Rapid industrialization boosted the financial capacity of the British Crown, allowing the country to finance overseas expenditures. In the 19th century, Britain began to look increasingly beyond its country for sources of profit. This desire manifested in British imperialism of India. Through direct administration, the British East India Company dominated India, using its power to extract resources for Britain. As Winston Churchill summed it up, India was “the brightest jewel in the crown of the British Empire.” Yet, beyond the overwhelming economic benefits it yielded, India also produced questions and issues. The contact between the British and the Indians brought into light new questions and conflicts, including cross-denominational unity. E.M. Foster’s A Passage to India probes this question, exploring its impact on both the British and the Indians.

The possibility of a relationship between Britain and India is articulated in the dynamic friendship between Aziz and Fielding. Having befriended each other at Fielding’s tea party, the two characters maintain a strong bond until Adela accuses Aziz of attempted assault and presents her accusation at trial. The path of their relationship symbolizes the relationship between India and Britain. In their friendship, Aziz embodies Indian culture, which is characterized by a cultivated imagination and a tendency for allowing suspicion to harden. In every remark, Aziz “found meaning, but not always the true meaning, and his life though vivid was largely a dream.” Aziz’s tendency to rely on intuition sometimes makes his interpretations go askew. He misinterprets the intentions of others. This is especially problematic for his friendship with Fielding, who, as the typical British male, follows the culture of reserved feelings and rationalism. To him, Aziz’s imaginations and emotions “never seem in proportion to their objects.” Fielding regards Aziz as overtly lacking rationality. He sees him as basing his judgements and interpretations on intuitions that are ungrounded. Aziz defends his reliance on the intuitive. He openly asks Fielding, “Is emotion a sack of potatoes, so much the pound, to be measured out? Am I a machine?” Aziz cannot comprehend Fielding’s failure to appreciate what is beyond the rational. Fielding, like the typical British male, regards life as purely transactional (rational) and does not appreciate the intangible metaphysical components of life. This central conflict between Indian and British culture helped deteriorate the relationship between Aziz and Fielding. Their communities -- Indian and British -- maintain stereotypical views of the other culture, further accelerating the deterioration of their relationship. 

Another concept that is explored in the novel is the possibility of union of all things. As British imperialism permeated every facet of life in India, the native Indians began to embrace mysticism. Mysticism is the belief that any individual, unaided by religious institutions or sacraments, can communicate with God. Although it does not separate itself from established denominations -- mystics stayed true to the church -- it sought to offer to the devout few a substance that transcended traditional religiosity. The core belief of mysticism is that differences in denomination can be overcome through union. From the 15th to 19th century, religious differences demonstrated divided communities. The rise of Protestantism culminated in the Protestant Revolution, which shattered the religious unity of Europe. Evangelical missions in the New World disrupted native religions. The First and Second Great Awakening challenged the value of tradition and orthodox religious beliefs. Mysticism, by contrast, has always leaned toward religious unity. In the novel, Forster articulates mystical unity through Professor Godbole. He is the only character who remains aloof from the complex emotional entanglement of the plot and refrains from taking sides in any issue. Yet this idea of unity could also be problematic. Mrs. Moore’s realization of the lack of distinction between all things forces her to lose interest in the material world. As the novel implies, this realization ultimately kills Mrs. Moore. The problem of absolute unity as shown through the death of Mrs. Moore implies that a central component of interest in life may be the differences perceived among different things. In a capitalist society, the distinction that is recognized between opulence and poverty is the driving force motivating people to endure challenges. The ultimate end of perseverance is wealth, which brings opulence. Thus, when uniformality prevails over everything, ambition is taken away. When there is no desire, there is no interest in living.