“He's an intimate friend of our client, and his feelings have carried him away.”
Por qué es buena
Carried him away excuses the outburst as emotion, neatly defusing it.
Registro
Formal
Úsala tú
The excitement carried him away for a moment.
00:00 / 02:19
00:00 / 02:19
Das Rules Mrs Moore Does Not Exist, Explained
A Passage to India · 1984
Capítulo 14 de 19 · 2'19"
The trial presses on around a witness who cannot appear. Dismissing the uproar, the judge insists, "as a witness, Mrs Moore does not exist," and forbids both sides from guessing what she would have said. The scene cuts away to her burial at sea, then returns to court to call Adela to the stand.
Key moments
Start here, then watch the full scene- 1:15–1:53
❝ Monólogo · 5 frases The Witness Who Does Not Exist
37s
Das Rules Mrs Moore Does Not Exist, explained
What happens
The court moves past the earlier outburst: a colleague apologises for Mahmoud Ali, whose feelings carried him away. The judge Das says Ali must apologise in person and then rules that, as a witness, Mrs Moore does not exist — neither side may surmise what she would have said. In between, the film shows Mrs Moore's burial at sea, before the court calls Adela Quested.
What's really going on
The court has no evidence to weigh, only people and the absence of people, and Das rules on that gap. Mrs Moore has left India and, minutes later, has died; the film cuts from the argument straight to her burial at sea, so the witness the defence wants is not merely missing but gone. Das reduces her to a legal fact — 'as a witness, Mrs Moore does not exist' — and bars both sides from 'surmis[ing] what that lady would have said.' It is an airtight ruling and an empty one: it keeps the trial clean while removing the one account that might have ended it. The burial prayer, about resurrection and the sea giving up its dead, is the film's quiet answer to a courtroom that can only say she can say nothing.
Key lines & what they mean
- “He's an intimate friend of our client, and his feelings have carried him away.”
- Amritrao's apology for Mahmoud Ali: he lost control out of loyalty to Aziz, not from contempt for the court.
- “Mr Mahmoud Ali will have to apologise in person.”
- The judge's condition for letting the outburst pass: a personal apology, not one delivered by a colleague.
- “I must repeat that, as a witness, Mrs Moore does not exist.”
- Das's ruling: legally Mrs Moore cannot testify, so her absence must not be treated as evidence either way.
- “Neither you, Mr Amritrao, nor Mr McBryde, you, have any right to surmise what that lady would have said.”
- Neither side may speculate about Mrs Moore's missing testimony, closing the gap her absence left.
- “She is not here and, consequently, she can say nothing.”
- The flat logic behind the ruling: absent means silent, whatever anyone believes she would have testified.
Theme
- Justice — The judge rules Mrs Moore out of the case, so the trial continues without the witness who might have ended it.
- Faith — Her burial at sea is read through resurrection and the promise that the sea will give up its dead.
Qué aprendes en este capítulo
Puntos de enseñanza
Repasa justo después de verMi nivel0/6
A1–C2 es la escala MCER. Las tarjetas por encima del nivel elegido se atenúan y la reproducción no se pausa en ellas.
Puntos de lengua
Toca una tarjeta para saltar a ese momentoFrases de oro
Una gran frase en sí misma: por qué y cómo usarla“Mr Mahmoud Ali will have to apologise in person.”
Por qué es buena
In person closes the door on any written excuse; it has to be face to face.
Registro
Formal
Úsala tú
Please apologise in person, not by message.
“I must repeat that, as a witness, Mrs Moore does not exist.”
Por qué es buena
Stating that a witness does not exist sounds cold, final and legal.
Registro
Formal
Úsala tú
As a witness, his note does not exist for us.
“Neither you, Mr Amritrao, nor Mr McBryde, you, have any right to surmise what that lady would have said.”
Por qué es buena
The neither-nor construction and the word surmise put both sides in their place.
Registro
Formal
Úsala tú
You have no right to surmise what the client wants.
“She is not here and, consequently, she can say nothing.”
Por qué es buena
Consequently links absence to silence as a cold, formal conclusion.
Registro
Formal
Úsala tú
He missed the deadline and, consequently, lost the contract.
Monólogo
Un personaje sostiene la escena: practícalo entero❝ The burial prayer
Thou knowest, Lord, the secrets of our hearts. Shut not thy merciful ears to our prayer. We therefore commit her body to the deep to be turned into corruption. Looking for the resurrection of the body, when the sea shall give up her dead. I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me: "Blessed are the dead, which die in the Lord."
The old prayer cuts into the trial, making Mrs Moore's death solemn and sudden.
Siguiente · 15cast your mind backLa escena: Adela Wavers on the Witness StandIdeas clave
Lo que te llevas- In person means doing it yourself, face to face.
- Consequently links cause and result formally.
- To call upon someone is to ask them formally to act.
- The prayer turns a legal scene into a burial.
Preguntas frecuentes
La pregunta, luego la fraseWhy does the judge say Mrs Moore doesn't exist?
Because she has left India and died at sea, so she cannot be called as a witness. Legally she is not part of the case, and neither side may guess at her testimony.
Why does Mahmoud Ali have to apologise?
He shouted in court and called the trial a farce. Amritrao apologises for him, but the judge insists the apology be made in person.
What does 'surmise' mean in the judge's ruling?
To guess or suppose without proof. Das says neither lawyer has the right to surmise what Mrs Moore would have said.
Why does the film show Mrs Moore's burial at sea?
She dies on the voyage home, and the burial shows what the courtroom has just erased. The prayer about resurrection is said over her, though no one in court can speak for her.
Who does the court call next?
Adela Quested. After ruling Mrs Moore out, the judge calls her to the stand as the central witness.