Aziz and Fielding: Homosexual subtext
Knowing that EM Forster had already written his gay novel Maurice in the 1910s (unpublished until the 1970s), I have always felt Forster's frustrations about keeping that novel a secret was somewhat carried over into the relationship between Aziz and Fielding in A Passage to India. The difference here being that unlike in Maurice, the attraction is not consummated and is kept as a kind of platonic love. The film emphasizes the desire Aziz has for Fielding right from the start, his willingness to please him is constantly evident, and Fielding for his part is clearly taken aback with Aziz's emotional intensity toward him, and seems to reciprocate it through complete faith in Aziz's innocence and integrity of character.
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