Temple: Interpretations

“Is it possible to be friends with an Englishman?” though Aziz enters into such a topic jocularly, E.M.Forster feels that it is not possible if the English remain insensitive, unfeeling, proud and autocratic towards the Indians. But in case of Fielding and Aziz it is not at all applicable. Aziz used to feel that “Mr. Fielding is the only British who understands us.” Yet, their friendship stood at crossroads when Aziz thought his friend was of Adela’s party after his trial. Anyway, their friendship was restored on the day of Janmashtami Festival .

 Of course , East is able to meet the West if there is “goodwill, more goodwill, more and more goodwill,” as Aziz used to believe and no doubt liberal-humanist Forster  subscribes to this view.

  If we read Forster along with Kipling’s opening lines of The Ballad of East and West,  one thing automatically becomes clear that East, West these are mere geographical boundaries, they are not ultimate limits. As Kipling says “East is East and West is West and  never the twain shall meet” he also says in the same stanza “ There is neither East nor West, Border, nor Breed, nor Birth/When two strong men stand face to face/ tho’ they come from the ends of the earth.” That is to say, real friendship counts on mutual feelings, it takes in no geographical borders into consideration!

 In the beginning Aziz is shown to be lively, full of humor sensitive, friendly and keen on winning the attention of the British Superiors. But towards the end of the novel he grows aggressive towards the ruling class especially after the trial. He grew revengeful towards Adela who brought a false allegation against him. However, he understands at last that Friendship and Goodwill must go hand in hand to foster a relationship. Aziz matures in his views at last.

 After her death ,Mrs. Moore loses her human role and assumes a symbolic role which has baffled many critics. The simple explanation surrounding the “ghost” of Mrs. Moore is that while Mrs Moore dies in the flesh, she survives in the spirit and somehow brings peace and happiness to those[eg, Aziz] who still acknowledge her presence. At the trial, the Hindus who think that Mrs. Moore could have saved Aziz invoke her name in a chant, Esmiss Esmoore[ex-Mrs.Moore]—which turns her into a goddess. The invocation of Mrs. Moore as a goddess in the courtroom breaks the spell of uncertainty in Adela and makes the girl realize that her accusation against Aziz was false! Mrs.Moore ,living and dead, has played so important a role in the story that one agrees with Trilling when he says that “it is Mrs. Moore indeed who is the story.”

  In the last section of the novel, the day of Janmashtami strikes us as a day of Revelation.

  On this very day, in a strange encounter on the boat , Aziz and Fielding reunite as friends. But they are different individuals now. Fielding takes the side of the British while Aziz is all praise for Indian Nationalism . Yet, the ultimate understanding of goodwill as the base of any relationship gives the novel a different and elevated level of significance as a whole .