The Symbolic Nature Of Caves In E. M. Forster’s A Passage To India

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A Passage to India, E. M. Forster’s best-known novel, illustrates the cultural dichotomy of Indian and British lifestyles in the age of imperialism. Perhaps one of the greatest incongruities in this dichotomy is the differing view of life held by the Christian, Muslim, and Hindu characters within the novel. Forster divides the novel into three sections – Mosque, Caves, and Temple. In each of these sections Forster addresses, albeit elusively, issues of spirituality and human existence. Forster’s symbolic elements within A Passage to India require the reader to contemplate the deeper issues of the human psyche. Perhaps the most important symbolic element within the novel – in both structure and theme – are the Marabar Caves. Here, deep within the recesses of the dark caves, the characters within the novel confront the deepest recesses of the unconscious mind.
A Passage to India begins in the city of Chandrapore in British ruled India, a location best known for its proximity to the famous Marabar Caves. The most crucial events in the novel take place within the caves, and characters such as Mrs. Moore and Adela must face their deepest inner fears because of the events that occur within the caves. In Part Two of the novel, aptly named Caves, Forster’s initial description of the geography of Marabar is rich with imagery that hints at deeper meaning:

There is something unspeakable in these outposts. They are like nothing
else in the world, and a glimpse of them makes the breath catch. They rise abruptly, insanely, without the proportion that is kept by the wildest hills elsewhere, they bear no relation to anything dreamt or seen. To call them “uncanny” suggests ghosts, and they are older than all spirit. (Forster 136)
Forster subtly evokes feelings of spirituality and solemnity, ideas that foreshadow later events in the novel. Yet, Forster departs sharply from these mystical images in the passage tha...