Book Review: A Passage to India

I believe I first heard of this novel, A Passage to India by E.M. Forester several years back when I began my deep study of classic literature. Although I knew very little of the story I marked it as a book I wanted to read, mostly because it pertained to Indian culture and history. I was also familiar with the title thanks to the popular 1984 film adaptation that was nominated for an impressive 11 Academy Awards. I hope to watch the movie soon now that I have finished the book. 

The novel was written in 1924 and has been selected by Time Magazine as one of the greatest 100 novels of all time. The author E.M. Forester pulls the title from a poem by Walt Whitman in Leaves of Grass. Forester spent time in India and henceforth was able to provide great insight into this British Raj era, where Britain occupied India. After nearly 60 years of British control a new movement of Indian independence was on the rise and this book highlights some of that growing tension. I was able to capture the gist of the story however often find myself not fully emerged with the details. This is probably due to aged British writing. Nonetheless I found the story and the setting to be very intriguing. 

The Plot

The story takes place in 1920 India where two British women are visiting the fictional city of Chandrapore. Adela Quested is a school mistress and is accompanied by her potential mother in-law Mrs. Moore. They are both visiting Ronny Heaslop, the city magistrate, son of Mrs. Moore. Adela is however conflicted whether or not she wants to marry Ronny and hopes this trip will bring her new insight. Mrs. Moore later encounters a local Indian man at a Mosque named Aziz. At first Aziz is frustrated by her lack of respect in the Mosque but then they come to understand one another and become friends. Mrs. Moore later shares her experience with her son, who becomes agitated by the Indian's lack of submission. 

From this point on both Adela and Mrs. Moore disagree with Ronny's sense of superiority over the Indians, and both women desire to meet real local natives. A member of the British government is able to arrange a social event with some local officials including the principle of the Indian college, Cyril Fielding and his Indian associate Professor Godbole. Mrs. Moore also insists that her new friend Dr. Aziz join the party as well. The party has various social encounters but mostly is one of awkward engagements between the timid Indians and the entitled British. Aziz befriends Cyril Fielding and later invites Mrs. Moore and Adela to explore the Marabar Caves who accept his offer. 

Dr. Aziz goes to great trouble to plan the perfect expedition to the caves and invites Fielding and Prof Godbole to join as well. However Fielding and Godbole miss the train, leaving Aziz alone with Mrs. Moore and Adela. After visiting the first cave, Mrs. Moore becomes very exhausted and decides to sit down for the rest of the day. Meanwhile Aziz and Adela journey into the second cave, where a misunderstanding occurs. Adela mistakenly offends Aziz when she asks him if he has multiple wives. Aziz then takes a moment to excuse himself, at which point Adela leaves him to explore the caves on her own. Aziz later finds her glasses broken on the floor and fears the worse until he sees her in the distant with other British friends, including Fielding. Adela drives off with her British friend, and Aziz returns on train with Mrs. Moore and Fielding. When they arrive at the train station Aziz is arrested for assaulting Adela. 

Aziz is shocked by this wrongful accusation from Adela and his friend Fielding quickly comes to his defense. Nonetheless Aziz is put in jail until there is a trial, which raises the local tension all the more between the Indians and British. Mrs. Moore has become sick and frustrated by the entire situation and returns to England. However her health has failed her and she dies on the way. On the day of the trail Adela withdraws her accusations and it becomes clear that she was merely confused in the caves and Aziz was innocent. Furthermore she decides not to marry Ronny but instead begins a new relationship with Fielding. This upsets Aziz who doesn't understand why his friend would run off with a woman who nearly ruined his life. Aziz then swears to himself that he will not befriend a white person again until India becomes an independent nation. 

Book Review

Although the book was written in present time it can now be seen as a historical fiction. It very much portrays a real setting of India during the 1920s of the British Raj. E.M. Forester clearly provides insightful details about this exotic location that he himself encountered in real life. This surely must have been a groundbreaking work for western literature portraying the tensions within India. Furthermore aside from the political motifs, there was the cultural details that are very well presented in this book. So just as the title suggests E.M. Forester is providing a passage into India for all western readers. This is to better understand their culture, but also their mistreatment by their British occupiers. 

I think the tone is a subtle one, but E.M. Forester is clearly pointing out the injustice towards the Indian people. Dr. Aziz is the victim of a total false indictment and trial merely due to the color of his skin. Thankfully however righteousness endures and Aziz is cleared of all charges. Yet the damage is done in this mistrial, where a once political agnostic, suddenly becomes aware of the racial injustice that is happening in his home country. He even loses faith in his one white friend, Fielding who chooses to chase after the woman who wrongly accused him. So here Forester is demonstrating a character's awakening to the ongoing racial tension of the time, which gave way to the Indian Independence movement. 

I would say the book was rather a simple story in a very complex setting which did make for an intriguing dynamic. It was quite obvious from the get-go that this would be about two cultures trying to understand one another, the good and the bad. However I never really felt any powerful emotions, not a feel-good moment nor a shocking tragic moment. I could see how the book would be considered significant for it's time, but quite frankly I found it to be somewhat mundane. I think what could have been a happy ending between Mrs. Moore and Aziz, or even Fielding and Adela, turned out to be one of spite and hate. I guess that is ultimately what the author was after to leave the reader with the true racial tension in India at the time.