Xenophobia in A Passage to India: A Subjective Furor in Adela Quested and Others

TLDR: Forster's A Passage to India epitomizes the concept of xenophobia as a result of colonial impact in the then India as discussed by the authors, where two communities carry subjective antipathy towards each other and constantly fear of being replaced from their rightful and willful position in the society, though they imposture friendly attitude to each other.

Abstract: Edward Morgan Forster's A Passage to India epitomizes the concept of xenophobia as a result of colonial impact in the then India. The two communities, the British and the Indians, carry subjective antipathy towards each other and constantly fear of being replaced from their rightful and willful position in the society, though they imposture friendly attitude to each other which is the quintessential psychological conflict of the characters. The female protagonist Adela Quested is a xenophobe who pretends to be friendly to the Indians of Chandrapore but ultimately she does the opposite of it. The male protagonist Dr. Aziz represents the new generation of India who tries to overcome the past hostility with the British and rejuvenates a new aura of friendship. But he falls into a trap of misunderstandings as well as of his constant insecurity and self-consciousness which mark his implied xenophobic tendencies. Other characters such as the school headmaster Cyril Fielding, the British magistrate Ronny Heaslop, city Collector Major MacBryde and some of the British ladies highlight the notion of xenophobia in the novel. Some of the characters show indophobic and agoraphobic features too. Dismantling all the misunderstandings, the novel ends with a mutual consideration between the British and the Indians but rooting xenophobia in their hearts forever.