UNIT 2 LITERATURA INGLESA JOSEPH CONRAD y D.H. LAWRENCE.pptx
1. T H E
W H I T E
M A N â S
B U R D E N
U N I T 2
H E A R T O F
D A R K N E S S B Y J O S E P H
C O N R A D
P A S S A G E T O
I N D I A B Y E . M F O S T E R
2. D I F F E R E N T A P P R O A C H E S T O
I M P E R I A L I S M I N L I T E R AT U R E
⢠RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN empire and literatura
⢠NARRATIVES WRITTEN IN ENGLAND have shaped, supported and undermined the
concept of British Imperialism
⢠TO EXPERIENCE âTHE OTHERâ IN ONESELF critical and open mind
⢠REPRESENTATIVE TEXTS of this specific time and spirit
⢠HEART OF DARKNESS by Joseph Conrad
⢠A PASSAGE TO INDIA by E. M Foster
3. 1 - P R E S E N T A T I O N . â D R . L I V I N G S T O N E , I
P R E S U M E ? â
4. 2 . T E X T A N Ă L I S I S
2 . 1 A N A C T O F S E L F D I S C O V E R I N G : J O S E P H C O N R A D â S
H E A R T O F D A R K N E S S A N D T H E C O N G O E X P E R I E N C E
⢠JOSEPH CONRAD (1857-1924)
⢠Both parents: insurrectionists revolutionary meetings at the family household. Deported to Vologda.
The hardship of the journey and extreme conditions in Vologda = mother died three years later. And
his father 4 years later of being in Krakow.
⢠The political involvement and secretive life led by his family = a lonely and reserved boy, self-
absorbed, engrossed in books.
⢠When a grown-up, he experienced the liberty he had yearned for during his childhood.
⢠At 17 he went to sea and sail for almost 20 years. He had contact with the British Empire when he
sailed to Martinique and then India in 1878. He was 20 when he first heard his first words of English.
⢠The sea was an important source of inspiration for Conradâs writings. Many of his novels and short
stories have the sea or a boat as a background to the action. The sea is often an image for and
symbol of his charactersâ inner turbulences.
5. 2 . T E X T A N Ă L I S I S
2 . 1 A N A C T O F S E L F D I S C O V E R I N G : J O S E P H C O N R A D â S
H E A R T O F D A R K N E S S A N D T H E C O N G O E X P E R I E N C E
⢠In 1890 he takes command of one of the companyâs Congo River steamers = experience that
became the basis for Heart of Darkness.
⢠He took his literary career as seriously as being sailor.
⢠Heart of Darkness was serialised between 1898 and 1899 in âBlackwoodâs Magazineâ.
⢠He produced fictional and non-fictional Works. He was prolific due to financial needs more tan
anything else.
⢠By 1900 he was quite famous, but literatura failed to provide income.
⢠He settled in England in 1883. English became his third language and the one he chose for his
writing.
⢠He was ill and die of a heart attack and was buried in Canterbury.
6. 2 . T E X T A N Ă L I S I S
2 . 1 A N A C T O F S E L F D I S C O V E R I N G : J O S E P H C O N R A D â S
H E A R T O F D A R K N E S S A N D T H E C O N G O E X P E R I E N C E
⢠HEART OF DARKNESS = proto-Modern work end of c19
⢠Joseph Conradâs finest exploration of EVIL and OTHERNESS.
⢠Main theme: IMPERIALISM and IMPERIALISM ATTITUDES
⢠Many of Conradâs writing: AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL. He used his journal and notes of when he was
working in the Congo as the starting point of his novel.
⢠Conradâs intention: make the READER AWARE OF THE SITUATION HE FOUND IN THE CONGO.
⢠By 1890 when Conrad went to the Congo, it was an independent country, but the reality was
different. A small number of Europeans owned most of the land.
⢠Leopold II, King of the Belgians, interested in exploiting its riches and making a fortune out of it.
⢠Conrad was shocked of what he saw there and made him question the right of Europeans to exploit
their colonies.
7. 2 . T E X T A N Ă L I S I S
2 . 1 A N A C T O F S E L F D I S C O V E R I N G : J O S E P H C O N R A D â S H E A R T
O F D A R K N E S S A N D T H E C O N G O E X P E R I E N C E
⢠Conrad was not a politician or reformer or historian. He was an artist TRYING TO UNDERSTAND HIS
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE BY RENDERING IT INTO A POLYPHONIC NARRATIVE: for this reason,
there are no answers in Conradâs Heart of Darkness.
⢠INTENTION OF REVEALING THE REALITY BEHIND THE FAĂADE. Ambivalent quality of the
language used in the narrative and the multiple meanings of words.
⢠Elements introduced into the narrative: COLONIALISM, CIVILISATION and PROGRESS.
⢠The fact that in the Congo exploitation was particularly cruel and savage, many of the concerns in the
novel applied to Britain and the British colonies.
⢠From the late c15 Britainâs foreign policy = territorial expansiĂłn. Supporters of imperialism = a means of
liberation people from tyrannical rule and of bringing the blessing of the Christina religiĂłn and the
advantages of a superior civilisation to the colonised. CONVERSATION OF MARLOW WITH HIS AUNT
before sailing to the Congo:
⢠âI was[ âŚ] like an emissary of light, something like a lower sort of apostleâ [ âŚ] âweaning those ignorant
millions from their horrid ways,â
8. 2 . T E X T A N Ă L I S I S
2 . 1 A N A C T O F S E L F D I S C O V E R I N G : J O S E P H C O N R A D â S H E A R T
O F D A R K N E S S A N D T H E C O N G O E X P E R I E N C E
⢠By the end of the c19 = disillusionment = discrepancy between HUMANITARIAN IDEALS and THE
REALITY OF COLONIAL EXPLOITATION âI ventured to hint that the company was run for profitâ.
(Marlow)
⢠CHARACTER SIMBOLISING THE DISCREPANCY in the novel = Kurtz. The result = a self-tortured
corrupted idealist.
⢠MARLOW at the beginning = THE NEED OF SUPERIOR CIVILISED PEOPLES TO COLONISE THOSE
WHO ARE LESS DEVELOPED = talks about the âdarknessâ of past, uncivilised European ages and the
salvation of the efficiency of those who were more advanced = CIVILISATION and PROGRESS as the
TAMING THE DARKNESS
⢠COMPANY he and Kurtz work for = symbolises PROGRESS
⢠OPPOSITION civilised / savage brought into question = London was a savage territory colonised by the
Romans. This PARADOX of being savages when thinking we are civilised
⢠BRUSSELS = developed and civilised cities = whited sepulchre = inhabited by hypocrites, hollow,
greedy people
⢠CONGO = sublimated as the only surroundings where the noble and the true will rise to the Surface and
9. 2 . T E X T A N Ă L I S I S
2 . 1 A N A C T O F S E L F D I S C O V E R I N G : J O S E P H C O N R A D â S
H E A R T O F D A R K N E S S A N D T H E C O N G O E X P E R I E N C E
⢠CONRADâS CHARACTERS
⢠Joseph Conradâs DIFFERENCE concerning the originality of his literary production is because
BRITISH CULTURE WAS FOREIGN TO HIM = TRUER COSMOPOLITANISM = in a better position
to question ENGLISHNESS = allowed him not to be limited in Outlook or sympathy by race, class or
national consciousness.
⢠His experience at sea gave him the perspective lacking in most of his contemporaries = different
cultural experiences = he became a man of no country in particular, A CITIZEN OF THE WORLD.
⢠Cross the barrier of the apparent difference ang go beneath the Surface to present people whose
differences and similarities have nothing to do with their origins = Malaysans, Borneans, Swedes,
English, Germans, Dutch = all alike in their human happiness or misery. WHAT APPEARS AS
SUPERFICIAL DIFFERENCE is not obstacle to grasping the FUNDAMENTAL RESEMBLANCE
among inhabitants of the world = all stirred by COMMON HUMAN PASSIONS such as LOVE or
HATE.
10. 2 . T E X T A N Ă L I S I S
2 . 1 A N A C T O F S E L F D I S C O V E R I N G : J O S E P H C O N R A D â S H E A R T
O F D A R K N E S S A N D T H E C O N G O E X P E R I E N C E
⢠CONRADâS CHARACTERS
⢠HEROIC PEOPLE struggling out of extreme situations. Their universality and their foreign status
are distinguishing characteristics of the men and women populating his work.
⢠Characters as a group seems a contradiction as his MAIN PREOCCUPATION was the essential
isolation of a personâs nature, regardless of nationalities = LONELY FIGURES facing moral
problems = âwe live as we dream, aloneâ. MAIN PREOCCUPATION OF THE âMODERNISTâ
LITERATURE.
⢠CONSEQUENCE = need for a personal code of behaviour and capacity for moral discrimination
as opposed to the submission to the public moral codes and behavioural manners = that proves
inadequate
⢠He is a moralist between Victorian and post-war values
⢠The WELL-BEING OF SOCIETY is compared to the GOOD RUNNING OF A SHIP = individual
behaviour fundamental for the safety of the voyage.
11. 2 . T E X T A N Ă L I S I S
2 . 1 A N A C T O F S E L F - D I S C O V E R I N G : J O S E P H C O N R A D â S H E A R T
O F D A R K N E S S A N D T H E C O N G O E X P E R I E N C E
⢠ROMANTIC REALISM close to the mystery of the Gothic as metaphor for the creative / non creative
quality of his writing
⢠REALIST: his narratives found on his research and his own life experiences
⢠Innovates: submits these experiences to a crÊate process enabling both FICTION and REALITY and
EXPLORATION OF A TRUTH found beyond the WORLD OF APPEARENCES
⢠STORY-TELLING secondary for Conrad. He wants to make the reader âhear, feel, seeâ. The constant
search for a fictional form that allows him to achieve what he believes should be the aim of the artist.
⢠INDIRECT NARRATION = tiresome, fails to forcÊ the progress in the story = STORY-WITHIN-A-STORY
and A DISLOCATION OF TIME that impedes the normal progression expected in story-telling are often
found. By delaying the deliverance of the story, by superposing other possible narratives, he provides a
clear revelation of the truth underlying the particular human problem.
⢠STORY: a means of exploration and not the end itself = a number of characters allow different
perspectives of the same problema = detaches the reader from the story = reality may not be as reliable
as it seems
12. 2 . T E X T A N Ă L I S I S
2 . 1 A N A C T O F S E L F - D I S C O V E R I N G : J O S E P H C O N R A D â S H E A R T
O F D A R K N E S S A N D T H E C O N G O E X P E R I E N C E
⢠MAIN TOPICS OF INTEREST: evil, manâs moral reality, fidelity and individual responsibility
(reference to the Empire)
⢠THEME AS HIS OBSESSION: man againt himself in a natural environment. The other themes,
additional to this one: subconscious, honour, guilt, moral alienation and expiation. Brotherhood and
Fidelity as a result of reponsability.
⢠He is not interested in his charactersâ progress in life but in the moral responsibility of the individual
toward himself.
⢠REALITY = different from appearance = Conrad looks for the means to express those unknown
realities beyond our perceptive capacity = the Victorian illusion that the mind can understand and
control matter, that human beings can crĂŠate a permanent civilised order should be questioned and
challenged
⢠Fracturing the time scheme, implementing multiple points of view, including stories-within-stories =
no coherent interpretation based on appearences can be imposed on the novel
13. 2 . T E X T A N Ă L I S I S
2 . 1 A N A C T O F S E L F - D I S C O V E R I N G : J O S E P H C O N R A D â S H E A R T
O F D A R K N E S S A N D T H E C O N G O E X P E R I E N C E
⢠THE END: a never-ending story, unlimited number of possible conclusions (conscious ambigßity)
⢠Example of this: Marlowâs body posture as a Budha when he starts his story is the same as
when he finishes talking. SOâŚhe could be starting to recount his story at the moment that he
has apparently finished relating it as the ebb (marea) has occurred and it is also gone.
⢠THE TITLE: tensional forcÊ of the narrative present in the title = impossibility to acquire knowledge =
realisation that while we are living we are dying or we die as we live. 1st sentence of the novel:
contrast between âcruisingâ and ârestâ, vessel in movement and still.
⢠Apparent contradiction of the two terms.
⢠HEART: life, the very organ that makes life possible
⢠DARKNESS: death
⢠Signals of ambiguity along the narrative will be the key to understanding the narrative
⢠Trying to get access to the core of sth very deep, unknown, mysterious and dangerous = GOTHIC
ELEMENTS
14. 2 . T E X T A N Ă L I S I S
2 . 1 A N A C T O F S E L F - D I S C O V E R I N G : J O S E P H C O N R A D â S
H E A R T O F D A R K N E S S A N D T H E C O N G O E X P E R I E N C E
⢠STRUCTURE:
⢠Sustained by polarities: life and death, coloniser and colonised, Africa and Europe, inland and
offshore
⢠SETTING: the Belgian Congo in Africa. Travelling into the wilderness of the Dark
Continent=discovering the darkness of the heart.
⢠Darkness = unknown, subconscious, moral darkness, evil which swallows up Kurtz, the spiritual
emptiness he sees at the centre of existence, the mystery itself, the mysteriousness of manâs
spiritual life
⢠AMBIGUITY: crucial to the story. Reality is different from appearance. Language = not self-
referential and informative, no longer a reliable tool with which to express life experience.
Language= poetical and condensed with ambiguity, symbolism and diffuseness. However, it is
throught language that experience can be observed and analyzed = experience repeated
through words as: darkness, inscrutable, mysterious, incomprehensible = imprecisiĂłn of
language because he needs language to comprehend the world.
⢠REALITY= beyond the immediate appreciation of an event and no images taken directly from
the senses will help us to grasp it.
15. 2 . T E X T A N Ă L I S I S
2 . 1 A N A C T O F S E L F - D I S C O V E R I N G : J O S E P H C O N R A D â S H E A R T
O F D A R K N E S S A N D T H E C O N G O E X P E R I E N C E
⢠Multiple narratorial voices that shift constantly = at 1st person = Conradâs most modern features
⢠Unkown, global narrator. Each person who informs Marlow and talks to him becomes a narrator. This
device provides immediacy to the story = vagueness, mystery, and meaningless by never getting to the
heart of the matter = they appear to create distance but make a reader a participant in the story.
⢠Marlowâs voice is the most prominent one, also the protagonist = inadequacy as a traditional narrator =
inability to distinguish, comprehend and reproduce REALITY, what exists beyond appearances =
Marlowâs awareness of his limitations as narrator
⢠The untrustworthy nature of appearances is emphasised when it gets dark and the listeners can hardly
see each other and just hear a voice (Marlowâs one).
⢠MARLOWâS MEETING WITH KURTZ, the potential beholder of the ultimate truth, is constantly
deferred.
⢠MARLOW: his capacity for self-control and his strength are constantly tested
⢠KURTZ: acts as a double to Marlow = Marlow says Kurtz is a âremarkable manâ; the unknown narrator
says at the beginning of the story that âMarlow was not typicalâ
16. 2 . T E X T A N Ă L I S I S
2 . 1 A N A C T O F S E L F - D I S C O V E R I N G : J O S E P H C O N R A D â S
H E A R T O F D A R K N E S S A N D T H E C O N G O E X P E R I E N C E
⢠MARLOW canât achieve the complete self-knowledge Kurtz gains at the moment of death because this
ultimate truth cannot be shared.
⢠MARLOW can glimpse knowledge although it comes âtoo lateâ. Can knowledge just be grasped at the
moment of oneâs death?
⢠PHYSICAL JOURNEY = EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHARACTER
⢠The journey = warning. The doctor says that going into the âcentral stationâ changes a man inside and
nobody ever comes back.
⢠TWO PARTS
⢠PART ONE: preparing to start the journey. He starts his journey with a set of values
⢠PART TWO: Marlow goes deeper into the darkness and towards Kurtz. He discovers how certainties,
references and moral codes are useless in facing danger, hunger, darkness or unexpected attacks.
His moral is under test. EPITOME OF THE CIVILISED MAN = The voyage towards the outside world
of Africa becomes a voyage of self-discovery that unavoidably brings some inner knowledge or vital
truth to the traveller.
17. 2 . T E X T A N Ă L I S I S
2 . 1 A N A C T O F S E L F - D I S C O V E R I N G : J O S E P H C O N R A D â S
H E A R T O F D A R K N E S S A N D T H E C O N G O E X P E R I E N C E
⢠SURPRINSING ELEMENT OF THE NOVEL: the nature of this vital truth, darkness illuminated by
the âlightâ. Kurtzâs death and his words âThe horror! The horror!â The horror is physical and political
in relation to the European attitudes in Africa but also non-material and metaphysical. The horror
lies in humanityâs very nature.
⢠CIRCULARITY OF THE NARRATIVE: open-ended finale symbolised in Marlowâs body position =
Buddhist possessor of some inner knowledge he is about to provide, but he is not a provider of
knowledge, he is in search for it.
⢠CHANGES MARLOW UNDERGON: conventional values and assumptions are relative and
conditioned by the social among other circumstances. INESCAPABLE DUTY: find within oneself
to look for the real.
⢠The perspective of having nothing inside is the real defeat shown in the novel = Marlow unable to
judge Kurtzâs activities as he is part of the situation making possible that someone like Kurtz
exists.
18. 2 . T E X T A N Ă L I S I S
2 . 1 A N A C T O F S E L F - D I S C O V E R I N G : J O S E P H C O N R A D â S
H E A R T O F D A R K N E S S A N D T H E C O N G O E X P E R I E N C E
⢠KURTZ: emissary of science and progress, a combination of values of European culture.
⢠He travels to Africa to campaign for the ideal. Once confronted with the wilderness, he is liberated
from the set of values, good or evil, free to exercise his own Will.
⢠He can be a source of enlightenment even though he is capable of dreadful deeds. He stands as a
symbolic figure of the discovery of the real self that comes out only when one is pushed to the limit.
⢠He has a remarkable influence on people.
⢠MARLOW: his journeys make him aware of that past and present overlap
⢠THE NOVEL: reconsiders the traditional notion of reality. Marlowâs most certain assumptions in
relation to places, time and people start dissolving and disappearing when he approaches the
nightmarish wilderness of the Congo. THE DREAM-LIKE experience becomes more real to him
than the European baggage.
⢠REFERENCE TO DARKNESS seems to shift from Africa to Europa = sepulchre, dead silence,
marble, sarcophagus, halo, a lifeless world built up to protect rottenness and spiritual death.
19. 2 . 2 E . M . F O R S T E R â S W E B O F
M I S U N D E R S T A N D I N G : A P A S S A G E T O I N D I A ( 1 9 2 4 ) -
L A S T P U B L I S H E D N O V E L B Y H I M
⢠Foster esarly conviction: men and women should
keep in contact with NATURE to cultivate their
imaginations.
⢠One of the meain PREOCCUPATIONS found in A
Passage to India (1924): the impossibility of
finding a means of mutual understanding between
Indians and British Europeans.
⢠Foster was part of Bloomsbury Group
⢠He gained a significant reputation after the WWI.
⢠Of all the novels he produced, A Passage to
India is the only one that in form and content.
breaks with narrative convention.
⢠He visited India twice during the WWI and he
wrote A Passage to India inspired by his
experience.
⢠The NOVEL CONCERNS about current
preoccupations on the colonial occupation of
India by the British (the political and personal
intermix).
20. 2 . 2 E . M . F O R S T E R â S W E B O F
M I S U N D E R S T A N D I N G : A P A S S A G E T O
I N D I A ( 1 9 2 4 ) - L A S T P U B L I S H E D N O V E L B Y H I M
⢠Main TENEMENT of the novel: exploration of the
misunderstandings created by the different
cultural backgrounds of the protagonists.
⢠MISUNDERSTANDINGS: ultimate reason for the
lack of communication among the characters
⢠FOSTER: liberal thinker and strong advocate of
democracy
⢠NOVEL CONTENT: political occupation of India
by the British, colonial domination that ended in
1947 (background of the novel)
⢠1858, period of violent revolt by the Indian
against Britainâs colonisation on India -
Parliament aproved the GOVERNMENT OF
INDIA ACT (transfer of political power from
the East India Company to the Crown by 15
British politicians)
⢠Typical attitude of the British: were
undertaking the âWhite manâs burdenâ -
Rudyard Kipling = system of aloof (distant),
English bureaucracy did not associate with
the people they were ruling (Ronny Heaslop
and Mr McBryde characters)
21. 2 . 2 E . M . F O R S T E R â S W E B O F
M I S U N D E R S T A N D I N G : A P A S S A G E T O
I N D I A ( 1 9 2 4 ) - L A S T P U B L I S H E D N O V E L B Y H I M
⢠Beginning of the 20th century = unstoppable
nationalistic views within the Indina Muslim
community.
⢠After WWI, relations between the British and the
Indians got worse
⢠NOVEL THEMES: misunderstandings and
disharmony between the cultures. The HARM that an
imposed relationship did to each of the parties =
anti-imperialist arguments to remove Britain from India
(Roony Heaslop âIndia isnât homeâ when Mrs Moore
says he ânever used to judge people like this at
homeâ, and Mahmoud could save trouble to Dr Aziz
giving him information about Fieldingâs wedding.
⢠The effectiveness of the novel:
DRAMATISATION = human beings
carrying with them the good and the evil of
their cultural and life experiences. BOTH
Indian and British are depicted as petty
and snobbish.
⢠The blurried frontier between good and
evil = the only possible artistic positioning
about the DICHOTOMISED DISCOURSE
OF THE EMPIRE. (as in Conrad).
22. 2 . 2 E . M . F O R S T E R â S W E B O F
M I S U N D E R S T A N D I N G : A P A S S A G E T O
I N D I A ( 1 9 2 4 ) - L A S T P U B L I S H E D N O V E L B Y H I M
⢠TITLE OF THE NOVEL: Walt Whitmanâs poem Leaves of
Grass (1900)
⢠Whitman = true unification (world and technical progress)
when de Poet (âSon of Godâ) makes sense of the secrets
of the human soul and the sufferings of humankind.
⢠The British obtained control of the SUEZ CANAL. Despite
appearances and pompous ceremony of its opening = a
place of confrontation and controversy (site of three wars)
⢠Whitman: hopeful of a better future with the Canal (the true
Son of God shall absolutely fuse them, celebrating
TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT.
⢠Forster: less optimistic but his attitude towards life was
modern (not in language and form writing).
⢠The novel combines âREALISM AND SYMBOLISMââŚthe
personal and the cosmicâ (Oliver Stallybrass)
⢠A Passage to India raises questions about reality and
life that cannot be answered.
⢠The novel provides NO ANSWER (as in Conrad)The only
way to solve the problem = the withdrawal of the British
from India (Chaudhuri, âis not a solutionâŚonly its
eliminationâ, solution from a political perspective) BUT in
the novel beyond the political surface of the novel, the
interaction of the individuals in the novel (main
preoccupation explored).
⢠As Marlow does in Heart of Darkness, the best we can do
is to repeat the experience through words in the hope
that some new meaning will break through allowing us to
grasp some knowledge beyond the appearances of the
readily available world.
23. 2 . 2 E . M . F O R S T E R â S W E B O F
M I S U N D E R S T A N D I N G : A P A S S A G E T O
I N D I A ( 1 9 2 4 ) - L A S T P U B L I S H E D N O V E L B Y H I M
⢠A Passage to India: for Forster, India is not much of a mystery as a âmuddleâ (embrollo)
⢠TURNING POINT OF THE NOVEL = what happened at the MARABAR CAVES (âmuddleâ). It is UNRESOLVED
according to the author because as he said it was âa particular trick I felt justified in trying because my theme was
India⌠without the trick I doubt whether I could have got the spiritual reverberation goingâ.
⢠Mystery plot = idea of no readily available answer to the riddle of life. The best one can do is to count on fellow
human beings to ease the pain of this tragedy.
⢠Affection is the key to the matter (against evil): âwhy canât we friends now?â Affection, an elusive quality of the
human being.
⢠The non-event of Azizâs trial = insurmountable confrontation between people BRITISH and INDIANS, FIELDING
and ANGLO-INDIANS (suspicious), MISS QUESTED and BRITISH COMMUNITY.
⢠Even strong friendships break down = Fielding and Aziz
24. 2 . 2 E . M . F O R S T E R â S W E B O F
M I S U N D E R S T A N D I N G : A P A S S A G E T O
I N D I A ( 1 9 2 4 ) - L A S T P U B L I S H E D N O V E L B Y H I M
⢠Whitmanâs view of the world (fusion of man and nature = adopted by the liberal Cyril Fielding (men can reach one another âby
the help of good will plus culture and intelligenceâ) = In CHANDRAPORE this is irrelevant in the context of the riddle of India, thinks
Forster.
⢠1st chapter: description of Chandrapore. Prototypical Indian town, symbolic of the rest of India. It was a
passage to India when India was an empire. The memory of past empires coincides with those in
Conradâs Heart of Darkness. BUT in Conradâs narrative: time when European people were colonised by
other empires. Forsterâs empire is placed at the very heart of the British colony. India, subordinated to
London, was an Empire itself that ruled Pakistan, Bagladesh, Burma and Ski Lanka = IDEA OF THE
CIRCULARITY OF TIME present in Heart of Darkness BUT dignifying India and contrasting its past
with the TREATMENT DISPENSED BY THE BRITISH.
⢠In BOTH CASES, the MEMORY of former empires delineates the temporal boundaries of the actual
situation lived by the characters in the texts = CONFLICT of the apparent durability of the concept of
Empire and its grandeur. What remains are the INDIVIUAL and the CONFLICTS WITHIN.
25. 2 . 2 E . M . F O R S T E R â S W E B O F
M I S U N D E R S T A N D I N G : A P A S S A G E T O
I N D I A ( 1 9 2 4 ) - L A S T P U B L I S H E D N O V E L B Y H I M
⢠The novel addresses COMPLEX QUESTIONS about HUMAN RELATIONS
⢠TRAGEDY: breakdown of communication both between races and individuals
⢠THREE SECTIONS (3 seasons of the Indian year): symbol of how relationships are weathered by lack of
communication and misunderstanding
⢠Mosque: Aziz = expresses emotional nature through Islam
⢠Cave: Adela and Fielding, expressing their western views. They lack the emotional and mystical insight into
life. They depend on their reason to understand human relationships.
⢠Temple: Godbole = hinduism
Emotional nature and capacity for love are explored in Mosque and Temple.
Religion is of Little assistance when confronting the intellect.
Mrs Moore = capable of crossing religious and intellectual boundaries. She understands the echo âPathos, piety,
courageâ meaning that each individual is alone in a rather hostile universe.
Mrs Moore = Kurtz = They have confronted good and evil at the same time. She becomes a kind of goddess, a
provider of truth and knowledge. Difference = Mrs Moore transformation is witnessed by the reader.
26. 2 . 2 E . M . F O R S T E R â S W E B O F
M I S U N D E R S T A N D I N G : A P A S S A G E T O
I N D I A ( 1 9 2 4 ) - L A S T P U B L I S H E D N O V E L B Y H I M
⢠Ms Quested (Adela): not ready to understand the real significance of the echo âI canât get rid of itâ
âWhat is this echo?â, asks Mrs Moore who answers âIf you donât know I canât tell you!.
⢠THE MARABAR CAVES:
⢠The only distinguishable item in Chandraporeâs landscape
⢠Mysterious aura foreshadowing the future events that constitute a turning point in the
novel.
⢠Nobody is able to describe them. They are similar to a labyrinth.
⢠They reflect everything as a mirror.
⢠No feature that makes them remarkable, just the echo.
⢠They represent everything in life: all the possible emotional, intellectual and mystical views.
⢠Symbolism: the echo they produce = representation of timelessness
⢠Mrs Moore becomes the bearer of this echo âsay, say, say, bad, bad, bad, love, love, loveâ.
27. 2 . 2 E . M . F O R S T E R â S W E B O F
M I S U N D E R S T A N D I N G : A P A S S A G E T O
I N D I A ( 1 9 2 4 ) - L A S T P U B L I S H E D N O V E L B Y H I M
⢠ECHO, CAVES and REPETITION
⢠Tripartite structure of the novel: repetitions of the echos come at three resembling the structure of the novel.
⢠Technique of repeating events = a way to explore the meaningless but disturbing echo = the heart of human existence.
⢠Echo: the repetition of it provides the novel with a rhythm. In the similarity of the accident involving the unknown animal
(Adela realises she doesnât want to marry Roony and vice versa) and Adelaâs entrance in the cave lies another example
of rhythm.
⢠Because of the accident = question to Aziz âHave you one wife or more tan one?â Aziz ofended. Adela dissapear
inside the cavesand thinks sheâs been attacked (turning point of the novel). The accident is mentioned to show
similarities with the incident (she runs down the Kawa Dol to Miss Derekâs car).=who is to be blamed?
CONNECTION thanks for the RHYTHM.
⢠At stake in the novel: the nature of evil, not evil itself âThere are different ways of evilâ (Mrs. Moore).
⢠Symbolism of the novel: from Hindu scripture and philosophy. Caves = Ellude all explanation = conception of Hindu
deity: understand deity is to limit it.
⢠Characteristic sound of âboumâ = Ohm, by meditating one can reach Brahman, expel evil and learn to see the all.
⢠Adela: she taunts the echo (evil stays with her) until she withdraws her accusation against Aziz (recognise the common
being of humanity).
⢠Mrs Moore repetition = symbolises the calling of the Brahman when confronted with the realisation of the absence.
28. 2 . 2 E . M . F O R S T E R â S W E B O F
M I S U N D E R S T A N D I N G : A P A S S A G E T O
I N D I A ( 1 9 2 4 ) - L A S T P U B L I S H E D N O V E L B Y H I M
⢠SYMBOLISM OF THE NAMES OF THE CHARACTERS
⢠Represent their personalities and attitudes to life
⢠Mrs Moore: To India looking for more. In finding it, she becomes greater than life.
⢠Mss Quested: To India for further knowledge. She wants to know the real India, so she tests and
questioned herself.
⢠Fielding: Is the Promised Land, lacking any prejudices. Enabler of affection across cultures and
individuals, but he fails as he has not understood the importance of communication.
⢠Aziz: friendly but victim of this inefficiency to communicate clearly. He is misunderstood and
misunderstands when speaking to people with different cultures.
⢠Godbole: synonym for Brahma, the one connected with God. Because God cannot be explained,
Godbole is lacking in communication