REPRESSION AND IDENTITY CRISIS IN A PASSAGE TO INDIA: A FREUDIAN AND LACANIAN PSYCHOANALYTIC READING OF ADELA QUESTED'S PSYCHOLOGICAL BREAKDOWN

Abstract

This study examines Adela Quested's psychological breakdown in E.M. Forster's A Passage to India using Freudian and Lacanian psychoanalytic theories. Adela's emotional collapse, particularly her accusation against Dr. Aziz, is explored as a manifestation of repressed fears, colonial guilt, and hidden desires. Freud’s idea of "the return of the repressed" helps explain how Adela's buried emotions resurface in distorted ways, while Lacan’s theories on identity and perception provide insight into Adela’s confusion and crisis of self. The novel highlights the conflict between Adela’s idealistic views of India and the complex realities of colonialism, which ultimately contribute to her psychological disintegration. The analysis offers a deeper understanding of how personal identity and cultural misunderstandings are intertwined in the colonial context.