“If he had assaulted her, he'd scarcely bring the evidence back with him.”
Why it's great
A conditional and scarcely expose the hole in the charge in one line.
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Formal
Use it yourself
If he had stolen it, he'd scarcely leave the receipt.
00:00 / 04:21
00:00 / 04:21
Fielding Defends Aziz After the Charge, Explained
A Passage to India · 1984
Chapter 9 of 19 · 4'21"
The charge against Aziz has been made, and the English now gather evidence at his house. McBryde reads his private letters aloud and calls them proof of bad morals; against that, one voice insists, "If he had assaulted her, he'd scarcely bring the evidence back with him." Fielding can't see Adela or Aziz, and can only ask a magistrate.
Key moments
Start here, then watch the full scene- 0:32–1:06
The Evidence Against Aziz
34s
Fielding Defends Aziz After the Charge, explained
What happens
After Adela accuses Aziz of assault, the police search his house and lay out what they found. McBryde quotes Aziz's private letters as evidence about his morals. Fielding, convinced Aziz is innocent, wants to ask Adela whether she is certain it was him, but she is sedated and seeing no one, so he seeks a magistrate's order to visit the jail.
What's really going on
The chapter is less a whodunit than a study in how a charge hardens into a verdict. The physical evidence is thin — cactus spines, a broken car, letters — and one man points out the flaw in the prosecution's logic: 'If he had assaulted her, he'd scarcely bring the evidence back with him.' Yet the case is being built on Aziz's private life, not the cave: 'It'll have to be quoted in court as bearing on his morals.' Fielding's plea to see Adela is an attempt to reach the one person who could stop it, but she is sedated and 'in no state to see anyone.' Around them, the English are deciding who Aziz is before any trial begins, and Fielding's warning — that someone doesn't want to be 'an alarmist' but expects the situation to become nasty — tells us the charge is already larger than one man.
Key lines & what they mean
- “If he had assaulted her, he'd scarcely bring the evidence back with him.”
- The defense's logic: a guilty man would not carry the incriminating evidence back home, so the charge makes no sense.
- “When you think of crime, you think of English crime.”
- The claim that the psychology of crime differs here, so an Indian case cannot be judged by English habits.
- “You may have the right to throw stones for that sort of thing, but I haven't.”
- A refusal to join the moral condemnation of Aziz — the speaker will not throw stones he has no right to throw.
- “I want to ask her if she's certain, dead certain, that it was Aziz.”
- Fielding's aim in seeing Adela: not to pressure her, but to test whether her identification of Aziz is truly unshakable.
- “Look, I don't want to be an alarmist, but, in my opinion, the situation will become very nasty in the next few weeks.”
- A warning that the charge will not stay a private matter — it will inflame the whole town.
Theme
- Justice — A charge against Aziz is treated as proof before trial, while his letters are used to judge his morals.
- Power — The English decide who is guilty and control access to Adela and Aziz; Fielding must ask a magistrate.
What this chapter teaches
Teaching points
Review right after watchingMy level0/6
A1–C2 is the CEFR scale. Cards above the level you pick fade, and playback will not auto-pause on them.
Language points
Click a card to jump to its moment in the videoGolden lines
A great line in its own right — why and how to use it“When you think of crime, you think of English crime.”
Why it's great
The repeated pattern names the other man's hidden assumption.
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Formal
Use it yourself
When you think of a family, you think of your own.
“You may have the right to throw stones for that sort of thing, but I haven't.”
Why it's great
The stone-throwing image draws a moral line without raising his voice.
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Formal
Use it yourself
You may have the right to blame her, but I haven't.
“I want to ask her if she's certain, dead certain, that it was Aziz.”
Why it's great
Dead certain doubles the certainty and shows how much rides on her answer.
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Informal
Use it yourself
Are you dead certain you locked the door?
“Look, I don't want to be an alarmist, but, in my opinion, the situation will become very nasty in the next few weeks.”
Why it's great
He denies alarmism and then predicts real trouble, a classic warning move.
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Formal
Use it yourself
I don't want to be an alarmist, but we may miss the deadline.
Up next · 10of no consequenceThe scene: Fielding Picks a Defence LawyerTakeaways
What you walk away with- In regard to is a formal way to say about.
- To have a bearing on something is to affect it.
- Scarcely is a cooler, more formal hardly.
- Fielding attacks the charge with logic, not anger.
People also search
Questions, then the linesWhy is Aziz charged with assaulting Adela?
Adela accuses him after the Marabar caves trip. She is found injured with cactus spines, and the English take her word, building the case before hearing Aziz's side.
Why does Fielding think Aziz is innocent?
He points to the evidence itself: a guilty man would not carry the incriminating objects back home. He also knows Aziz and trusts him.
Why can't Fielding see Adela?
She is sedated by Callendar and 'in no state to see anyone.' He wants a believer in Aziz, not a hostile doctor, to ask her whether she is certain.
What does 'tarts' mean in McBryde's line?
It is old slang for women, here prostitutes. McBryde says the respectable doctor was going to see 'tarts in Calcutta,' using Aziz's private life against him.
What does Fielding need to visit Aziz in jail?
A magistrate's order. He asks whom to apply to and is told the city magistrate, Ronny Heaslop.