Spatial Uncertainty in Marabar Caves: An Orientalist Reading of A Passage to India

One of the most important concerns of postcolonial studies and colonial discourse analysis is, doubtless, geographical imperialism whether imaginative or worldly. In interdisciplinary fields, the relationship between postcolonial studies and geography or space has set an arena for showing the conflict on geography that is sometimes even more important than actual wars. Thus the critic or intellectual should shoulder the responsibility of uncovering the bonds between literary texts and geographical politics. Literary space here could be the most important element to connect the imaginary world of literature to the worldly realities. Space could be studied at different levels and on different layers of the text. This study is an attempt to excavate the space of the Marabar Caves in E. M. Forster’s A Passage to India and informs the air of Orientalist uncertainty in the novel in light of Edward Said’s Orientalism. This reveals the connection between the text under study and the ones preceding it to reveal the social, cultural and political contexts. The present study concludes that Forster merely shows sympathy towards the natives and falls short of a maturity to awaken him for a native unity to resist the British colonialists.