Summary Of Passing By Nella Larsen

."..it was that, party that has made me want to see other people. It just...changed everything (196)." The tea party event struck Clare and leads her to remind that she was one of the black cultures and so does now. Clare says Irene is "free", "happy" and "safe" (196). Apparently it is Clare envy toward Irene's status but actually it is Clare's belief that Irene's present status guarantees Irene's happiness and safety.

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

For centuries many have practiced a deception of identity called 'passing ' not only in America but other nations as well. Passing is a term that many Black/African-Americans have heard at one time or another from an acquaintance or possibly from someone in their own family speaking of a relative that 'passed ' as another race during a time period in America pre-civil rights era, for personal gain, whether it was for acceptance in their communities, ease of living or financial equality.

Irene, Clare, and some of their friends are able to “pass” as white, even though they are African American. At the beginning of the story Irene says, “They always took her for an Italian, a Spaniard, a Mexican, or a gipsy” (19). Irene must decide whether she will identify as black or white not only for convenience in the world, but also in her personal life. After Clare’s father died, she went to live with her religious aunts in a different part of Chicago. Clare says, “For all their Bibles and praying and ranting about honesty, they didn’t want anyone to know that their darling brother had seduced – ruined, they called it—a Negro girl” (41). This quote is ironic because Clare’s aunts do not want others knowing she is African American, and Clare does not want her husband to find out she is African American. Clare is stuck choosing between the two worlds, and her coming back-and-forth to Harlem, hiding secrets from her husband, is foreshadowing her demise. Throughout the story, we see the women having to choose which race they belong to in a time where African Americans were seen as inferior to

Nella Larsen’s Passing challenges the traditional ideology of ethnic, racial, and gender integrity, transforming the concept of an “acceptable”- definition of identity, which both individuals and society can appreciate. By developing exceptionally round characters whom are unstable and volatile, Larsen builds monologues to display how easy it is to lose one’s identity. Clare Kendry, challenges the stereotypes, society has ascribed to her. Leaving her in a limbo for identity white-or-black, however, she never has the chance to align to a particular identity because of her mysterious death, while Irene Redfield, becomes obsessed and envious of Clare, destroying her own sense of self by committing psychological suicide, in terms of assimilation

This stated prejudice can be noted in a scene where Clare, Irene, and Gertrude are discussing the skin tones of their children. Clare addresses them, “No, I have no boys and I don’t think I’ll ever have any. I’m afraid. I nearly died of terror the whole nine months before Margery was born for fear that she might be dark. Thank goodness, she turned out alright. But I’ll never risk it again. Never! The strain was simply too–too hellish” (Larsen, 25). The extent to which the social stigma of the 1920s had tainted the views of Clare, though she is light-skinned, who is a black woman. She dreads over the thought of having a dark skinned child as if that would be the most despicable thing that could happen to her. Clare describes her African-American genetics as “hellish” and further speaks to the effects of colorism on black women. At this point, Clare is not only passing but she is denying her race in its entirety, making it out to be something wrong. Passing no longer exists as a social construct for African American social mobility, but rather a means for inhibiting any upward mobility through self-deprivation in regards to their culture and race.

Throughout the novel it is apparent that everyday instances of racism occur, causing people of color to feel outcasted. There are two very obvious occasions where this happened. In the first instance two African American woman are in a workspace of primarily all white co-workers. When a woman they worked with got these two names mixed up, it was stated that she had a “fifty-fifty chance of getting it right” insinuating that these two women are the only black ones working here. Later, the woman who had the mix-up with the names wrote an apology note; however, in the note she stated it was “our mistake” and seemingly put part of the blame on the to women. This is a primary example of how African Americans can be thrown against a white background making them seem different than everyone else.

By developing unsteady characters, Larsen communicates how simple it is to escape one’s appreciation of themself. Clare breaks the tragic mulatto stereotype, but never has the chance to identify to a particular race. While she passes as white, Clare still seeks comfort from her friend Irene who is from the African American community. In Irene’s mind, Clare has become a mysterious double of herself due to their contrasting lives they lead. Irene is obsessive and envious of Clare. She destroys her own self by psychologically ruining herself, thinking that Clare is having an affair with her husband, Brian. While openly discussing racial passing, the book also secretly analyzes gender passing. Irene’s connection with Clare is based on desire, jealousy, and obsession. Both Clare and Irene fail to try to

Nella larsen's passing disrupts the traditional conception of racial, ethnic and gender integrity. Larsens has revolutionized the idea of acceptance of one's self identity.Larsen wrote this novel in the height of the Harlem Renaissance . An era that is known for its growth and expanse in the artistic explosion that happened in Harlem between the end of World War I and the middle of the 1930s. During this period Harlem was a cultural center, drawing black writers, artists, poets, and educated people. Many had come from the South, running away from its terrible mistreatment and social class system in order to find a place where they could freely express their talents. It involved racial pride, fueled in part by the aggressiveness of the "New Negro" demanding civil and political rights. The Renaissance incorporated jazz and the blues, attracting whites to Harlem, where couples danced. While it may have

Larsen’s style is a tricky one; in Passing, Larsen’s narration is highly unreliable. Told from the viewpoint of Irene, many aspects are skewed, especially in regards to Clare. In the beginning of the novel, Irene recalls events from Clare’s childhood: “Irene Redfield seemed to see a pale small girl sitting on a ragged blue sofa, sewing pieces of bright red cloth together, while her drunken father…raged threateningly up and down the shabby room, bellowing curses and making spasmodic lunges at her…” (9), yet later she remembers Clare being “selfish, and cold, and hard” (10). If the reader looks past the bias, we see that Clare’s life has been especially difficult and that Irene’s strange dislike for her is completely unwarranted. Larsen’s style

Passing” by Nella Larsen is a great piece of art, that is mostly concentrated on the act of passing as a member of other race in order to assimilate with them and cover their own race. I have to be honest through reading the book I developed love hate relationship because how this book was structured. It is filled with really charismatic personalities such as Claire Kendry or Irene Redfield but at the same time I was really frustrated how they behave themselves regarding their race. For someone who never had any conflicts regarding race it was really hard for to rationalize Clare’s or Irene’s actions that involved covering their own identity to benefit from it either socially or financially. Book still lacks clarity in most of the cases that happen in story, for example ending where Clare dies but it might be also seen as way for reader to think and guess who might be the murderer. Even though this story takes place in the early 20th century when the African American society was still harshly treated by white society, I think we can still see a lot of racial conflicts that happen nowadays among all races that live in big cities such as New York or Paris and etc. Also, depiction of how race might be sign of belonging to specific class was interesting topic. Most importantly what frustrates me most in the story is how racial difference is troubling or forcing characters act in specific ways. By that I mean how Clare went extra mile and even married a white bigot John Bellew

Many are unaware of the effects that race has played in their lives over the years. Some may not understand its implications, but are very oblivious to it. Race can influence such things like attitude and behavior. Nowadays being white or black means something more than just a Crayola color. No longer are they just colors, they are races with their own rules and regulations. People of color have been inferior to the white race for centuries. In their own way Zora Neale Hurston shows this concept in her story “How it feels to be Colored Me” as does Richard Wright in his autobiographical sketch “The Ethics of Living Jim Crow”.

All questions answered and good job on giving examples. I agree with you that Irene just want a normal life as every other human beings, but because of her black background it just very challenging. I wonder if Clare didn't really like her husband "John" why she married him the first place. She could have just dumped him and start a new life instead on intruding into Irene and Brain's life. What I like about this novel, is that in the end, the author didn't reveal who actually it was that pushed Clare or if she fall on herself. It just very mysterious and also sad simultaneously. This makes readers have to think deeply to back to the readings and the evidences that supports her death which I think it was a great way to make readers more

She failed to fit into a life that she had asked for, and failed to fit into a life that she left behind. She tried her best to live up to her intentions and to live a life where she got both access to the privileges and wealth she had admired, as well as the comfort and belonging that came with living among her own people. Clare thought her life was “a breeze,” before she first sat with Irene on the top of the Drayton (8). From that point on Clare knew her lifestyle did not belong to her. The more and more she tried to challenge race and live on both sides of the spectrum, the more she lost her identity. Clare went from sitting comfortably with herself “on the top” of a building to her and her identity falling all the way to her eventual demise- the absolute bottom

As Irene continues to neglect Clare’s handwritten letters, in hopes to drift away from her, she then gets unavoidable phone calls throughout the day, from Clare, begging to meet up with her once more. While the characters are now beginning to communicate directly with one another, the most clever element of this discourse is that readers only get to hear Clare's side of the phone call rather than both ends. Interesting enough, the discussion goes along the lines of "Can you be here around four?...What?...But 'Rene, you promised!" (Larsen 43) from Clare's perspective. Readers are given a better insight of Clare's personality as she's more open and direct to her audience. The main reason why Clare desires to be with Irene so much is that she's