Passing by Nella Larsen
Nella Larsen’s passing novel centers around social expectations and prejudices on gender, identity, and ethnicity. Larsen writes about Irene and Clare, two African American women passing as the identity as white. The women assimilate to white identity to reap advantages because they are light-skinned. Irene maintains black identity but passes as white to gain advantages resources he needs. Clare not only passes to get resources but also to get assimilated into the white identity. The essay compares and contrasts Irene’s and Clare’s feelings about race in the passing novella.
Clare and Irene have different feelings about race. Irene has a desire to have a white lifestyle while Clare desire to return to her birthright. Clare has passed and assimilated into the white racial identity but wishes to return to the previous race. Unlike Clare, Irene lives as a black woman and feels she is devoted to the identity. However, it is ironic because even in circumstances where she is not passing as white, she upholds the white identity. Irene opts to maintain her black identity. She participates in black activities such as Negro league and is willing to assist the black race.
Like Irene desires to be part of the white race, Clare wishes to be a part of the black society. Her father is white while her mother is black, but she passes to the white community to get privileges associated with the white race. Despite her decision, she craves to be part of the black race. She experiences a form of comfort with the black community, which she does not enjoy in the white community. She confesses, “For I am lonely, so lonely… cannot help to be with you again, as I have never longed for anything before; you can ‘t know how in this pale life of mine I am all the time seeing the bright pictures of that other than I once thought I was glad to be free of… it’s like an ache, a pain that never ceases” (Larsen 7). Clare feels isolated and wants to be with the blacks. She repeats “lonely” to emphasize she has a feeling of isolation in the white community.
Irene’s racial identity is associated with her relation with others. She improves her sense of well-being by comparing herself t others. Irene’s has married a prominent doctor who creates a feeling that she is ranked high in the society. As a consequence, she tends to critic other women based on their husbands, “Gertrude, Irene thought, looked as if her husband might be a butcher” (Larsen 25). She judges and dismisses Gertrude’s claims about race. On the other hand, Clare is satisfied with her wealthy white husband, John, who gives her a higher societal rank.
In conclusion, Irene and Clare have similar feelings about race because they are yearning to have a cohesive identity where they can have black and white status. Irene wants to live as a black woman who has accepted and practice white standards. On the other hand, Clare wishes to return to the black community to have a cohesive racial identity. They desire an identity that integrates the benefits of the advantages of the white race and, at the same time, shares a sense of belonging to the black identity. The two do not want to either copy or abandon the other racial identity. They attempt to evade placement on either black or white racial identities despite society dividing race into black and white.
Do you find work of fiction an effective way to discuss the ideas and problems of the race? Give the context of today’s society, has this novella run its course, or does it still serve a purpose?
Fiction work is an effective way of discoursing problems and ideas regarding race. The work is influential in understanding perspectives from different people. It has the power to completely submerge and individual to another person’s mind. Therefore, readers can see the world through fictional characters. It allows a person to solve social problems by interacting with contemporaries. Additionally, fiction work allows an individual to have a big picture of different racial identities. In today’s society, there have been various opinions about race issues and problems. Racism, specifically against black people, is a subject of concern in most countries, including the United States. In Larsen’s passing novella, characters refer to social and cultural problems by using racial terms. For example, Clare desires to go back to the black community, which is not similar to the white community. She is not satisfied with white identity and wants to re-join the black community. Therefore, fiction can be an effective way of discussing a race-related issue in today’s society.
What do you think happened at the end of the story? Did Clare jump out of the window? Did Irene push her? What effect does the author’s ambiguity regarding this final scene has on your interpretation of the story?
At the end of the passing novella’s story, Clare did not jump out of the window. She had no reason to commit suicide. From the story, it is evident Clara attempt to hide his real racial identity. It is probably because her life would be destroyed if Mr. Bellew discovered her identity. She is an independent woman who loves herself and is willing to give everything to live in accordance with her desires. When asked by Irene about her attitude, if her daughter lives in Harlem, she responds, “Children aren’t everything…Can’t you realize I’m not like you a bit? Why, to get the things I want badly enough, I’d do anything, hurt anybody, throwing everything away. Really ‘Rene, I’m not safe” (P, 149). I feel Clare does not care if Mr. Bellew discovers the truth about her identity. Therefore, there is no reason why we should commit suicide.
I think Irene pushed Clare out of the window. There are various reasons as to why Irene could have done it. At the end of “finale” Irene tend to be emotionless and cold. She thinks her husband Brian and Clare, are having an affair which is destroying their marriage. She seems too quiet and thoughtful, which makes me believe she is thinking about killing Clare. Clare displays a fainting smile when her husband tells her awful things. Irene is not happy about the smile fainted smile and puts his hand on Clare’s shoulder. The story narrator says, “One thought possessed her. She could not have Clare Kendry cast aside by Bellew. She could not have her free” (p. 209). Irene does not imagine Clare living close to her relatives in Harlem, and she blanks out. I believe Clare does not commit suicide, and her death was not accidental.
The author’s ambiguity as the story ends makes me feel that the search for double identity is a complete failure. The author does not answer what caused Clare’s death if there is an affair between Clare and Brian, and where Mr. Bellow went. The ambiguity makes to interpret Clare’s death as the costs of living in pretenses.
Works cited
Larsen, Nella. Passing. Random House Digital, Inc., 2002.