Student Question
What is the relationship between Ronny and Adela in "A Passage to India"?
Quick answer:
Ronny and Adela are initially intended to marry, as Ronny is the son of Mrs. Moore, who travels to India with Adela. However, Ronny's transformation into an arrogant, imperialistic City Magistrate in India clashes with Adela's open-minded desire to engage with Indian culture. Disappointed by Ronny's narrow views and changes, Adela ultimately decides not to marry him, reflecting the broader themes of cultural and personal conflicts within the novel.
Ronny is the son of Mrs. Moore, the elderly Englishwoman who comes to India with Adela, the girl whom Ronny is supposed to marry. Ronny and Adela met in England, but Ronny, who is the City Magistrate of Chandrapore, has been working in India and the two have not seen each other for some time. Ronny, an arrogant, pompous character, subscribes to the narrow imperialistic belief that the Indians are somehow an inferior race incapable of governing themselves, leaving the British to take on the task for the Indians' own good. Adela, who is more open-minded and wants to mix with the Indian people and see the "real India", is disappointed with the changes she sees in Ronny, and ends up not marrying him.
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