The Quest in A Passage to India

• Main Authors: Shawna, Yi-Hsiu Lee, 李怡秀
• Other Authors: James Fu
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2001
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/13520945182269126975

碩士 === 國立中正大學 === 外國語文研究所 === 89 === Abstract This thesis aims to deal with the personal quest in Forster’s the most well known, popular and last novel, A Passage to India. This novel tells the story of Adela Quested’s passage from Britain to India, composed as a series of incidents during her travel and her subsequent exploration of her new supposed home. In E. M. Forster’s A Passage to India the two main characters, Adela Quested and Dr. Aziz, have a rite of passage. Through their journeys, the two main characters change and grow from their personal experiences and the dilemmas that confront them. Through the experience of the passage, they change from being innocent to realizing the importance of being equal; that is, the passage becomes a journey of self-realization. In keeping with this concept, Forster’s A Passage to India, falls in the literary genre of bildungsroman. A Bildungsroman is a type of record of mental changes which creates a shift in perception and then leads on to inner growth and awareness. First, I elaborate on Adela’s aggressive and naïve attitude. When she first arrives at India, she makes an announcement that she wants to see ‘the real India.’ To state that “I want to see the real India” (PI 46) means that she demands to see ‘the real India’ from the perspective of a colonizer. Adela is not conscious of this colonizing attitude and therefore is incapable of seeing the real India from her privileged perspective. Adela wishes to see the new culture with her eyes but does not want to understand the new place with her heart. This blind and ignorant attitude leads her into her blunder later in the story. In her later life, she hopefully would use her experience and growth in her character to care for people all around her. Second, Adela’s passage to India has brought a new mental challenge to a particular individual, Dr. Aziz in the story. In this context Adela’s passage takes on the form of a threat -- a threat to the social values and political system of a colony. During Adela’s stay in India, Aziz tries his best to make her feel at home; however, his attempts result in a great disaster and a lethal insult to his personal honor. He is accused of attempting to rape Adela. This accusation immediately ruptures Aziz’s continuity of life. However, in a deeper sense, the disaster helps him become aware of his personal realities and also the realities of his life and his country. In the end, he feels that he wants to be a real Indian that he ought to fight for his country and create a better future for his children. Finally, the ‘passage’ in Forster’s novel aims to offer a spiritual renewal to the individual and heal of people’s mental sickness. Forster says that “perhaps life is a mystery; not a muddle” -- who can tell? Only if we keep learning, can we hope to understand what life is all about.