A Passage to India

A classic

Over 50 years ago, I was a 17-year-old first year student enrolled in a physical science program at university. The university in its wisdom required me to take and pass an introductory course in English literature. One of the assigned texts was “A Passage to India”. I still recall some of the discussion that the professor tried to lead in that very large lecture hall with the mass of 17 and 18-year-old naïve students. One of the topics that some of the better students and he brought up for discussion was “Why could Professor Godbole not love the stone?” This was a question that puzzled me then and bothered me over the 50 years since.The novel’s answer comes in the last long sentence: “…they said in their hundred voices, ‘No, not yet’ and the sky said ‘No, not there’”. I didn’t realize all those years ago that the answer to the question would mean an understanding of the meaning of the word ’love’. Godbole is dancing as part of a religious ceremony celebrating the birth of the god ‘Krishna’. The book is et in India during the time of the British Raj. As such India is a meeting place for the peoples of different cultures: Eastern and Western, Christian, Muslim, and Hindu, differing classes…. The novel explores the question of the suspicion and animus that is created by the interaction of people and especially between people of cultures and clashes. It explores just what can be meant by expressions such as “God is love”. What is love in that it is the substance of God? differing If God or gods can love all creation why cannot Godbole love the stone. Forster indicates that Godbole cannot love the stone because he can regard it only as a logical rational operation. Love is a unity among all things and Godbole is not ready for that and as the rest of the novel replies this is applicable to all humanity. It is not ready - “…they said in their hundred voices, ‘No, not yet’ and the sky said ‘No, not there’”.“A Passage to India” is a profound novel. I can understand now why it was included in that introductory course. I think I can also understand why I was not ready to understand it then. It is a gripping, intense book. I highly recommend it.

Ecriture un peu lourde parfois, beaucoup de descriptions... Je l'ai commandé sur demande d'un prof pour la fac. Bonne qualité.

Molto piaciuta.

This is a very cheap edition of a wonderful book.In my view, the novel ranks among the best literary explorations of colonialism, along with Conrad's 'Heart of Darkness' and Orwell's 'Burmeese Days'. I can understand why it was not very well received among some British readers.It is also a reflection upon East and West... and upon religion, or even better, upon religiousness. Finally, it's a book about friendship, and how friendship could be threatened by cultural or religious barriers.Forster's psychological exploration of the thoughts and inner motions of characters in the novel also resemble the deeper and more complex psychological exploration of Virginia Woolf's characters. I learnt that these two authors were quite good friends.