The Depression conveyed by settings in A Passage to India

【Abstract】This paper is to examine two of the most significant settings， the disordered city of Chandrapore and the Sky， in E.M.Forsters novel A Passage to India. There is a physical separation between the living sections of the two races， and the Sky is the only ruler. With the description of the chaotic landscapes and the ruler， Forster conveyed the useless struggle of men to connect with the surroundings and each other.

【Key words】Chandrapore; Chaotic; Separation; Negative the Sky; Ruler

【作者簡介】陈雪莹（1981.12-），女，汉族，福建厦门人，厦门大学国际学院，讲师，硕士，研究方向：英美文学，外语教学，翻译，国际办学与教学。

Ι. A brief introduction of the novel

Edward Morgan Forster is recognized as one of greatest novelists in the 20th century. Among his six novels， the last one —A Passage to India is the most well-known one. The novels political composition makes readers believe that it exams class difference and hypocrisy， however， I， personally， believe that this novel conveys a philosophy that it is very difficult for men to understand each other and their surroundings.

I would like to explore the opinion through examining the landscapes and the settings provided by Forster. He added some supernatural and mysterious elements to the settings to further convey his perception that mens wish for order and harmonious personal relationship and links with the universe is only subjective and one-side wish， and the reality is that all the personal relationships are short-lived and easy to break down and there is just muddle in the universe.

In this article， I would like to analyzed the effects of settings of the cities of Chardrapore and the Sky.

Ⅱ.The Chandrapore city –two different social world

In the short first chapter， Forster gave readers a striking general idea about the fictional Indian city—Chandrapore， the principal setting for the whole story. In the first paragraph， with a cool discriminating tone， Forster introduced Chandrapore as being meaningless， chaotic and is inhabited by irreligious and worthless Indian citizens：

Except for the Marabar Caves…the city of Chandrapore presents nothing extraordinary. Edged rather than washed by the river Ganges…scarcely distinguishable from the rubbish it deposits so freely. There are no bathing-steps on the river front， as the Ganges happens not to be holy here... The streets are mean， the temples ineffective， and though a few fine houses exist they are hidden away in gardens or down alleys whose filth deters all but the invited guest. Chandrapore was never large or beautiful， but two hundred years ago it lay on the road between Upper India， then imperial， and the sea， and the fine houses date from that period. The zest for decoration stopped in the eighteenth century， nor was it ever democratic. In the bazaars there is no painting and scarcely any carving. The very wood seems made of mud， the inhabitants of mud moving. So abased， so monotonous is everything that meets the eye， that when the Ganges comes down it might be expected to wash the excrescence back into the soil. Houses do fall; people are drowned and left rotting... （Forster 3）

We can see from the text that although there may be something extraordinary in the Marabar Hills， the dominating impression of the scene is “nothing extraordinary”. Religiously， the very point of the river Ganges where the city is located by “happens not to be holy” and the temples， where the God is worshiped， are “ineffective”. Economically， this is an impoverished city which is full of “mean” streets， bazaars without any painting and carving. And the only fine houses with old ages are hidden and separated from the ordinary people. Politically， the city had some honored relationship with the Indian upper class， because it “lay on the road between Upper India， then imperial， and the sea”， this relationship has gone for two hundred years. What was left is a city filled up with muddle and “abased， monotonous” things. Rubbish is “freely” “deposited” into the river Ganges and is floating along the bank. “The very wood seems made of mud， the inhabitants of mud moving” The whole city and the residents are termed as “excrescence” and being “like some low but indestructible form of life.” Moreover， in the last paragraph， Forster described the Indian plain as being monotonous and “flat”： “No mountains infringe on the curve” and “League after league the earth lies flat， heaves a little， is flat again.”（Forster 4）

Obviously， in this paragraph， Forster picked up many negative verbs and adjectives to portray a seemingly poor， zestless， shapeless and chaotic low society. As a matter of fact， from Forsters diaries and notes， someone noted that he indeed knew and appreciated the beauty of many landscapes of India. Its obvious ， in this novel， however， he intentionally gathered the most unpleasant words to create Chandrapore.

The opening sentence of the second paragraph： “Inland， the prospect alters.” leads us to a totally different view of the other part of the city on the second “rise” of the land （Forster 2）. This part of the city is for the British who are in charge of the land. This part is a civilized and beautiful station， “a city of gardens”， or rather “a forest sparsely scattered with huts”， “a tropical pleasance”， and even the river which washes here is “noble”， a sharp contrast to the river Ganges which is filled with rubbish， and drowned and rotting bodies. The layout here is “sensibly planned， with a red-brick Club on its brow， and further back a grocers and a cemetery， and the bungalous are disposed along roads that intersect at right angles.”（Forster 3）. In a word， its layout is so tidy and clear that “nothing hideous in it， only the view is beautiful” （Forster 3）. Another important feature of this civil station is that it is physically separated from the rest of the city by a flourishing forest and it settles in the higher land which can help the stations inhabitants oversee the ordinary movements of the ones who live in the lower land （Gilbert 71）， which is ， however， made impossible by the forest which “screen” the lower part（Forster 3） Consequently， the forest not only segregates the British from the Indians but also helps them remain exotic in the colonized country. The separation indicates the impossibility of the ruling race to melt into the local ruled peoples lives and culture naturally and comprehensively， and thus the unity between the British and the Indians becomes difficult if not impossible. Moreover， the over flourishing trees have destroyed mens wish for the order： “seeking light and air， and endowed with more strength than man or his works”， they have grown crazily and out of control， despite the order gained by the British section.

The impression put forward by Forster of the ordered and clear British society is that it looks like an art or painting， just beautiful and lifeless： “it provokes no emotion” and “charms not， neither does it repel.”（Forster 3）. While the lower land of the city of Chandrapore is full of life and movement. As Martin said in his “A Passage to India”， the spirit of the chaotic city is “the spirit of life： all is life and movement” （Forster 154）. Therefore， through the sharp contrasts， Forster conveys his belief that the realities of life is muddled and wish for orders is an illusion.

ⅢThe sky—the only ruler in the novel

In the opening chapter， Forster provided the sky with mysterious and supernatural elements. The sky has two significant meanings： it is the only place where a universal oneness might be achieved， but the oneness is destroyed later in the novel; besides， the sky is the only true ruler which holds great power and controls everything， making mens efforts to overcome the Nature ineffective.

The human society of the Chandrapore city represents muddle， disharmony and separation， and the “overarching sky” is the only thing that the Civil Station shares with the rest of the city （Forster 3）. The sky has some certain degree of order and persistence. It has changes， but its crucial color of blue remains （Forster 3）. When the real element of the world –the darkness– takes over， the close link between the earth and the sky seems to be able to be achieved： “the distance” between them becomes totally insignificant （Forster 3）， that is， they unite to some degree.

Ⅳ Conclusion

All in all， A Passage to India is a path to find the right approach to the reality of life. Although there is hope in the following description， in the first chapter， only depression and disillusion are conveyed by the settings and the landscape of the city of Chandrapore and the Sky.

References：

[1]Forster， E.M. A Passage to India. London： Edward Arnold Ltd. 1978.

[2]Ganguly， Adwaita P. India： Mystic， Complex and Real. Delhi：Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Private Limited， 1990

[3]Gardner，Philip.ed.E.M.Forster： The Critical Heritage. London：Routledge &Kegan Paul， 1973.

[4]Gilbert，S.M. E.M.Forsters A Passage to India and Howards End. Tran.Li Xinbo. Beijing： FLTRP， 1996.

[5]Martin， John Sayre. E.M.Forster： The Endless Journey. London： Cambridge UP， 1976.