A Passage to India: Part 1, Chapter 9 Summary & Analysis

Aziz gets slightly sick three days after the tea party. He pretends to be more ill than he actually is, and stays in bed musing about life and the nature of Indians. He longs to see Fielding again, but would be ashamed if Fielding were to see his shabby home. Aziz finds himself longing for a women, and he considers going to Calcutta to find a brothel. He knows that Major Callendar and the other Englishmen would be horrified by this idea, as they like to pretend that men are “made of ice.”

Aziz suddenly notices that his ceiling is covered with flies, and he calls in his servant Hassan to deal with them. Hassan is confused and ineffective, but goes off to try and solve the problem. Aziz goes on thinking about women. He is very practical concerning sex, but he knows that he mustn’t cause a scandal with the English or bring shame to his children. Unlike an Englishman, Aziz doesn’t consider the conventions of society as necessarily moral, but only as conventional. So he sees no problem with visiting a brothel – he just knows that he must do it secretly.

Hamidullah enters Aziz’s house to inquire about his health. With him are Syed Mohammed (an engineer), Haq (a policeman), and Rafi, Syed Mohammed’s young nephew. Rafi says that Professor Godbole has also gotten sick after having tea with Fielding, and all the visitors briefly consider the possibility that Fielding poisoned them. They then grow suspicious that the sickness is cholera, and Mr. Haq says that “all illness proceeds from Hindus,” blaming Professor Godbole if an epidemic should break out.

Aziz grows sentimental hearing Hinduism criticized and Islam praised, and he interrupts the conversation to recite a poem. The beauty of the words makes all their squabbling seem petty, and for a moment the men feel that India is united as a Muslim country. Only Hamidullah has any understanding of poetry, but the other men are at least reminded of something larger and more beautiful than themselves.

Hamidullah is on his way to a nationalist committee of Indian notables, which will meet later that day. The committee contains Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Parsis, a Jain, and a Native Christian. Hamidullah sadly reflects on the fact that the committee is only peaceful and constructive when they are disparaging the English. Hamidullah thinks nostalgically of his friendship with the Bannisters in England, where there was no need for politics. He is glad that his friend Aziz also takes no interest in politics, “which ruin the character and career, yet nothing can be achieved without them.”

The visitors affectionately wish Aziz better health and announce that they are leaving, but they remain seated. Dr. Panna Lal arrives to check on Aziz. He is a Hindu, and is nervous about entering the room full of devout Muslims, but he is under Major Callendar’s orders. Dr. Lal dislikes Aziz, and recognizes that Aziz is exaggerating his illness when he takes Aziz’s temperature, but Lal decides to cover for his colleague in case he should want a day in bed himself in the future.

The men question Dr. Panna Lal about Professor Godbole’s condition, and he finally admits that it is nothing serious. The men then scold Rafi for spreading rumors of cholera. Ram Chand, Dr. Lal’s argumentative driver who came in with Dr. Lal, takes advantage of this to insult Syed Muhammed, who is Rafi’s uncle, and the two men soon start yelling at each other. Fielding enters the room unnoticed in the middle of the argument. When the Indian men realize he is there, everyone is ashamed.

Aziz is embarrassed of his company and his dirty room, but he also tries to make sure Rafi is still comfortable after being scolded. The men soon start talking familiarly with Fielding, and they discuss religion. They are shocked to hear that Fielding doesn’t believe in God. Hamidullah asks if there are many atheists in England, and Fielding admits that there are, and then goes on to say that morality has probably declined as a result. Hamidullah then asks why England is justified in ruling India, if England is the less moral country. Fielding admits that he is unsure if England is justified. He says that he personally is in India because he needed a job.

The Indians enjoy being familiar with Fielding, and Fielding is intoxicated with his own candor and honesty in speaking to them. He is unwilling to give the traditional answer that Englishmen always give – “England holds India for her good.” He is only willing to say that he is happy to be in India, however unfair that might be in the larger moral scheme of things. The Indians are shocked by Fielding’s frankness, even though they don’t disagree with him. They are used to saying something different from what they mean.

The group finally breaks up, as Dr. Panna Lal has other appointments. All the visitors file out. Fielding is slightly disappointed by his visit, and he is reminded of how the Englishmen at the club view him – that he is “making himself cheap” by associating with Indians as friends.