Summary: Chapter XXXVI
At sundown that day, Aziz remembers that he promised to
send ointment over to the guesthouse to treat Fielding’s brother‑in‑law’s bee
stings. Aziz procures some of Mohammed Latif’s ointment and decides
to take it over himself, as an excuse for a ride.
Outside, the Procession of the God is about to begin.
The two claimants to the Rajah’s throne, sensing that the Rajah
might be dead, have arrived at the palace, but they make no moves
toward the throne while the festival continues. Aziz runs into Godbole
on the street and tells the professor the news about Fielding’s
wife. Godbole, however, has known all along that Fielding married
Stella Moore, not Adela Quested. Aziz refrains from getting angry
with Godbole out of respect for the festival time.
Riding toward the guesthouse, Aziz becomes cynical when
he notices the English visitors out in the guesthouse boat watching
the Hindu festival from afar. Aziz resents this sightseeing, which
he views as really a form of ruling or patrolling India. Aziz rides
on to the guesthouse, which is guarded only by a sleeping sentry.
He lets himself in and snoops around the rooms, finally finding
and reading a letter from Heaslop to Fielding and 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, Ralph Moore comes in, startled. Aziz recovers from his
surprise and briskly asks to see the Englishman’s bee stings. Ralph retreats
from Aziz, saying that Aziz’s hands are unkind. Ralph asks why Aziz
is treating him and the other English visitors so cruelly. Aziz
mentions Adela, but the procession outside nears the jail, and an
outburst of sorrow from the crowd distracts them both.
Aziz decides to leave and shakes Ralph’s hand absentmindedly. Aziz
suddenly senses that Ralph is no longer afraid of him. Aziz asks Ralph
if he can always tell when a stranger is his friend. Ralph says yes,
he can. Aziz pronounces Ralph an Oriental, then shivers, remembering
that he once said those exact words to Mrs. Moore 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 Ralph out on the water for a few minutes.
Once on the water, Aziz’s old hospitality returns, and
he begins to speak colorfully about the Hindu celebration. Ralph
points out what looks like the Rajah floating on the water. Aziz
admits that he does not know what it is, though he suspects it is
the image of the old Rajah, which can be seen from only one point
on the water. Aziz suddenly feels more like the visitor than the
guide.
Ralph 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, Godbole
catches 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, Ronny’s and Adela’s letters, and the oars all
swirl together.
Summary: Chapter XXXVII
After the boating accident, Aziz and Fielding suddenly
revert to their old friendship. They go for a ride in the jungles
around Mau before 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 Ralph
appear strangely drawn to the religion and to Mau. Aziz, impatient
with talk of Hinduism, changes the subject to politics. Aziz and
Fielding differ more politically than ever before, though they speak
about their opinions with trust. Fielding now believes that 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, “No, not yet.”
Analysis: Chapters XXXVI–XXXVII
Aziz’s interaction with Ralph Moore provides the catalyst
for Aziz and Fielding to restore their old friendship. Throughout
their interaction, the two men display a remarkable level of intuition
regarding the sentiment and intent behind each other’s words. Aziz
is initially callous and dismissive of Ralph, but then Ralph confronts this
coldness by accusing Aziz of having unkind hands. Ralph senses that
Aziz’s resentment is payback for the Indian’s own mistreatment at
the hands of the English. Ralph’s intuition surprises Aziz and reminds
him of Mrs. Moore. When Aziz lets his guard down a moment later,
Ralph senses that Aziz is relenting. Aziz knows that Ralph is sympathetic
to him, sensitive and aware of his feelings much as Mrs. Moore was.
Indeed, in an uncanny moment, Aziz uses the same words he used toward
Mrs. Moore in the mosque, pronouncing Ralph an Oriental. Aziz is
aware that his words start a cycle over again, and he is wary of
the fear and accusation that may again follow this initial friendliness.
Yet Forster presents this cycle as potentially a new version of
the old cycle, an improvement that will promote greater understanding
and not necessarily end in disaster. Ralph Moore is not a carbon
copy of Mrs. Moore, but a younger generation; Aziz lets his guard
down not out of naïve goodwill, but conscious choice.
Almost as remarkable as the initial conciliation between
Aziz and Ralph Moore is their sightseeing boat trip. Aziz initially expresses
bitterness toward Fielding and his wife as typical English people
who seek to rule India under the guise of exploring India. Yet just
several minutes later, Aziz, in characteristically unpredictable fashion,
invites Ralph to sightsee under his guidance, just as he invited
Mrs. Moore and Adela to see the Marabar Caves under his guidance.
In both cases, Aziz knows little about the territory he shows his
visitors. The important difference between Mau and Marabar, however,
is that Ralph is an active sightseer: he spots the mysterious and
elusive image of the old Rajah—an image that Aziz himself has never
seen before. For once, Aziz drops his guise of all-knowing guide,
allowing himself to be a visitor and spectator in his own country.
In this depiction Forster suggests that the only sound approach
to India is for both the English and Indians to be active lookers
and to accept that no single person owns the knowledge of the land.
While the Hindu festival of Krishna serves as one backdrop
to Part III, the elderly Rajah’s death serves as the secondary backdrop. As
the Rajah’s personal physician, Aziz knows of the leader’s death; though
Aziz attempts to keep it secret until after the festival, the rest of
the royalty of Mau has begun to suspect it. The beginning of Chapter
XXXVI informs us that the two claimants to the throne have gathered
at the palace but will make no move toward the throne until the
festival is over. The Rajah’s death thus suggests a general turning
point, a changing of rulers. The patient and selfless approach of
the two claimants to the throne suggest that politics is most humane
when subordinated to a benevolent, religious worldview. In the context
of Aziz and Fielding’s discussion of India’s future, the changing
of rulers in Mau portends a general change in India and suggests
an ideal means of change.
If Forster is critical of the British in Part I and the
first half of Part II, and critical of Indians in the second half
of Part II, in Part III he suggests that Hinduism holds the key
by which all inhabitants of India might improve themselves and their
country. In Part III, the larger concern of A Passage to
India, centering on India’s dilemma and future, moves beyond
the personal level on which the novel’s drama has played out—the
friendship between Fielding and Aziz. For we see in Chapter XXXVII
that neither Fielding nor Aziz has any patience for Hinduism. Fielding
is still an atheist, and he resents the mysticism of his wife and
brother-in-law. Aziz, though now more affectionate with Hindus,
still ignores their practices and considers them silly and provincial.
Stella and Ralph Moore, like their mother before them, are the characters
most open to and interested in Hinduism. Through these two, the
pain of Marabar is erased and potentially replaced by a collective
vision. First, Ralph Moore connects with Aziz, and then Stella Moore—through
her lunge towards him during the boating accident—symbolically reaches
out to Aziz as well. It is through the Moores, and not Aziz and
Fielding, that Forster expresses optimism in Part III.
Accordingly, the novel’s final scene—featuring only Aziz
and Fielding—betrays a realistic pessimism that is not present in
the rest of Part III. Aziz and Fielding are happily back to their
old selves, but these old selves suffer from drawbacks, new and
old. Fielding has become more of a typical Englishman, more supportive
of the British Empire than respectful of individual interactions.
Likewise, Aziz’s affectionate side has given way somewhat to a hardened
pride in himself and his country.
The final message of A Passage to India is
that though Aziz and Fielding want to be friends, both their personal
histories and historical circumstances—as embodied by the Indian
landscape—prevent their friendship. Forster’s message has shifted
throughout the course of the novel. At the start of the novel, characters
such as Fielding and Aziz are evidence of Forster’s faith in liberal
humanism—the belief that with goodwill, intelligence, and respect,
all individuals can connect and make a successful world. Yet here
in the final scenes, the natural landscape of India itself seems
to rise up and divide Aziz and Fielding from each other. Forster
suggests that though men may be well intentioned, outside circumstances
such as cultural difference, natural environment, and the interference
of others can conspire to prevent their union. The final lines are
pessimistic in this regard, but Forster does ultimately leave open
the possibility that cross-cultural friendship, though elusive at
the present moment, may be viable in the future. He implies that
the combination of a respect for people as individuals and a belief
in sameness and the unity of man—though sometimes a fearful notion,
as Mrs. Moore has seen in the Marabar Caves—is the path most likely
to lead to the openness and understanding that Aziz and Fielding
seek.
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