A Passage to India is E. M. Forster's most popular novel, and has received widespread critical acclaim in the ninety years since its publication. The novel takes place, as the title suggests, in India, in the fictional town of Chandrapore, and explores the issues of class and race during the British Raj in the 1920s. Aziz is the local Muslim doctor, who befriends Mrs Moore, an inquisitive British lady, after a chance encounter with her in a mosque. Following this, their friendship develops, and Mr Fielding, an Englishman who is happy to mix with the native people, arranges tea parties that the two new friends attend, along with Miss Quested, who is looking to become engaged to Mrs Moore's son. Aziz then arranges an extravagant trip to the Marabar Caves for the four of them, and when Aziz and Miss Quested are alone in one of the caves, she accuses him of assaulting her. The ensuing trial brings local racial tensions to new heights, and Fielding is rejected by the British after publicly declaring his belief in Aziz's innocence.
As Forster was a humanist, the class divide was central to many of his works, but in none is it so crucial as in this one, where class is essentially synonymous with race. Forster's frank exposure of the distrust and disdain with which the British regarded the native people shows that his humanist beliefs extend across different races and religions. Indeed, in the novel, he examines how, even in the parts of India that remain largely untouched by the English, society is divided between Muslims and Hindus, and between the castes in each of those religions, demonstrating how Forster's ideals were far from a reality. Even today in Britain, one of the most accepting countries in the world, the barrier between groups of people with different socio-economic backgrounds is plain to see, and the ideal of humanism is even further from our grasp in many other countries in the world. Regrettably, it seems probable that humanism will remain an ideal, rather than a reality, forever, as human differences and flaws are too vast for reconciliation.
Despite its international renown, I found A Passage to India slow-moving at times, and what should have been an interesting and intense plot felt stilted and failed to gather the momentum that it required to be truly enthralling. Furthermore, I did not feel a connection with any of the characters, meaning that even at the novel's climax I remained largely indifferent to the fate of the characters. The main thing that kept my interest in the novel was Forster's insightful socio-political commentary, and I would be interested to read some of Forster's other works, simply for his perspectives on society. Hopefully they will provide the intrigue that this novel sadly lacked.
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