Clare and Irene act as foils to each other. While Clare is a pragmatist, who openly speaks of her desires and fears, Irene attempts to hide her desires and fears under noble positions on race that she often contradicts. In the opening of Passing, Irene sits at a table worrying that someone will realize she is black. However, when Clare later asks if she has ever thought of “passing” for white, Irene says, “No … I’ve everything I want.” While Clare’s actions and thoughts may not be likable, her honest acceptance of who she is and what she wants makes her a more admirable character.
Irene, however, fails to share her discontent with her husband’s affair. Her constant repression of her desires and fears directly results in the murder of Clare Kendry. Both Clare and Irene are victims of an unjust society; however, Irene’s fails to recognize it as unjust, resulting in her psychological downfall.
It’s not certain that Irene’s husband is actually having an affair with Claire….Irene suspects that might be the case, but there’s no hard evidence of that. I think this was intentional on Larson’s part…we’re only seeing things through Irene’s eyes and, given that she’s a bit insecure in her marriage and has her own conflicting romantic feelings about Claire, jealousy and suspicion are an understandably likely result.