A Passage to India

Adela complains to Miss Derek about Aziz’s failure to uphold his promise to visit the caves. A servant overhears her, who reports to Hamidullah, who then tells Aziz that he has upset the English women. Horrified by the thought, Aziz scrambles to plan an outing to the caves. Ronny’s approval is gained without him being invited, but Aziz does invite Fielding and Professor Godbole. The ladies agree to the outing out of propriety: “no one was enthusiastic, yet it took place” (139).

Aziz must plan for English, Muslim, and Hindu dietary customs in ordering a picnic breakfast at the caves. Because he has “challenged the spirit of the Indian earth, which tries to keep men in compartments” (140) Aziz struggles to afford and plan for everything he wishes to provide his guests with.

To dispel with the idea of Indian “unpunctuality,” Aziz, Mohammad Latif, and their large party of servants sleep at the train station overnight to be on time for the pre-dawn train to the caves. Mrs. Moore and Adela arrive with their servant, but soon decide to dismiss him for the day, as Adela thinks his behavior towards lower classes incompatible. They agree to ride in the concealed train compartment reserved for women and take to his suggestions without complaint as “they had no race consciousness—Mrs. Moore was too old, Miss Quested too new—and they behaved to Aziz as to any young man who had been kind to them in the country” (142). They board the train.

Aziz waits for Fielding and Godbole on the platform, growing anxious that he won’t have the support of his friend that day. The train begins moving just as Fielding and Godbole appear. Aziz jumps onto the train and yells towards his friends; their tardiness is blamed on Godbole, who took too long with his morning prayers for them to make the train.

Aziz feels happy and capable of honoring his friendship with Mrs. Moore by giving the ladies an interesting adventure at the caves. 

Both Mrs. Moore and Adela are disappointed in their experience of India thus far, particularly in its inability to excite emotion within them as they spend their time in the “cocoons” of the British club and society. On the train to the caves, Adela reflects that her desire to see the real India “had been granted, but too late. She could not get excited over Aziz and his arrangements” (147). Instead, she thinks of her impending marriage to Ronny and how her chief interest in life would soon become him. They plan to be married in Simla in May. Mrs. Moore regrets having to wait until after their marriage to finally return home to her other children; she dreams of having to tell Stella and Ralph “that she couldn’t be in two families at once” (151). The anticipated sunrise over the hills is dull and disappointing.

They arrive at a path leading up to the caves and find that Aziz has arranged for an elephant to carry them. As they ascend, the ladies reflect that the scenery is not as exciting as they thought. They wish for Professor Godbole as a guide, feeling Aziz to be as lost as they are. They camp on the only hill that is in shadow.

Aziz is proud and grateful to host the ladies, feeling that “hospitality had been achieved” (157) and exerted himself to please them. While picnicking, Adela and Aziz talk about society, marriage, and equality. Adela remarks that her character is not strong enough to “avoid becoming like them [the Anglo-Indians]” (161), but Aziz is certain that she should never be rude to any of his race.

They explore one of the caves with a large group of servants and villagers, which gives Mrs. Moore claustrophobia; she insists that Adela continue with Aziz and a servant without her. The echo of the Marabar Caves astonishes them all, as any sound made in the area is inevitably transformed into the same echoing noise.

Aziz, Adela, and a servant leave to continue exploring. Mrs. Moore sits down with the intention of writing to her children but is soon overcome with the memory of the cave’s echo and its ability to transform any sound into one single, identical noise. The thought terrifies her; she is unable to write and sits in motionless horror of the echo’s metaphysical implications.