Discuss Froster’s Use of Symbolism in ‘A Passage to India’.

Froster’s Use of Symbolism in ‘A Passage to India’

A Passage to India contains different types of symbols. The principal symbols are the mosque, the cave and the temple. The subsidiary symbols are the ceremonies connected with the birth-anniversary of Sri Krishna, the figure of Mrs. Moore, the Punkhawallah, and the image of the wasp and the collision of boats.

 

In the first part of the novel, we are brought to a mosque where an English old woman and a young Indian meet together. Being ill-treated by the Anglo-Indians, Aziz, the Muslim doctor, enter the mosque to get peace of mind. Similarly Mrs. Moore, bored by the dull entertainment at the British club has escaped into the mosque. Thus both of them have entered the mosque to seek shelter from the oppressive surroundings. After conversation, Mrs. Moore finds that Aziz is a warm and sensitive man and ultimately an understanding of each other occurs. This understanding of the heart, in other words, friendship is the dominant urge at this stage and expresses the most general meaning of the mosque symbol of the novel. The ‘Mosque’ with its serene beaut, its combination of light and shade, represents a belief in the oneness of God as well as oneness of India, and therefore, comes to symbolize a possibility of understanding and friendship between people of different races and colour. But this friendship established between the East and the West, as represented by the friendship between Aziz and Mrs. Moore, is undercut by the ironical message of the ‘Bridge Party’ which proves to be a failure.

In the second part of the novel, the Marabar Caves stand for chaos, darkness, mystery and evils. The dark and empty caves reveal the hollowness of life and the vacuum produces an echo that is frightening. The echo suggests a unity but it is a unity which does not have any qualities of love, goodness and understanding. It negates all their values.

The ‘Temple’, the last section containing the essence of the novel, stands for love, harmony and happiness. It opens with Godbole presiding over a festival- the celebration of the birth of Sri-Krishna in a temple at Mau during the monsoons. Amid all the noise and confusion of celebration the god is born, symbolically, and love celebrated.  In celebrating the birth of the god, the Hindus lead by the wise Brahmin Godbole, assume that all creation is one and shares in joy. It is a vision of God as a Universal Friend who embraces all the people and things of this earth in His divine love.

To sum up, A Passage to India is a complex work of art based on the evil of the British imperialistic rule in India. In it the symbolic devices are very much important because they heighten the meaning of the novel. In fact, the use of powerful symbols has added a dignity to the novel.