Analysis Of 'The Passage To India' By E. M. Forster

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The given excerpt is extracted from the early section of the first part of the E. M. Forster novel ‘The Passage to India’: ‘The Mosque’. Up until now Forster has introduced us to some of the major characters in the novel, and this particular scene is dominated by Mrs. Moore and her son Ronny.

In the given scene, Mrs. Moore and Miss Adela Quested are returning home after an evening at the Club with Ronny whom Adela is to be married to. The first part of the scene is quite enchanting with the Indian moon reflecting on the water of the Ganges; “Below them a radiance…appeared” (line 1). With “It belonged neither to water nor moonlight…luminous sheaf…fields of darkness” (line 1-2), Forster brings forth one of the many instances in the novel showing the ambiguous and baffling nature of India which a newcomer English has a hard time grasping. This is again suggested when Mrs. Moore exclaims, “What a terrible river! What a wonderful river!” (line 8-9). With this, Forster also manages to hint that Mrs. Moore’s journey with the Indian ambiguity and confusion which continues to the middle of the novel has just begun, especially to the scenes following the Cave incident which compel her to question her own beliefs.

Furthermore, Forster also indicates the romance between Adela and Ronny when they ‘glance(d) at each other and smile(d)’ (line 6-7). This non-verbal conversation between Adela and Ronny, as observed by the omniscient narrator, anticipates the events in the car in Chapter