Quote 1
One touch of regret – not the canny substitute but the t rue regret from the heart – would have made him a different man, and the British Empire a different institution.
"I'm going to argue, and indeed dictate," she said, clinking her rings. "The English are out here to be pleasant." (1.5.94)
The passage suggests that Ronny's attitude is representative of the British Empire's as a whole toward its "civilizing mission." By questioning Ronny, Mrs. Moore questions the whole notion of a civilizing mission here. Ronny's callous attitude toward Indians suggests that the civilizing mission is just an excuse to gain power, and no more.
Quote 2
"Yes, your mother was my best friend in all the world." [Aziz] was silent, puzzled by his own great gratitude. What did this eternal goodness of Mrs. Moore amount to? To nothing, if brought to the test of thought. (3.34.47)
Aziz also considers Mrs. Moore one of his true friends. Like Godbole, Mrs. Moore never gave him anything, nor put him under any obligations. But the fact that the only woman he considers his friend is dead brings up the pesky question of whether women are being excluded from the novel's depiction of ideal friendships.
Quote 3
"Because India is a part of the earth, and God has put us on the earth to be pleasant to each other. God …is…love […] God has put us on earth to love our neighbors and to show it, and He is omnipresent, even in India, to see how we are succeeding […] The sincere if impotent desire wins His blessing. I think everyone fails, but there are so many kinds of failure. Good will and more good will and more good will." (1.5.97-99)
Like the missionaries in Quote #2, Mrs. Moore is Christian. But unlike the missionaries, she seems to embrace a God who loves all things – even the humble wasp that made Sorley so uncomfortable in Quote #2.