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"Snobby attitude of English women" – An important theme of "A passage to India"

The friendship between the Indians and the English is the main theme of Forster’s novel. With the pretext of each episode, the reference to this particular topic can be easily identified. The writer highlights the nature of their relationship not only as Indians and English, but also as ruling and ruled classes.

The second chapter of the novel begins with a discussion on the same topic by a few educated Muslims who were discussing whether friendship between English and Indians is possible. Hameedullah, who has been to Cambridge, expresses her experience that friendship with English is only possible in England. He says: “I only maintain that it is possible in England, it is impossible here.”

This he said after a keen observation by the English that they believe themselves superior beings on entering India, while in England their conduct is the other way around. They also firmly believe that the attitude of English ladies is more negative than that of English ladies. Hameedullah says, “They all become exactly the same, no worse, no better. I give any Englishman two years. And any English woman six months. They are all exactly the same.” (Forster 35).

Invocation of Callendar for Dr. Aziz

Aziz, Hameedullah and Ali are about to have dinner, when Aziz is summoned by the civil surgeon, Major Callendar. Before answering this call, Aziz says that Callendar has called him just to show his authority and that he doesn’t really need it. He says “he’s found out about our dinner time, that’s all, and he chooses to interrupt us each time to show his power.” (Forster 39)

When Aziz approaches the Callendar compound, he comes down from Tonga because the English rulers want the Indian to approach any English official on foot, as it is the most suitable path for the servants. To display their power and observe the servility of the natives, they forced them to be humble and servile like a submissive and obedient subject.

In fact, when Aziz arrives at Mr. Calender’s place, he discovers that Major Callendar has left the club without leaving a message for him. This proves Dr. Aziz’s suspicion that Mr. Callendar called him at such a strange time at dinner just to show off his power.

This particular incident shows that friendship cannot exist to the extent that the English regard Indians as an object to be ruled and ruled. This is so because the foundations of friendship are established when there is equality on both sides. Can not

The Chandrapore Club and the Indians

The Chandrapore club is the center of leisure activities, especially for the English. Indians have been forbidden to go there. The reason behind this restriction is that the natives are uneducated and primitive, so they cannot be members of the club. This is why when Ms. Moore invites Dr. Aziz to join the club, he simply replies that

“Indians cannot enter the Chandrapore club even as guests.” (Forster 48)

Bridge party

The purpose of the bridge festival was to bridge the gulf between the English and the natives. Forster (52) refers to him as “it was not the game, but a party to bridge the gulf between east and west”.

The name of the party has a symbolic background. It is the play of a card game called “bridge game”. In this game, the trump card is the strongest card and one player decides which is the trump card and this player is the strongest player who dominates the others because not all players are equal in this game. In this sense, the English and the Indians are players at the bridge party and the English have to decide the trump card because they are superior.

However, the Festival of the Bridge does not narrow the abyss but exhibits it more strongly. At the Bridge Party, the Indian guests stand idly on one side of the tennis court while the English stand on the other and there is no interaction between the two. At one point, Mr. Turton tried to develop some degree of familiarity with his Indian guests, but his wife would not allow him and took him back to the other side where only the English were present. Of all the Englishmen assembled at the feast, only Mr. Fielding showed courtesy to the Indians and mingled with them in a friendly atmosphere. So the common attitude of the English is not civilized towards the natives, yet they have been invited by the English.

There is segregation between rulers and ruled. English ladies do not want to be with the Indians or eat with them. Despite this attitude the English think that this holiday is an extraordinary event to get acquainted with the natives and the old type of “Burrah Sahibs” could not practice such a humble act because this is considered against the honor of the English race. These are the feelings of doing something that force the collector’s wife to say, “It’s enough to make the old Burra Sahib guy Spin in his grave (Forster 65).”

This attitude is purely snobbish because the English ladies, who are here at the party, are ordinary British ladies. That they are compared and considered equal to the Indian ladies; They are the cream of society.

The gap between the two races is further strengthened during the trial period, drawing a clear line between the English and the Indians. Now all the Indians are favoring Aziz and on the other hand the entire English community is with Adela. No one except Fielding is ready to find out what really happened in the Marabar Caves. In such a situation, it was a crime for an Englishman to side with Aziz; thus, Fielding was bitterly criticized for favoring Aziz, an Indian. Even the Collector, who never spoke otherwise, was so enraged that he lost his head and said with utter disgust: ‘You have sunk to the level of your associates; you are weak, weak, that’s what happens to you “.

Fielding and Aziz

The only friendship that takes place in the novel, albeit for a short period of time, is between Fielding and Aziz. This begins when Fielding invited Aziz to a tea party at his house. There they talk in a friendly enough atmosphere until Ronny arrived and destroyed the charm of the party. However, this acquaintance became friends when Aziz showed Fielding a photo of his late wife. To Fielding’s question that Indian ladies follow “purdah”, Aziz replies, “I should have told him you were my brother.” Fielding takes it as a huge compliment and shows his friendship in times of need. During Aziz’s trial, it was only Fielding who, while a British citizen, assisted Aziz’s lawyers and faced the harsh condemnation of his own race.

The ultimate end of this friendship, however, was not a success. It ended in the end when it was mixed with elements of suspicion on Aziz’s part. When Fielding asked his Indian friend to refrain from suing Adela, Aziz failed to understand Fielding’s true intention and instead took it as if Fielding wanted to help Adela to get a chance to marry her. Even after two years when Fielding visited Aziz, the latter showed a cold shoulder upon arrival assuming he had married Adela Quested. This mistrust reveals the real story and now we can say that their belonging to different footprints was the main reason why they could not join in the bond of friendship.

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