Gender and Power of Language in A Passage to India by Edward Forster

Abstract

In this research, the main issue is to illustrate the huge differences between female and male characters’ choice of words and their linguistic and psychological effect of the novel’s A Passage to India by Forster (1924). The researchers have set some questions and attempted to answer them through using qualitative methods endorsed by Potter's (1999) and Lakoff's (1973). These qualitative methods are the ones which focus on vocabulary, word analysis, and word meaning. The main concern of these methods is to gather non-numerical data proofing our main idea even more by giving examples from the incidents in the novel. They also refer to the meanings, concepts, definitions, characteristics, metaphors, symbols, and description of things. The research comes out with some important findings. It is revealed that words alone do deliver the whole meaning. However, it is demonstrated that gender, body language, words of politeness, and punctuations that show the tone of voice do help words convey their effect more clearly. It is also found that females have strong tendency to use descriptive words to express their feelings. This makes females' language more pleasant than males'. It is further noticed that females use tag questions more commonly to seek approval. On the other hand, it is observed that males produce formal sentences to realize and ascertain dominance in their speech.