1. NOVEL II LECTURE 25 A PASSAGE TO INDIA 1

2. SYNOPSIS  Summary continues…  Detailed discussion from chapter 1-26 2

3. Chapter 11 & 12  Fielding wonders why the servants aren't bringing his horse to him. Then he hears Aziz calling him back into the apartment.  Aziz shows Fielding a photograph of his wife. It is Aziz's way of saying that he considers Fielding to be a friend, in fact a "brother" (1.11.13).  Fielding is touched. Aziz remarks that all India needs is kindness. Fielding thinks to himself that while it may need kindness, it also needs something more, which he calls an "intoxication of the blood" (1.11.20).  Fielding asks Aziz what he thinks of Adela Quested and Mrs. Moore. Aziz shakes his head in disgust. 3

4.  Aziz asks Fielding if he's married. When Fielding explains that he isn't, Aziz asks Fielding why he doesn't marry Adela. Fielding explains that Adela "depresses" him (1.11.42). He tells Aziz that Adela is engaged to be married to Ronny.  Aziz tells Fielding he should be more careful about what he says about other people. Fielding agrees. Aziz wonders how Fielding would feel about losing his job. Fielding explains that he likes to "travel light" and compares himself to a holy man, only without the religion (1.11.62). 4

5.  Fielding feels his job is secure because it's education.  Aziz finally confesses to Fielding that he told the servant not to bring Fielding's horse so that Aziz could have a chance to talk to Fielding alone.  After Fielding leaves, Aziz thinks some more pleasant thoughts about friendship, women, Arabic poetry, and mosques. 5

6.  Chapter 12 is another one of those chapters where we don't have plot, just a lot of natural description.  We're taken on a trip back way before human beings scampered across the earth, before the earth was broken up into continents. The landmass on which India was located preceded the rise of the Himalayas and the separation of Asia from Africa. 6

7.  The Marabar Caves are extensions of this ancient landmass. They contain a series of caves that are baffling.  The interior of each cave has a highly reflective surface. Visitors can strike a match and the flames are reflected all around them.  There are rumors that there are caves even farther in which have no access to the outside world. The strangest cave is the one in a boulder that is perched on the summit of the highest hill. It's called the Kawa Dol. 7

8. Chapter 13 & 14  Out of the blue, some time after Fielding's tea party, Adela comments to Miss Derek that she wished Aziz remembered that he'd invited them to see the Marabar Caves.  By the time her comment gets to Aziz through the town rumor mill, it's turned into a comment about how offended she is.  Aziz promptly begins preparations and send them an invitation, even though at this point no one really wants to go. Ronny gives his assent to the trip as long as Fielding accompanies them. 8

9.  On the morning of the picnic, Aziz, along with his servants and Mohammed Latif, waits for his guests at the train station.  Adela and Mrs. Moore arrive first. The women ask Aziz to dismiss their servant, who Adela especially doesn't like, so he does so.  After Aziz makes sure the women are settled in the purdah (or women's) carriage, the train starts.  Aziz sees Godbole and Fielding stuck at the train crossing, and Fielding is unable to catch the train. Dismayed, Aziz is comforted by Mrs. Moore and goes back to his seat. 9

10.  Adela and Mrs. Moore have a chat on the train ride out to the Marabar Caves.  Adela hasn't been feeling anything extraordinary for the past couple of weeks, and she's eager for some new and sublime experience. But the sunrise already disappoints, with its orange murkiness. They think nostalgically of Grasmere, a place in England of which both women are fond.  The train stops. They get on an elephant, which Aziz has found at great expense, and ride to the Marabar Caves. 10

11.  The servants follow behind with supplies in tongas. They're quite a parade, as the elephant attracts the local villagers, who decide to go along with them to the caves.  The party arrives at the caves, where Aziz has spread out an elaborate picnic for his English guests.  Aziz is quite pleased with himself at this point. He tells his guests that he feels like Emperor Babur, a Mogul emperor.  Adela and Mrs. Moore enjoy Aziz's stories about Babur and Akbar, another Mogul emperor. 11

12.  Then Adela tells Aziz about her engagement, and asks him how she can avoid turning into a horrible person like other colonial administrators' wives (like Mrs. Turton).  Aziz is too polite to agree with her, so he changes the subject and invites them up to the caves.  Mrs. Moore hates the caves. It's crowded and dark, and she feels something foul touching her (which turns out to be a baby in a villager's arms).  She hears a monotonous echoing that seems to reduce all other sounds to the same "boum" (2.14.83). She decides to stay back by the picnic area and let Adela and Aziz go off to the caves on their own. 12

13. At the picnic area, Mrs. Moore starts to address a letter to her other children, but can't continue. The echo is still bothering her. In fact, nothing seems to matter anymore. Horrified, she feels herself losing her will to live. 13

14. Chapter 15 & 16  As Adela climbs after Aziz, she thinks of her own impending marriage. She thinks of how well she and Ronny will get on because of their common sense – but do they love each other? To her dismay, she realizes that they don't. But successful marriages don't require love, she thinks.  She asks Aziz about his own wife. He lies and says that his wife is still alive, rather than killing the mood by talking about her death.  Then Adela really puts her foot in it and asks him how many wives he has. Aziz is appalled. He's too polite to explain to Adela how much she's offended him, so he dives into a cave to escape her and recover his composure.  The novel switches perspective abruptly at this point and says that Adela also goes into a cave, without seeing Aziz, thinking about how bored she is and thinking about her marriage. 14

15.  In his cave, Aziz lights a cigarette and smokes for a minute, trying to think of something polite to say to Adela.  Leaving his cave, he doesn't see Adela anywhere, but he does hear a car driving along the road below the hills. He asks the guide where Adela is, and the guide makes some vague gesture toward the caves.  Aziz and the guide go through the caves looking for Adela, but they can't find her. Aziz walks over to the guide and slaps him. The guide runs away.  Then Aziz notices that Adela isn't lost – she's joined the people in the car. Aziz doesn't think anything of it. He just thinks that Adela is acting impulsively.  Aziz notices Adela's field glasses in the entryway of one of the caves. He tries to hang it over his shoulder, but the strap is broken. 15

16.  Aziz heads back to the camp where Mrs. Moore is resting, and sees that Fielding has arrived at the camp. Fielding explains that Miss Derek had given him a ride when she found out that he had missed his train. Aziz realizes that Miss Derek was driving the car that he just saw, and that Adela probably ran down to join Miss Derek.  Miss Derek's chauffeur pops up to say that Miss Derek has driven herself and Adela back to Chandrapore.  Fielding senses that something is amiss, since Miss Derek had just been telling him how much she enjoyed hanging out with Indians. 16

17.  Fielding goes up to see a cave and isn't too impressed.The entire party starts to head back, elephant and all. Fielding asks Aziz some questions about what happened to Adela.  Not knowing himself, but not wanting to kill the festive mood, Aziz insists that Adela went off to hang out with her friend Miss Derek. He claims that the guide helped her down the hill, although he never saw exactly how Adela got down the hill. 17

18.  They get back on the train to Chandrapore. When they arrive at Chandrapore, Mr. Haq, the police inspector, places Aziz under arrest.  Aziz sobs, and tries to escape. Fielding pulls him back into the train, and walks with him out of the train. Ronny escorts his mother. Mr. Turton calls Fielding away, and Aziz continues on to prison alone with Mr. Haq. 18

19. Chapter 17 & 18 Turton calls Fielding into the waiting-room and announces that Aziz has "insulted" Adela (2.17.1). Fielding denies this, and suggests that there has been some horrible mistake. Fielding's defense of Aziz infuriates Turton. Turton informs Fielding that there is an informal meeting at the club. Fielding says he will attend. Fielding's level-headedness irritates Turton, and he ends their conversation. He walks out onto the train platform and notices that the servants are looting Aziz's elaborate picnic arrangements. He orders them to stop and drives home. 19

20. Fielding goes off to see McBryde about the case. McBryde tells Fielding that Miss Derek and Adela arrived at his home. McBryde took down Adela's charge and made up an arrest warrant for Aziz. Aziz's home was searched, and his letters and photographs brought to the police station. McBryde tells Fielding that in his letters, Aziz was making up plans to see prostitutes. Fielding says that he was doing the same thing at Aziz's age. McBryde was too, but he doesn't admit it to Fielding. 20

21. Fielding wants to visit Adela, but McBryde insists she is too ill. Fielding asks to see Aziz, but McBryde is reluctant. He believes that when the Indians see a European, (i.e., Fielding, taking sides with Aziz), it will embolden them and weaken the case against Aziz. Fielding insists, but when he tells McBryde about his conversation with Turton, McBryde refuses to let Fielding see Aziz without a magistrate's order. Fielding points out that the photographs taken from Aziz's home are actually photographs of Aziz's dead wife, a notion that McBryde rejects. McBryde asks Fielding to leave 21

22. Chapter 19 & 20 Outside the police station, Fielding encounters Hamidullah. Hamidullah believes that the whole Indian community should be galvanized in support of Aziz, including powerful men like the Nawab Bahadur. He also wants to bring in a famous Calcutta lawyer, Amritrao, who is anti-British. Fielding believes that Hamidullah's plans will only inflame racial hatred between the British and the Indians. But he tells Hamidullah that he is on their side. When Fielding arrives at the college, he sees Godbole, whose attitude perplexes him. Even though Godbole is aware of what has happened to Aziz, Godbole mainly wants to ask Fielding about choosing a name for a high school he plans on setting up when he takes up his new job at Mau. 22

23. Fielding asks Godbole if he believes Aziz is guilty. Godbole doesn't answer the question directly, but asserts that when evil happens, everyone is responsible. Godbole asks Fielding whether he saw the Tank of the Dagger when he went to the caves. Fielding replies that he has. Godbole then goes into a story about how the Tank of the Dagger was built to commemorate a miracle concerning a thirsty cow. Thus ends their conversation. Fielding gets a permit to see Aziz, who is too miserable to speak coherently. Aziz accuses Fielding of deserting him at the police station. Fielding then decides to write a letter to Adela. 23

24.  Because of the incident, Adela now has the sympathy of all of the women who disliked her previously, including Mrs. Turton, Mrs. Callendar, and Mrs. Lesley.  All men in the civil administration (and their wives) have gathered at the club to discuss the upcoming weeks.  Turton asks the women to keep calm, and he tells them necessary safety precautions are being taken for Mohurram, a Muslim religious holiday that coincides with the trial.  Fielding asks about Adela's condition, but there is no update from Callendar. Mrs. Turton dismisses his question as unnecessary.  Turton asks the women to leave the men alone. In addition to the usual crowd, a stray soldier is also present. 24

25.  The soldier suggests that the military be brought in to maintain order, but Turton dismisses this idea as overkill. He tells everyone to carry on as usual, but to get the women off to the hills as they usually are in advance of the summer heat.  He asks them not to act any differently toward Indians. The soldier mentions that he met one Indian who seemed all right playing polo – ironically, that Indian was Aziz.  Then, Callendar comes in and announces that Adela is better, but has a temperature.  Callendar baits Fielding a little because he knows that Fielding believes Aziz to be innocent. Fielding holds back.Next, Ronny comes in. Everyone stands out of deference to his troubles except Fielding. Both the Collector and the soldier demand Fielding to stand. 25

26.  At this point, Fielding makes a personal statement. He contends that Aziz is innocent, and that he is waiting for the verdict of the courts.  If Aziz is guilty, Fielding will resign from the club.  Fielding tries to leave, but the Collector demands that he apologize to Ronny first. Fielding refuses. The soldier blocks his exit. Ronny asks them to let Fielding go.  Fielding finally makes his exit from the club, but pauses on the upper verandah to gaze at the Marabar Hills. 26

27. Chapter 21 & 22 The town is getting ready for Mohurram festivities. Fielding spends the rest of the day with Aziz's friends, who are planning Aziz's defense. The famous Calcutta lawyer Amritrao has agreed to plead Aziz's case. They are also applying for Aziz's release on bail. Fielding returns to the college, hoping to ask Godbole what he thinks of all this. But Godbole is nowhere to be found, and slips off to his new job in the next day or two. 27

28.  Adela is at the McBrydes' bungalow for a few days recovering from her experience in the cave.  Miss Derek and Mrs. McBryde look over her skin with magnifying glasses, picking out the cactus needles that were embedded in her skin when she ran down the Marabar hills.  Adela has many sympathetic visitors, but Mrs. Moore hasn't visited yet.  Adela explains what happened in the cave. She went into a cave and tapped the wall with her finger, waiting for an echo. Then a shadow blocked the entrance. She hit at the shadow with her glasses. Then she was pulled around the cave by the strap of her field glasses, which broke. Then she escaped. 28

29.  Interestingly, she doesn't actually say that the shadow attacked her, nor does she refer to Aziz by name. She also states that the shadow never touched her.  Adela herself doesn't know what to make of things. Sometimes she cries hysterically and wishes the maximum penalty on her assailant. Other times she feels like she's somehow guilty and making a mess of things.  She wishes Mrs. Moore would visit and clear things up.After the thorns have been extracted, Adela is finally ready to head home with Ronny. When he comes to pick her up, Ronny and McBryde tell Adela about the Mohurram troubles. 29

30.  During Mohurram, a Muslim holiday, the area's Muslims had rioted and almost attacked the civil station.In addition, Mr. McBryde hands Adela a letter from Fielding, and confesses that he's already taken a peek at the letter.  Adela glances through the letter, where Fielding professes that Aziz is innocent, but all she can think of is how Fielding insulted Ronny at the club.  When Ronny and Adela arrive at Ronny's bungalow, Adela finally has a chance to talk with Mrs. Moore. But Mrs. Moore is no mood for talking. She's quite irritable. When Ronny suggests that she will have to take the stand as a witness, she refuses. She really just wants to be left alone. In fact, she wants to go back to England as soon as possible. 30

31.  Mrs. Moore leaves to get a pack of playing cards. Adela wonders if she's wrong to accuse Aziz, as she believes Mrs. Moore claimed.  But Ronny tells Adela that Mrs. Moore said no such thing.  When Mrs. Moore comes back, Ronny asks her if she mentioned Aziz. She says she didn't. Adela tells Mrs. Moore that she thought that Mrs. Moore had said that Aziz was innocent. Mrs. Moore replies that, of course, Aziz is innocent.  Adela wonders if she should withdraw the case. Ronny tells her that the "machinery has started" and there's no turning back.  Mrs. Moore adds that the machinery will "work to its end."This sounds horrible to Adela, who starts to cry. Ronny picks up the steamship schedule with the idea that maybe it would be a good thing for his mother to leave as soon as possible after all. 31

32. Chapter 23 & 24 Since all the steamships are booked, Lady Allenby, the wife of the Lieutenant-General, graciously offers Mrs. Moore passage in her own cabin on a ship back to England. Mrs. Moore takes the train through central India to Bombay. She's impressed with what she sees, particularly Asirgarh. She feels as though the India she's seeing on her train ride is so different from the Marabar Caves, and she wishes she could see the rest of India. In Bombay, she meets Lady Allenby, who warns her against standing in the heat. 32

33.  After Mrs. Moore leaves, Adela goes to stay with the Turtons. On the morning of the trial, she prays, which she hasn't done in a while.  The Turtons ask her if she's ready, and she has a sip of brandy. She complains of an echo in her ear.They arrive at the courthouse.  They have to take a special entrance because of a few Indian students who are protesting in front.Mrs. Turton makes some nasty remarks about how the Indians should be quashed. Mr. Turton ignores her and thinks to himself that women make running India difficult. 33

34.  They meet with Ronny and other Anglo-Indians in Ronny's office at the courthouse. Because of conflict of interest, Ronny can't preside over the trial, so his assistant, Mr. Das, an Indian, will preside.  Ronny thinks that the switch is actually a good thing. They know the verdict's guilty, so they may as well have an Indian break the bad news.  Mrs. Turton again makes some comments about how weak the men are being and how the Indians should be "spat" upon (2.24.41) 34

35.  They all enter the courtroom together, preceded by special chairs to make them appear more dignified than the rest of the attendees at the trial.  The first thing that Adela notices is the punkah wallah, the Indian guy who pulls the fan. He's of a very humble birth and happens to be quite attractive.  As Adela ogles the punkah wallah, the trial is underway.Mr. McBryde opens the case for the prosecution. He presents various details about the picnic. But he can't help digressing into one of his favorite topics: "Oriental Pathology." That is, bad things "Orientals," including Indians. He notes that Orientals tend to be attracted to whites, but not the other way around. 35

36.  Somebody in the audience asks him whether this is the case when the woman is far less attractive than the man.  Since they can't figure out who exactly said it, they kick out some random guy in the audience.Adela trembles at this insult.  Major Callendar claims that Adela is unwell and demands that she be seated on the same raised platform as the magistrate, where the air is cooler. The other Anglo-Indians follow Adela and Callendar to the platform. They are all now facing the rest of the courtroom. The only European who isn't with them is Fielding, who sits in the audience with the rest of the Indians. 36

37.  Mahmoud Ali and Amritrao, a famous barrister from Calcutta, both of whom are defending Aziz, protest at the presence of so many Anglo-Indians on the platform.Mr. Das orders everyone except Adela off the platform.  While men such as Mr. Turton and Ronny agree readily, but the women are less pleased. Adela follows everyone off the platform.  Mr. McBryde continues presenting the case. After blasting Aziz's character, he adds that Aziz was also cruel to Mrs. Moore.The name "Mrs. Moore" sets off another ruckus in the courtroom.  Mahmoud Ali accuses McBryde of shipping Mrs. Moore off to England so she wouldn't give evidence exonerating Aziz. 37

38.  Das tells everyone that they can't talk about Mrs. Moore because she isn't present to give evidence.Mahmoud Ali leaves the courtroom in indignation.  Everyone in the courtroom and in the street chant "Mrs. Moore," but it sounds like they're saying "Esmiss Esmoor."Finally, things calm down after Amritrao apologizes for Mahmoud Ali's behavior and the crowds stop chanting "Esmiss Esmoor.“  Now it's Adela's turn to take the stand. Oddly, Adela finally feels okay. She feels the air from the punkah wafting over her as she feels herself actually transported back in time to the caves. She feels as if she's giving evidence from that distant point in time and space, not in the actual courtroom. 38

39. Mr. McBryde asks Adela whether the defendant and the guide took her to the caves at the Kawa Dol. She replies that they did. Mr. McBryde asks Adela whether Aziz followed her into the cave. Here, Adela hesitates. She still feels as though she's at the caves, but she doesn't see Aziz there. Adela denies that the prisoner followed her. McBryde presses her, but she insists. Now the whole courtroom is thrown into chaos. Das declares that Aziz is free. Everyone on the Indian side of the courtroom, including Fielding, cheers. Mrs. Turton yells at Adela. Somehow the court empties, and the only being left behind is the punkah wallah. 39

40. Chapter 25 & 26 Somehow Adela gets whisked away by the crowd away from the Anglo-Indians out the courtroom exit. She meets Fielding, who takes her away from the tumult in his carriage. Since Fielding can't find his servant anywhere, his students volunteer to take them and the carriage back to the college. In the meanwhile, Aziz and his buddies are carried away by the crowds. They hear a rumor that Nureddin, the Nawab Bahadur's grandson, was tortured at the hospital. The Nawab protests that this is not the case, but they all go off to the hospital anyway with the idea of destroying it. 40

41. Dr. Lal pops out of the hospital and dances around inappropriately. He was going to testify for Adela against Aziz's character, so he begs Aziz to forgive him. Lal's antics pacify the crowd, and he shows them to Nureddin. When Nureddin appears, everyone's relieved. The Nawab declares that he now rejects the title conferred upon him by the British, and will now just be Mr. Zulfiqar. Aziz and his friends follow Zulfiqar to his country seat to celebrate their victory. 41

42.  At the college, Fielding and Adela talk over what happened. While Fielding is at first unwilling to talk to Adela, he gradually warms to her because of her honesty.  When Adela tells him that she was feeling unwell before the incident, Fielding tells her his hypothesis that she may have hallucinated the whole thing.  When McBryde finally asked her a straight question at the trial as to what happened, Adela, according to Fielding, was "exorcised" of her hallucination because she was forced to give a straight answer. 42

43.  Fielding also wonders whether somebody else attacked Adela – the guide or one of the villagers.  At this point, Hamidullah breaks in on them to cart Fielding off to the celebration at Zulfiqar's estate. Hamidullah is annoyed that Adela is there.  Ronny calls at the college looking for Adela. Ronny's gotten a cable informing him that his mother has died. Adela is devastated, and asks Fielding whether she can stay at the college because she's been kicked out of the Turtons' and she feels that she and Ronny have to be apart. Fielding agrees, and leaves her behind at the college as he leaves with Hamidullah.On the way to Zulfiqar's estate, Amritrao joins them.  Fielding asks him how much they'll be suing Adela for compensation, and Amritrao quotes an enormous sum. Fielding is dismayed at the thought that Adela's whole life could be ruined over her mistake. 43

44. Visual Comprehension 01: 05:00 - 01: 15:00 Fielding asks Aziz if he would want the expedition to set off Aziz prepares for the picnic and receives the ladies at the station with his servants (fellowmen to help) Fielding and Godbole are left behind The group rides elephant with the help of a surprise ladder The elephant rids gives Aziz imagination himself to be part and piece of Mughal empire The arrangements are liked and appreciated by the ladies The party is set against the caves and the propositions are being discussed 44

45. Visual Comprehension 01: 15:00 - 01: 25:00 Mrs. Moor is recalling her beautiful memories They enter the cave Echo is being experimented Mrs. Moor runs out of the cave Only Miss. Quested, Aziz and the guide go on for the climb Conversation between the two Quested go inside the cave all by herself 45

46. Visual Comprehension 01: 25:00 - 01: 35:00 Quested runs down the hills Fielding joins the party however find an unpleasant news Fielding and Moor are upset on the situation They get back with an unpleasant welcome 46

47. Review Lecture 25  Summary continues…  Detailed discussion from chapter 1-26 47