E.M. Forster and the Politics Imperialism Mohammad Shaheen E. M. Forster and the Politics of Imperialism Also by this author and published by Palgrave Macmillan THE MODERN ARABIC SHORT STORY E. M. Forster and the Politics of Imperialism Mohammad Shaheen © Mohammad Shaheen 2004 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2004 978-0-333-74136-8 All rights reserved.No reproduction,copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced,copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright,Designs and Patents Act 1988,or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency,90 Tottenham Court Road,London W1T 4LP. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published 2004 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN Houndmills,Basingstoke,Hampshire RG21 6XS and 175 Fifth Avenue,New York,N.Y.10010 Companies and representatives throughout the world PALGRAVE MACMILLAN is the global academic imprint of the Palgrave Macmillan division of St.Martin’s Press,LLC and of Palgrave Macmillan Ltd. Macmillan® is a registered trademark in the United States,United Kingdom and other countries.Palgrave is a registered trademark in the European Union and other countries. ISBN 978-1-349-40991-4 ISBN 978-0-230-59763-1 (eBook) DOI 10.1057/9780230597631 This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Shaheen,Mohammad E.M.Forster and the politics of imperialism/Mohammad Shaheen. p.cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. 1.Forster,E.M.(Edward Morgan),1879–1970–Political and social views. 2.Politics and literature–Great Britain–History–20th century.3.Political fiction,English–History and criticism.4.Imperialism in literature.I.Title. PR6011.O58Z8415 2004 823(cid:2).912—dc22 2003060860 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 12 11 10 09 08 07 06 05 04 03 For Patrick Parrinder And my patriotism which is very steady is loyalty to the place where I happen to belong. It doesn’t go further. The idea that my nation is better than someone else’s never occurs to me. Forster, ‘Three Countries’ What is crucial to such a vision of the future is the belief that we must not merely change the narratives of our histories, but transform our sense of what it means to live, to be, in other times and different places, both human and historical. Homi Bhabha, The Location of Culture Contents Foreword ix Acknowledgements xi Abbreviations and References xiii Introduction 1 1 Person and Persona in the Portrait of Imperialism 9 2 ‘Hassan in England’: a Western Room with an Oriental View 23 3 Forster’s Debate on ‘Kipling Is Not Literature’ 31 4 Forster Writes to the Empire and Salutes the Orient: a Passage through Egypt 58 5 Beyond the Mediterranean Human Norm: the Politics of Liberal Humanism in Retreat 75 6 Burra’s Introduction and Beyond: a Detour Round the Floods 113 7 Forster’s Politics in Said’s Culture and Imperialism: a Modern Debate 134 Conclusion 159 Appendices 1 The Government of Egypt 171 2 Forster’s Fictitious Letter to Mohammed El-Adle 184 3 ‘The horror, the horror’ 188 4 Unpublished Conversation with E. M. Forster 191 vii viii Contents Notes 193 Bibliography 202 Index 206 Foreword During the twentieth century, the reputation of E. M. Forster varied between the very favourable reception accorded to his early novels and an attitude, still current, in which his novel A Passage to Indiais seen as head and shoulders above the others – and regarded by many as being his masterpiece. At the same time, Forster’s achievement in that novel has been a matter of disagreement. When it first appeared, in 1924, it was thought of by most readers primarily as embodying a political state- ment and for that reason was met both by vilification from support- ers of the British Empire and by approval from those who questioned the legitimacy of Britain’s role there. With the publication of further criticism, however – especially Peter Burra’s – readers began to appre- ciate further qualities in the novel, including its imagery, its symbol- ism and even its ‘rhythm’. Such new approaches were endorsed by the fact that Forster himself voiced approval of Burra’s account, with the result that the political element was in danger of being ignored. Yet that continued to attract attention from writers such as G. K. Das (in E. M. Forster’s India) and Benita Parry (in her Delusions and Discoveries: Studies on India in the British Imagination 1880–1930). The question of the exact nature of the achievement remains moot. In presenting his new approach, Professor Shaheen, who himself met Forster on various occasions during his stay in King’s College, Cambridge, some years ago, brings further considerations to bear. He draws attention to the way in which the Muslim element in APassage to Indiatends to be ignored or played down, in spite of the fact that the first section is entitled ‘Mosque’ and that the novel as a whole was inspired by, and dedicated to, Forster’s Muslim friend Syed Ross Masood. He also draws fuller attention to the years that Forster spent in Egypt between his two periods of work on Passage, which were of considerable importance for his own thought and attitudes, and the extent of his anti-imperialism during that period. While sympathetic to some statements in Edward Said’s Culture and Imperialism, he dissents from Said’s inclusion of Forster among those ix