A Passage to India: Part 2, Chapter 16 Summary & Analysis

Aziz waits inside the cave for a moment, and when he comes out he finds that the guide is alone. They hear the sound of an automobile at the bottom of the hill. Aziz tries to find Adela, but the guide says that she went into a cave. Aziz reprimands him for not keeping their guest in sight. Aziz starts to panic, and he and the guide shout for Adela. There is no answer, and Aziz slaps the guide’s face in frustration. The guide runs away. Aziz worries that his career is over because of this disaster.

Aziz is then relieved to see that Adela is down at the bottom of the hill, talking to another lady near the car. Aziz sees Adela’s field glasses lying broken at the entrance to one of the caves. He puts them in his pocket. Aziz returns to the camp, and is delighted to see that Fielding is there, having arrived in Miss Derek’s car. Aziz gets Fielding a drink, and they toast to India and England.

Aziz sends some servants to escort Miss Derek from her car, but they find that Miss Derek and Adela have already left to drive back to Chandrapore. Aziz is disappointed but still happy about the picnic. Fielding, however, senses that something has gone wrong, and guesses that Adela has requested to drive back immediately. Mrs. Moore is sulky and argumentative, but she and Fielding try to bond over their fondness for Aziz. They feel awkward about “being drawn together by an Indian.”

Aziz tries to avoid the memory of Adela’s question about multiple wives, so he changes the facts in his mind, editing the story of the past hour without even realizing that he is being untruthful. He tells Fielding that he was with Adela when she saw Miss Derek’s car and decided to run down to her, escorted by the guide. Fielding is vaguely angry at the women for ruining Aziz’s picnic, and questions Aziz about the details of what happened. Mrs. Moore is vaguely angry at Fielding, but is too apathetic to feel much.

Fielding worries that Aziz has been insulted by the women, but Aziz is still ecstatic about the success of the outing, and feels like a hospitable Mughal emperor. On the elephant ride back to the train, Fielding asks about the cost of the whole day, and Aziz admits that it will add up to hundreds of rupees. He knows he has been swindled out of lots of extra money, but he feels that it was worth it to please his English guests.

The group boards the train and travels back to Chandrapore, the “nasty little cosmos” of the Marabar Caves retreating into the romantic shapes of the distant Marabar hills. When the train arrives, Mr. Haq, the inspector of police, opens their carriage door and informs Aziz that he is under arrest. Aziz panics and tries to run out a different door, sobbing. Fielding catches him and tries to calm him down, warning him to not “act the criminal.” Aziz breaks down, worried about the shame this will bring on his name. The two men step onto the platform together, where Mr. Turton calls Fielding aside and Aziz goes on to prison alone.