I’ve just finished reading A Passage to India by E.M. Forster. It’s a well-known novel in the history of fiction, regarding orientalism, imperialism, and colonisation. You may have read or heard about it. As for me, I honestly came across it while reading another book.
The book reminded me of Edward Said— have you ever come across this author? I hope you have. I read two or three of Said’s books while studying for my postgraduate degree in Religious Studies. You might wonder how I went from my undergraduate degree in English Language to Religious Studies, but that’s a story for another day.
Now, back to A Passage to India. I am not going to review the story— there are already enough, in case you’re interested. I’d just like to share a thought that struck me while reading it.
True friendship can never exist where pride and prejudice surround it. Such an atmosphere cannot creat and nourish a healthy relationship. Mottos become empty words when superiority and inferiority are hidden behind the nice, smooth facade of so-called communication.
We are created different—in colours, shapes, tongues, and even beliefs. So why does one side decide to change God’s plan, or worse, play God in this temporary life?
So, for example, how can a man travelling by aeroplane be considered more civilized than another by horse? Why is a scientist seen as more civilized than a Bedouin? And why is a millionaire thought to be more civilized than someone earning a modest wage? And, as if that were not enough, this so-called the “civilized” often seek to dominate and humiliate those they call the “less fortunate.”
This is simply what A Passage to India is all about. Friendship that seems possible at first, but cannot last because it grows in a world full of pride and prejudice. That world doesn’t see differences as diversity—but opposition.
Ironically, the author himself tends to present things more as opposites than as differences—framing them as superior and inferior, or, to put it more nicely, as the fortunate and the less fortunate.
I think Forster merged this duality unintenionally because he belonged to that generation. Even if he struggled with some internal conflict on this issue, he couldn’t overcome it—just like Fielding in the story. Besides, both were atheists, and their views seemed to slip away from the concepts of divine mercy and justice, which might have offered them a different perspective for building a true friendship.
With hope and peace,
Nahla
Pure and Simple 