity helps her to realize it. It is this guileless attitude that is scourging admiration. Her response to India is one of reason, but since India with its highly complex issues cannot be approached through the intellect alone, Adela can never comprehend it. However, she's appalled at the smug and snobbish ways of the British Raj. Cyril Fielding is a man of the world. He has not only associated himself with many people, but he has learned to judge them on the basis of merit alone. He is intellectual, kind and committed to helping anyone in need. The injustice manifested toward Aziz in this novel has nothing to do with color or creed as far as Fielding is concerned. It is rather a matter of the violation of the man's rights. Fielding does not defend Aziz because he is an Indian. He defends him because he is innocent. Fielding is Foster's top man to demonstrate the kind of understanding that the world needs. He is dwarfed, as Foster puts it, only because he is committed to earth-bound affairs. At the end of the story, he is shown aligning himself with the English by marrying an English girl. This separates him from Aziz, but at the same time, he establishes a direct relationship with Mrs. Moore by marrying her daughter. Although Stella is a shadowy figure, Hinduism impresses her and this awakens an interest in Fielding. He feels that contact with Hinduism has somehow improved his marriage and he admits that perhaps the Hindus have found something. Foster leaves the reader to speculate about what might happen if Fielding should become interested in the spiritual side of life. Stella is said to get the worst of both worlds. Fielding, endowed as he is with natural graces, could very well find the best of both worlds. With the combination of human and spiritual understanding, Fielding would certainly be the man who would most likely to succeed in promoting world understanding. Ronnie Hislop is pictured as a robber-stamped product of the public school crowd for whom Foster had so much contempt. He is a typical follower influenced by power, prestige and a set of pattern of behaviour. These traits make it easy for him to be led into the totten calendar McBride camp for they represent to Ronnie the peak of social and political prestige. As a disciple of the public school tradition, Ronnie is the epitome of the class-conscious Englishman. He does not judge on the basis of merit, but rather by position on the social ladder. As a result of his training, he cannot countenance or understand anyone who questions these standards. This is why Stella is unsuitable for him and why he cannot be reached by his mother's arguments. Mr. McBride, the superintendent of police who has his own theory that India's climate makes Indians behave criminally. He is generally more tolerant than most of the English at Chandrapur but still generally assumes a superiority of the English and isn't much inclined to investigate the case against Aziz. Instead, assuming there isn't any way that Aziz won't be found guilty. Later, McBride is caught having an affair with Ms. Steric. Professor Gaudbale, a Brahmin-Hindu professor at Fielding's College. Gaudbale is a mysterious and spiritual a figure associated with universal oneness. He later experiences religious ecstasy at the Hindu festival in Mal. Moving on to theme analysis. Colonialism. On one level, a passage to India is an in-depth discussion of daily life in India under British rule. The British Raj, its colonial empire in India, lasted from 1948 to 1947. The prevailing attitude behind colonialism was that of the white man's burden in Rudyard Kipling's phrase, that it was the moral duty of the Europeans to civilise other nations. Thus, the British saw their colonial rule over India as being for the Indians own good. Foster himself was British but in the novel he is very critical of colonialism. He never goes so far as to advocate outright Indian rebellion but he does show how the colonial system is inherently flawed. Foster portrays most of the British men working in India as at least well-meaning, although condescending and unoriginal, but their positions in the colonial system almost always push them towards becoming racist and harmful figures. This is played out most explicitly in Ronnie's character development. The colonisers are by necessity playing the role of the oppressor, regardless of how individually kind they may be. Unity Though the main characters of a passage to India are generally Christian or Muslim Hinduism also plays a large thematic role in the novel. The aspect of Hinduism with which Foster is particularly concerned is a religion's ideal of all living things from the lowliest to the highest united in love is one. This vision of the universe appears to offer redemption to India and racism as individual differences disappear into a peaceful collectivity that doesn't recognize hierarchies. Individual blame and intrigue is foregone in favor of attention to higher spiritual matters. Professor Godbule the most visible Hindu in the novel is Foster's mouthpiece for this idea of the unity of all living things. Godbule alone remains aloof from the drama of the plot refraining from taking sides by recognizing that all are implicated in the evil of the Marava case. Mrs. Moore also shows openness to this aspect of Hinduism. Though she is a Christian, her experience of India has made her dissatisfied with what she perceives as a smallness of Christianity. Mrs. Moore appears to feel a great sense of connection with all living creatures as evidenced by her respect for the wasp in the bedroom. Yet through Mrs. Moore Foster also shows that the vision of all living things can be terrifying. As we see in Mrs. Moore's experience with the echo that negates everything into a boom in Mara Bar such oneness provides unity but also makes all elements of the universe one and the same. A realization that it is implied ultimately kills Mrs. Moore. Muddle and Mystery Foster takes great care to strike a distinction between the ideas of muddle and mystery in a passage to India. Muddle has connotations of dangerous and disorienting disorder whereas mystery suggests a mystical orderly plan by a spiritual force that is greater than man. Fielding who acts as Foster's primary mouthpiece in the novel admits that India is a model while figures such as Mrs. Moore and Gautvalier view India as a mystery. The model that is India in the novel appears to work from the ground up. The very landscape and the architecture of the countryside is formless and the natural life of plants and animals defies identification. This muddled quality to the environment is mirrored in the makeup of India's native population which is mixed into a model of different religious ethnic, linguistic and regional groups. Though Foster is sympathetic to India and Indians in the novel his overwhelming depiction of India as a model matches the manner in which many western writers of his day treated the East in their works. As noted by postcolonial scholar Edward Said, these authors in orientalizing of the East made western logic and capability appear self-evident and by extension portrayed the West's domination of the East as reasonable or even necessary. Race and Culture Passage to India isn't some ways a sort of ethnography or an examination of the customs of different cultures. Foster thought it but his public school mindset and the influence of his English peers compel him to become hardened and unkind to Indians. Overall the pervading culture of the English in India is that one must adopt a racist patronizing attitude to survive and thrive and that one's very Englishness makes one superior to the Indians. Foster also examines the English tendency to be rational without emotion and what is perceived as emotional. On the other hand Foster portrays the many religions and cultures of India which are part of the reason the country remains so internally divided. On an individual level as these is portrayed as an embodiment of cultural norms. Foster portrays the Indians as generally more emotional and imaginative than the English. Moving on to E.M. Foster's biography, Edward Morgan Foster was born in London in 1879, the son of Edward Morgan. He attended Tonbridge school which he hated. He caricatured what he termed public school behaviour in several of his novels. A different atmosphere awaited him at King's College, Cambridge which he enjoyed thoroughly. After graduation he began to write short stories. He lived for a time in Italy the scene of two of his early novels where angels fear to tread and a room with the view. Cambridge is a setting for the longest journey published in 1907. It was in this year that he returned to England and delivered a series of lectures at Working Men's College. His most mature work to date was to appear in 1910 with the publication of Howard's End. Foster then turned to literary journalism and wrote a play which has never staged. In 1911 he went to India with G. Lowes Dickinson, his mentor at King's College. During World War I, Foster was engaged in civilian war work in Alexandria. He returned to London after the war as a journalist. In 1921 he again went to India to work as secretary to the Maharaja of Teva State Senior. He had begun work on a passage to India before this time but on reading his notes in India he was discouraged to put them aside. The book was published in 1924 having been written upon his return to England. In 1927 Foster delivered the William George Clark Lectures at Trinity College, Cambridge. Titled Aspects of the Novel, the lectures were published in book form the same year. Also in 1927 he became a fellow of Cambridge University. Foster's writing after that time have been varied. A collection of short stories The Eternal Moment was published in 1928. A Pinger Harvest 1936 is a collection of reprints of reviews and articles. During World War II he broadcast many essays over the BBC. He has written a pageant play England's Pleasant Land a film Diary for Timothy, two biographies Goldsworthy Lowes Dickinson in 1934 and Marianne Thornton in 1956. A libretto for Benjamin Britten's opera Billy Budd with Eric Rozier and numerous essays. In 1953 he published The Hill of Davy an uneven collection of letters and reminiscences of his experiences in India. In 1960 a passage to India was adopted for the stage by Santha Rama Rao. After playing it in London for a year the play opened on Broadway on January 31, 1962 and ran for 110 performances. Although Foster was delighted with the adaptation most of the American critics felt the play did not measure up to the novel. In 1946 Foster moved to King's College in Cambridge to live there as an honorary fellow. Mr Foster's numerous awards included membership in the Order of Companions of Honor a recognition bestowed in 1953 by Queen Elizabeth II. Foster died on June 7, 1970. So that's all for now. If you found this video useful we would really love it if you could give it a thumbs up. Also do subscribe to our channel where we offer lots of free material that you can use as part of your studies to get a better understanding of specific areas that you might find challenging. 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