Chapter 23

Mrs. Moore is sent back to England with Lady Mellanby, the wife of the Lieutenant Governor of the province. Mrs. Moore, however, is still not happy, even though she has escaped the oppressive heat, the marriage, and the trial; she feels no enthusiasm or relief. Instead, she enters the twilight zone of double vision, where she sees both the enormity of the universe as well as its smallness. At the same time, she is both cynical and calm. As she reflects on India, she realizes that the Marabar Caves and their echo are not the only India. In truth, there are hundreds of Indias; she wishes she had seen only the "right" ones.

Mrs. Moore leaves for England, but she feels no relief from her depression. She can muster no enthusiasm for life, which she now sees both in its enormity and its smallness. She also accepts the fact that there are many Indias, not just the India of the caves; she is sad that she did not experience more of the good sides of the country. In many ways, India has made her cynical; having experienced the conflict between the British and the Indians, she believes that universal love is an ideal that will never be reached. It is obvious to the reader that Mrs. Moore is tired and has simply lost her will to live.

It is important to notice that the point of Mrs. Moore's departure is the point that evil is really unleashed in Chandrapore. Symbolically, the universal mother has gone and left her children to fight it out for themselves.

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