Key Facts
full title · A Passage to India
author · E.M. Forster
type of work · Novel
genre · Modernist novel; psychological novel
language · English
time and place written · 1912–1924; India, England
date of first publication · 1924
publisher · Edward Arnold
narrator · Forster uses an unnamed third-person narrator
point of view · The third-person narrator is omniscient, attuned both
to the physical world and the inner states of the characters
tone · Forster's tone is often poetic and sometimes ironic
or philosophical
tense · Immediate past
setting (time) · 1910s or 1920s
setting (place) · India, specifically the cities of Chandrapore and Mau
protagonist · Dr. Aziz
major conflict · Adela Quested accuses Dr. Aziz of attempting to sexually
assault her in one of the Marabar Caves. Aziz suspects Fielding
has plotted against him with the English.
rising action · Adela Quested and Mrs. Moore's arrival in India; the
women's befriending of Aziz; Adela's reluctant engagement to Ronny Heaslop;
Ronny and the other Englishmen's disapproval of the women's interaction
with Indians; Aziz's organization of an outing to the Marabar Caves
for his English friends; Adela's and Mrs. Moore's harrowing experiences
in the caves; Adela's public insinuation that Aziz assaulted her
in the caves; the inflammation of racial tensions between the Indians
and English in Chandrapore
climax · Aziz's trial; Adela's final admission that she is mistaken
in her accusations and that Aziz is innocent; the courtroom's eruption; Aziz's
release; the English community's rejection of Adela
falling action · Fielding's conversations with Adela; Fielding and Aziz's bickering
over Aziz's desire for reparations from Adela; Aziz's assumption
that Fielding has betrayed him and will marry Adela; Aziz's increasingly
anti-British sentiment; Fielding's visit to Aziz with his new wife,
Stella; Aziz's befriending of Ralph and forgiveness of Fielding
themes · The difficulty of English-Indian friendship; the unity
of all living things; the “muddle” of India; the negligence of British
colonial government
motifs · The echo; Eastern and Western architecture; Godbole's
song
symbols · The Marabar Caves; the green bird; the wasp
foreshadowing · Adela's concern about breaking down during the trial;
Fielding's interest in Hinduism at the end of Part II
