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Nella Larsen Passing
Nella Larsen's novel Passing is about African-American culture and racial identity. The story focuses on the friendship between two women, Irene Redfield and Clare Kendry. Both women are African-American yet both have light skin. Therefore, they pass for being white. However, each woman deals with her racial and ethnic identites differently. Clare Kendry grew up with white relatives and later marries a racially prejudiced white man who does not know Clare is actually Black. Therefore, Clare distances herself from her African-American heritage and lives as if she were white. Irene, on the other hand, identifies fully with her African-American heritage. She marries a Black doctor who hopes to move to Brazil. Living in Harlem, Irene is unhappy with the racial situation in the United States but feels powerless to do anything about it. The book brings up issues related to racism in America as well as issues related to identity. Being Black is both a source of pride and insecurity for Irene, and she easily becomes jealous of Clare. In fact, Irene's suspicion that her husband Brian and Clare are having an affair flares up when Brian expresses...
Irene states that one of the main reasons Clare is so beautiful is because of her "Negro eyes! Mysterious and concealing," (38). Another reason why Clare seems so mysterious is because she hides her racial heritage. By pretending she is white, Clare seems more beautiful because of her African features. Because of Clare's mysterious allure Irene knows that Clare might be successful in seducing Brian. Therefore, part of the reason her suspicion flares up is because she is purely jealous of her girlfriend and her way of life. When Brian expresses interest in the exotic land of Brazil, Irene feels even more threatened because Brain's desire for Clare could easily substitute for his desire for moving to South America.
Furthermore, as a woman who has identified with being white throughout most of her life, Clare has some of the social power of white culture, something that Irene does…
Works Cited
Larsen, Nella. Passing. New York: Random House, 2000.
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