Space In A Passage To India

Edward Morgan Forster(1879-1970) is a prominent British writer and liberal humanist whose works often focus on connect between human beings from different cultural backgrounds. A Passage to India, published in 1924, records a trip of two British women to India, presenting the scenes of India under the administration of British colonists. Based on his personal exploration in India, Forster develops the story in three parts, namely mosque, caves, temple, which are spaces bestowed with values and cultural significance. Besides, a vivid description of a series of spaces, including the living space, gathering space, religious space, the landscape of the whole city and so forth, leads readers to a vaster view of what both Indians and Anglo-Indians experienced during that time. Hence this research examines the spatial connotations embodied in A Passage to India, and analyzes their cultural significance.This research illustrates the spatial representation Forster diffuses into the novel, and then explores divisions of spaces from the perspectives of gender, race and religion. Firstly, the confinement of both Indian women and British women in India presents the inferior position women hold in the patriarchal society. Secondly, as British government exercises more power upon India driven by the ambition of colonization, it attains more initiative in space planning. As a result, the spaces where Anglo-Indians and Indians live, including the whole layout, inner living environments and the gathering places, disclose British’s brutal colonial practices and racial conflicts. Thirdly, while various religions with different beliefs simultaneously exert their influence on people in India, the religious spaces, imbued with specific values related to human’s existence, show the separateness of religions as well as the difficulties to coordinate. When carefully exploring the significance of these spaces, and mapping out their cultural and social backgrounds, it can be revealed how spaces portrayed by Foster are constructed under the administration of British government, and in turn, how spaces affect the behaviors of people on this land.While gender inequality, racial conflicts and religious separateness are embodied in the pattern of spaces, Forster does not aim to promote divisions and collisions, but try to seek for the possibilities of connect between people of different races. The research further probes into relationship of human beings and space. According to the cases shown in the novel where transitory connections between Indians and Anglo-Indians are gained, the initiative of controlling space is the premise of establishing a harmonious relationship against the culture conflicting context. Besides, respect for spatial difference and shift among different spaces are essential ways to achieve connect between people with diverse races. In conclusion, all the spatial description offers a unique narrative dimension without which readers can hardly get a sense of cultural collision and connect in such an intriguing and sophisticated way.