A Passage To India Flashcards
Dr. Aziz
Intelligent, emotional Indian doctor in Chandrapore. Attempts to make friends with Adela Quested, Mrs. Moore, & Cyril Fielding. Was falsely accused of raping Adela in the Marabar Caves, charges are dropped after Adela’s testimony at the trial. Aziz enjoys writing & reciting poetry. He has three children; his wife died several years before the beginning of the novel.
Cyril Feilding
A college principal near Chandrapore. An independent man who believes in educating the Indians to be individual- a much mor sympathetic attitude toward the native population than that held by most English in India. Befriends Aziz, taking the doctors side against the rest of the English in Chandrapore when Aziz is accused of attempting rape to Adela.
Adela Quested
A young, intelligent, inquisitive, but somewhat repressed Englishwoman. Travels to India with Mrs.Moore in order to decide whether or not to marry Mrs.Moore’s son Ronny. Begins with an open minded desire to get to know Indians & see the real India. She accuses Aziz of attempting rape in the Marabar Caves.
Mrs. Moore
Elderly English women who voyages to India with Adela. Wishes to see the country & hopes that Adela will marry her son Ronny. Befriends Aziz, as she feels some spiritual connection with him. She has an unsettling sense of dread, especially about human relationships. Hurries back to England & dies at sea during the journey.
Ronny Heaslop
Mrs.Moore’s son, the magistrate at Chandrapore. Well educated & open minded at heart, has come prejudiced & intolerant of Indians ever since he moved to India - as is standard for most Englishman serving there. Ronny is briefly engaged to Adela, though he doesn’t appear to be passionate about her.
Mr. Turton
The collector, the man who governs Chandrapore. Mr turton is officious & stern, though more tactful than his wife.
Mrs. Turton
Turton’ s wife. In her interactions with Indians, she embodies the novel’s stereotype of the snobby, rude, & prejudiced English colonial wife.
Mr. McBryde
The superintendent of police in Chandrapore, who has an elaborate theory that he claims explains the inferiority of dark-skinned races to light-skinned ones. Though condescending, actually shows more tolerance toward Indians than most English do. Him & Feilding are friendly acquain-trances. Stands up against the group of mentalityy of the English at Chandrapore when he divorces his wife after having an affair with miss Derek
Major calendar
The civil surgeon at Chandrapore, Dr.Aziz’s supervisor. Is a boastful, cruel, intolerant & ridiculous man
Prof Godbole
A Brahman Hindu who teaches at Feilding’s college. Godbole is very spiritual & reluctant to become involved in human affairs
Hamidullah
Dr.Aziz’s uncle & friend. Educated at Cambridge, believes that friendships between the English & Indians is more likely possible in England than in India. Was a close friend of fielding before fielding & Aziz met.
Mahmoud Ali
A lawyer friend of Dr. Aziz who is deeply pessimistic about the English
The nawab bahadur
The leading loyalist in Chandrapore. Is wealthy, generous, & faithful to the English. After Aziz’s trial, however, he give up his title in protest.
Stella Moore
Mrs. Moore’s daughter from her second marriage. Stella marriages fielding toward the end of the novel
Ralph Moore
Mrs. Moore’s son from her second marriage, a sensitive young man.
Miss derek
A young Englishwoman who works for a wealthy Indian family & often steals their car. She is easygoing & has a fine sense of humour, but many of the English at Chandrapore resent her, considering her prescene unseemly
Marabar caves
Represent all that is alien about nature. Caves are older than anything else on the earth & embody nothingness & emptiness - a literal lid in the earth. How meaningless life is. Where Adela accused Aziz of raping her, and Mrs. Moore was frightened by the loud echos. Aziz brought the Englishwoman here.
Chandrapore
The city in India where the novel take place. It is a part of British India. In the Center of the town is the British club, which excludes Indians from membership.
Marabar caves
The caves in the Marabar hills, which Aziz promises to show Mrs. Moore & Adela. The picnic at the caves leads to the infamous incident in which Adela accuses Aziz of rape. ‘Caves’ is the title of the second part of the novel & represent the conflict between British & Indians
Mosque
Mrs. Moore & Aziz meet at the mosque & start their friendship. While the caves represent disunion between British & India, the mosque represents a union.
Bridge party
Turtons attempt to bring together British & Indians in a social setting. The party is superficial & unsuccessful.
Wife’s photograph
Aziz shows Feilding the photograph of his dead wife is Aziz’s way of lifting the purdah (separation of men & women) by doing this he tries to promote a brotherhood between them
Ghost
Part of the mysticism of India. Mrs Moore believes she sees one, as she becomes more spiritually inclined. Aziz believes that believing in ghosts is a defect of Indians & sees it as backwards
Echoes
The haunting sounds that are heard in the caves & afterwards, heard by Adela & Mrs Moore. The echoes remain in Adela’s head after the picnic & only when she exonerates Aziz so they go away. For Mrs. Moore, the ‘boom’ sound of the echoes replace her memory of religious versus prayers.
