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The first chapter of A Passage to India describes the setting of the novel. Forster establishes Chandrapore as a prototypical Indian town, neither distinguished nor exceptionally troubled. This town can therefore be taken to be symbolic of the rest of India rather than an exceptional case. This allows the actions that occur in the following chapters to be representative of the Anglo-Indian colonial relations that will dominate the events of the novel. By beginning the novel with a mention of the Marabar Caves, Forster foreshadows later events that will occur concerning the Marabar Caves and that will provide the narrative turning point of A Passage to India. It is significant that Forster does not begin the novel with the description of any particular character.
This places the story in context of the town of Chandrapore in particular and the nation of India in general. In this chapter, Forster establishes several of the major themes that will predominate A Passage to India. Most important among these is the vast difference between the English colonial elite and the native population of India. Forster makes it clear that the British elite treat the Indians with disrespect, as demonstrated by Major Calendar's summons to Aziz and his wife's oblivious attitude toward Aziz when she takes his tonga. However, Aziz is too polite to confront the women on their slight. He values behaving politely to these English elites over asserting his own sense of self-respect.
This event therefore provides a contrast to later events of the novel in which Aziz becomes less accommodating and more focused on his rights and dignity. Forster foreshadows the important role that the Marabar Caves will play in A Passage to India in the novel's first line. Forster writes, "Except for the Marabar Caves - and they are twenty miles off - the city of Chandrapore presents nothing extraordinary" (7). Throughout the remainder of the novel's opening section, Forster strategically places scattered references to the "extraordinary caves" to ensure that the reader does not forget about the important role that the caves will play.
In light of the sprinkled references, Forster never really provides the reader with any "meaningful" information about the caves. When Adela first learns of the Marabar caves, she asks Aziz and Professor Godbole to describe them. Godbole makes the first attempt, but is unsuccessful. Therefore, he says to Aziz, "Well, why are they so famous? We all talk of the famous Marabar Caves. Perhaps that is our empty brag" (75).
Not wanting to leave Adela's request unanswered, Aziz also makes an attempt to describe what makes the caves "extraordinary. " However, he, too, is unsuccessful: "On he chattered... further than ever from discovering what, if anything, was extraordinary about the Marabar Caves" (76). Once again, Forster arouses the reader's interests in the caves. Yet, at the same time, he fails to provide an explanation, either physical or metaphysical, as to why the caves are extraordinary. As a result, the reader is left with a burning desire to find out anything he can about these mysterious caves. Earth 1: The Marabar Hills are described as the fists and fingers of the south.
Despite their human characteristics, the hills are imposing. Earth here is more impressive than any of the people in Chandrapore. Earth 2: The women are fascinated by the moonlight, which has a mystical quality to it. However, a British stranger reminds them that in British India, though they might be halfway around the world from home, they stick to the same moon. Therefore, there is little spirit or imagination in the India of the English.
Mrs. Moore and Adela hope for something more. Earth 3: Looking into the sky, Mrs. Moore sees a moon that is very different from the moon in England. This moonlight filled her with a sense of unity with nature and the heavens the way it never had at home. Earth 4: The heat of April, an aspect of the earth in India, makes things quite unbearable and influences the behavior of those who live there.
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