Abstract: A Passage to India, the masterpiece of E. M Foster, the great English novelist, has been regarded by many critics as one of the finest English novels of 20th century. The story concerns two female visitors from British to India who are both liberal in thought and try to make friends with the Indians. This essay intends to find evidences that reflect the improbability of “only connect” under the colonial domination in A Passage to India. Under the colonial domination, the conflicts and alienation between nations, religions and individuals are much more long-lasting. By analyzing the process of establishing, developing and eventually breaking up of friendship between the colonizer and the colonized, the essay aims to get a conclusion that real and permanent friendship cannot be established under the colonial domination.
Key words: A Passage to India; colonial domination; conflict; connect
摘要:《印度之行》是爱·摩·福斯特的代表作。它被评论家认为是二十世纪最成功的小说。故事围绕两个拥有自由主义思想的女主人公到印度的旅行并尝试与印度人建立友谊而展开。本文旨在通过探究《印度之行》中“惟有联结”的主观愿望的不可能性,追溯到其根源在于英国对于印度的殖民统治。在殖民统治下,民族,宗教和人们之间的疏离和冲突愈发长久,本文通过研究友谊的建立、发展与最终破裂的过程,旨在论述只要殖民制度的存在,真正而持久的友谊就不会建立。
关键词:《印度之行》;殖民统治;冲突;联结