Passing Nella Larsen Analysis

The main plot of “Passing” focuses on two light-skinned black women, Irene Redfield and her old time friend Clare Kendry. Both women can “pass” as white women. Irene who is married to a successful African-American doctor, passes only when it is

Passing begins with Irene’s recollection of encountering Clare in Chicago a few months before the current events of the story take place. Their first meeting on the roof of the Drayton offers insight into the nature of both characters. Clare’s seductiveness and ability to influence Irene is established when Clare convinces Irene to spend more time with her, leaving Irene wondering “just what had possessed her to make her promise to find time” (22). The fact that Irene is in the process of passing during their first encounter exposes her hypocritical nature, especially when it is revealed throughout the story how much she looks down upon Clare for passing.

Passing is delivered mainly from the perspective of an african american woman named Irene Redfield. Although Irene is the main protagonist of the novel, her narration of the story gives a subjective point of view, thus, making her an unreliable narrator. Irene has manifested to intensify her jealousy and anger with Claire over time as Clare has been caught up with a rumor of an affair between Irene’s husband, Brian, hence giving a one point perspective of the story.

For example, on Dana’s third trip back, her white husband, Kevin, came with her. This, of course, was immediately significant upon their arrival in the 19th century. When Rufus and Kevin met, Rufus asked whether Dana belonged to Kevin under the assumption that Kevin was a slave owner and Dana was a slave. This was not the case, obviously. However, Kevin’s response was strange nonetheless: ““In a way,” said Kevin. “She’s my wife”” (Butler 60). With this reply, Kevin insinuated that he believed, to a certain degree, that Dana ‘belonged’ to him as his wife. This is significant in that it revealed the discreet nature of gender roles in the 20th century. When paired with the more obvious gender roles of the 19th century, discreet 20th century gender roles are amplified and revealed, showing that while the perception of gender roles changed over time, the two time periods still shared similarities, thus paralleling the past and the

In its most basic state, lips are a visible body part used in articulating sound and speech. But, the utilization of lips to formulate words for communication overshadows the message the physical feature conveys itself. In the Passing, Larsen utilizes lips to provide insight on how emotionally repressed Clare and Irene are. Rather than blatantly explaining how the characters are restrained, the author hints at it through the use of their lips. In the beginning of the novel, the narrator introduces Clare Kendry as a struggling adolescent being told of the death of her father. Initially, the narrator describes her with “her lips pressed together” (Larsen 173). Through her compressed lips, the readers gain visual insight on Clare subduing her overwhelming range of emotions. By closing her lips tightly, Clare reveals her frustration in smothering her grief and disbelief in learning of her father’s death. Similarly, Irene also displays her frustration and anger through her pressed lips while listening to the racist comments of Jack Bellew (Larsen 201-202). Rather than having an impassioned outburst, both Clare and Irene repress their emotions to maintain the graceful and feminine status. Subsequently, bound lips parallel the repression of women due to the societal standards they have to

In one scene of the memoir, Allison describes her uncles and their need to be depicted as masculine and to act “hard” to the world around them. She also remembers her cousins as young boys and how quickly they seemed to turn into men. The time came for them to act as the world expected them to. This action shows how gender may oppress some males when they feel the pressures of the world to act a certain way. Otherwise, they are at risk for being seen as different and abnormal. Men who do not portray masculinity well are often seen as feminine and weak. When Allison describes her uncles she states, “If you didn’t look close, you might miss the sharp glint of pain in their eyes, the restless angry way they gave themselves up to fate,” (Allison, 28). These men already had their futures planned for them though the society and gender norms. Acting against these norms was seen as unusual, radical, and

the novel Passing, Nella Larsen explores the consequences and disadvantages of two African Americans living in a segregated society. The reconnection between Irene Redfield and Clare Kendry illustrates two different paths in regards to how they portray themselves in their own community. Larsen displays Clare Kendry as a light – skinned women who tolerates her husband’s racial comments in order to live in a higher society. Clare’s decision to secretly hide her racial background because of the desire of wanting to be accepted by individuals of an upper social class greatly affects Irene. Clare’s determination of overcoming racial barriers by passing as a white individual is similar to the Rhinelander/Jones case. In 1924 the son of the wealthiest families in New York married the daughter of a taxicab driver. However, Leonard Rhinelander appealed to have is marriage annulled due to “believing his wife to be white when he married her” (135). Rhinelander suspected Alice Jones was hiding her racial background by passing as a white individual. As the trial progressed it was concluded that that Rhinelander had an understanding of her racial background before marriage was an option between the two. The Rhinelander/Jones case demonstrates how Clare Kendry decided to pass as a white individual in order to obtain wealth and social status by marrying a white male. The three criticism texts chosen demonstrates how racial passing between Irene Redfield and Clare Kendry contributes to social status.

Irene is in an all but loveless marriage with a husband who seems to be asexual at best and apathetic at worst. Her judgement is clouded by her own blind envy of the supposed life of Clare Kendry. Irene convinces herself after being absorbed into the whirlwind of Clare Kendy’s life that she is inferior to the white black-girl. She then convinces herself that her husband is having an affair with Clare, and that everyone knows about it so she must pretend not to know. This is all the culmination on a psychotic break that Irene has that ends with the unclear death of Mrs.Kendry (Larsen,113-114). Irene can be safely assumed to have pushed Clare out of the window due to a bizarre coloration envy that developed from Irene, the woman who passed as a form of getting a control high, and Clare, the girl who passed as a form of escapism and

In Passing, Clare and Irene two light-skinned African American woman, try to pass for white in a segregated society. Irene infrequently passes while Clare who is biracial, lives a boastful life by identifying herself as a white woman (so it seems). Irene on the other hand strives to

When Irene finally realizes that this woman is Clare, someone who chooses to “pass” and hide all traces of her black heritage, Irene’s opinion of her changes. She no longer wants to be involved with Clare in any way, and “had no desire or intention of making the slightest effort about Tuesday. Nor any other day for that matter. She was through with Clare Kendry.” (p. 31) Irene is appalled that someone can so easily throw away her background just for the sake of gaining privilege over another race. When Clare asks her if she had ever thought of passing, Irene replies, “No. Why should I? You see, Clare, I’ve everything I want.” (p. 28) She is happy with what she has, not even having to give up anything to get there. Or at least that’s what she convinces herself to believe. Irene is again hypocritical in her beliefs. Even when she opposes Clare’s view of passing, she is still very interested in the idea. “The truth was, she was curious. There were things she wanted to ask Clare Kendry. She wished to find out about this hazardous business of ‘passing’…” (p. 24) She even admitted that she held for her “a fascination, strange and compelling.” (p. 28) Irene doesn’t seem to be able to decide if she accepts passing as reasonable. She forces herself to disagree with passing, allowing her to hate Clare for doing it. This shows us that sexuality and race are two matters that conflict with each other, at least in Irene’s opinion. She uses race to

This begins first that she assumes the role of a male figure in the absence of her husband in the life of her son “I’m going to make myself a cup of tea. Mind, now, not a word about tonight to your father.” (Callaghan 5). This conflict that was internal was due to the absence of her husband. Moreover, Mrs. Higgins was conflicted from all the decisions her children has been making from Alfred stealing to when Alfred’s “young sister had kept repeating doggedly that she was getting married” (Callaghan 6). Mrs. Higgins has a breakdown as Alfred describes her “Her face as she sat there was a frightened broken face utterly unlike the face of the woman who had been so assured a little while ago” (Callaghan 5). The realization the protagonist had was that she was conflicted with all the wrong choices she made and the people around her had made, her broken spirit symbolizes that she may have made the wrong decision earlier. The theme of realization and resolution is again developed from the conflict that the protagonist had faced in her life, the realization she has after dealing with all her conflicts as she reflects on the table. The realization Alfred has when he sees the conflict that his mother has gone through, he finally matures and understands the sacrifice of his

Through this quote, she addresses why society should not look down on her or any other female who has been married to multiple men throughout their life. Alyson’s tale confronts the double standard and the social belief that feminine power does not need strict limitations, and it attempts to establish a defense of secular women's sovereignty that opposes the conventions available to her (Crane 20). Alyson shows that females are equal in morals to those of men who have also had more than one spouse (Blake).  Double standards for men and women were common and deeply rooted in culture, we even still deal with this issue presently.

The book goes through Jeannette’s life exposing the mistakes she, her siblings, and her parents made to become the family they were. As her life grows older, Jeannette finds herself in more responsible positions in the world, with editing school newspapers, to writing columns in a small New York newspaper outlet. Her troubles have raised the issue of stereotyping, a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing. Due to her status in her childhood, it was not hard for her to fit in with the other members of the poor community. “Dinitia explained that I was with her and that I was good people. The women looked at one another and shrugged.” (Walls 191) The quote talks about how members of the black community in Welch accepted Jeannette to go swimming with them in the morning hours before the white people went in the afternoon. The people who knew Dinita, Jeannette’s friend, knew that Dinita was trustworthy, and let Jeannette pass. This relates to the thesis because it shows how she was accepted amongst the people who were

Although Irene feels that there is "nothing sacrificial in Clare's idea of life, no allegiance beyond her own immediate desire," it is apparent that Clare's desire to return to her African American race is honest, even if the motives seem rather one-sided (Larsen 144). Irene considers Clare to be "selfish, cold and hard" (Larsen 144). Irene also feels that Clare does not have "even in the slightest artistic or sociological interest in the race that some members of other races displayed…[She] cared nothing of the race, she only belonged to it" (Larsen 182). This may be true, but it does not diminish Clare's own pain at having to deny her African American heritage, and her desire to return to it. Irene represents a portion of society who feel that people who pass must have a morally acceptable reason to return to their African American roots such as a desire to rebel against a white society that has forced them into the role of a white person. Just because Clare feels "no permanent allegiance to either the black or white worlds or any of the classic anguish of the tragic mulatto" does not mean that she is not a tragic mulatto (Washington 48). In her own way, "Clare Kendry belongs with that group of tragic mulattos…emerg[ing] as an individual, not as a stereotype" (Davis 98). Because she wants to return to her own race on her own terms illustrates her individuality in the face of the

Clare Kendry in Larsen’s Passing, is a very complex character. She is an African American woman, who is “passing” as a white Caucasian. It all started when her Dad died when she was little, and was taken to her white aunts. Her aunts treated her like she was the help, so this made her want to be wealthy when she is older. Irene is her childhood friend, who saw Clare go through her tough times. They grew apart for a while, but met up in Chicago a couple of years ago. Clare has made herself an outsider through her actions. She is an outsider because she tries to pass as a Caucasian, uses her friends for her own benefit, and secretly wants to get back to her cultural roots.