The Colonial Other in E.M. Forster's A Passage to India

Several of E.M. Forster’s novels take as their subj ect ‘The British Abroad’, presenting characters who struggle to experience a culture out side the confines of British social norms. A Passage to India , however, takes this concept yet further, as Forst er describes not only members of the British Raj in In dia, but members of Indian society under colonial rule. In his essay Discourse on Colonisation , Aime Cesaire finds that in a colonised nation, there will be ‘no human cont act, but relations in domination and submission.’ (Cesaire 177), and while the character s attempt to make human contact through the barriers of ruler/subject, coloniser/co lonised, the ghost of the ‘Colonial Other’ is continually present, ultimately proving s tronger than personal relationships. This essay examines the way in which this sense of ‘otherness’ informs the narrative of A Passage to India . It explores the effect that a concept of ‘Other’ has upon identity: as ‘British’ becomes ‘British in India/Im perialist’, and ‘Indian’ becomes ‘Colonised Indian/Subject’. Taking from Homi Bhabha, a concept of difference through resemblance can also be seen in Forster’s novel, as the charac ters struggle to reconcile the difference between the identity ‘Engl ish’ and the identity ‘Anglicised’. By applying post-colonial concepts of ‘otherness’ t o A Passage to India , the essay attempts to provide an insight into the complex web of human relationships described in this novel.