A Passage to India: Part 3, Chapter 37 Summary & Analysis

After the “shipwreck,” Aziz and Fielding suddenly find their old friendship and harmony restored, as if the intervening years had never happened. They go for a last ride in the Mau jungles before Fielding leaves, aware that they will never see each other again. Officially, Fielding’s visit has been a failure, as Godbole never actually showed him the school he came to examine. Aziz finally tells Fielding the truth: the school was converted into a granary, but Godbole didn’t want to admit it to Fielding. Fielding laughs at the muddle, but “he did not travel as lightly as in the past,” and he is deeply concerned about the state of education in India now.

Aziz and Fielding ride through beautiful jungles and fields, feeling happy. The nature they pass seems almost as “park-like” as England, but still slightly strange and unfamiliar. Aziz gives Fielding a letter for Adela, thanking her for her actions during the trial. He now realizes that she acted bravely, and he says that he will appreciate her and try to “wipe out” the Marabar incident forever.

Fielding says that Aziz should talk to Stella or Ralph, as they have some interesting ideas about the Marabar Caves, and seem drawn to Hinduism since arriving in Mau. Stella and Fielding’s marriage has been difficult, but Stella seems to have found “some solution of her queer troubles” in Mau. Aziz doesn’t want to meet the Moores again or talk about Hinduism, saying that he still doesn’t understand Hindus even after living with them.

They then discuss politics. Fielding and Aziz have both grown more politically “hardened” than before, and have differing views, but in their intimacy they can discuss things without anger or misunderstanding. Fielding now believes that the British Raj cannot be abolished simply because it is impolite—he uses the example of Godbole’s school, saying that India “goes to seed” without an English presence.

Aziz, on the other hand, says all the English should “clear out,” as the Indians don’t need them anymore. He predicts that during the next European war, when England is in trouble again, then the Indians will take back India. Aziz stumbles when Fielding asks him for details of his plan to drive out the English and unite India, but he is still filled with confidence and excitement that India will become its own nation.

Aziz declares that India will drive out every last Englishman, even if it must happen in his children’s generation. And only then, he says, can the two men truly be friends. Aziz and Fielding embrace. Fielding asks why they can’t be friends now, as both of them want it. But then their horses swerve apart, and the earth, rocks, temples, and sky seem to separate them, declaring, “No, not yet.”