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Lucia Lopez

Explore the literal and figurative meaning of “passing.”

The word “passing” has a deeper meaning in the context of the novel of the same name by Nella Larson than it does superficially. Literally, passing means to go by. The term can be used in a variety of ways but implies mobility and transition, which relates to its figurative meaning.

In the novel, passing means for a person of color to be able to be mistaken for being white. Both Claire and Irene are African-American women, but their skin is light enough for them to be mistaken as European. There are societal consequences of being able to “pass” as well. Privilege is closely associated with passing because it allows people of color to live their lives with the advantages of being white. For example, Irene was able to have a cup of tea at the Drayton because she looked white, therefore she would not get kicked out. Claire takes advantage of her passing even more, not telling her own husband that she is really African-American. Although segregation is not a legal issue in the US anymore, passing is still existent and still provides certain benefits to those who can pass. I myself experience this because although I am Latina, my skin is very light and I am usually mistaken for European. That means that I do not endure the racism and stereotypes that my darker-skinned Latina friends and family members go through because no one ever assumes I am Latina.

In this age of society, people have mixed so much that race is not an obvious indicator of ethnicity anymore. We should not assume someone’s ethnicity based on something so superficial. The fact that people can pass and live life with less obstacles also reveals that our society is in fact prejudice and we should work to change that in order to better the lives of those who have to endure oppression due to racism.

The title of Nella Larsen’s novel, Passing, refers to a popular idea that is evident throughout the past and even up to the present. It is clear that “passing” refers to people who have features close enough to looking like another race that it is believable to say that they are that specific race. This idea is not uncommon for its superficiality basing all of it on looks and mannerisms. In the time period of the novel, the early twentieth century, racial tensions are high and societal views of African Americans are negatively narrow-minded. Clare uses her light colored skin to her advantage as she lives life as a white woman, neglecting her black heritage. She shows her shame in her ethnicity by hiding who she really is from her husband and everyone else she meets. On the other hand, Irene embraces her black heritage and hosts events to bring the black community together. Although she does acknowledge her ethnicity, she still uses her light colored skin to her advantage like eating in the Drayton Hotel and hailing taxis.

My first thoughts of the title before reading the novel lead to the euphemism for dying: “passing away” or “passing on”. I was surprised to find that the only death in the novel came at the end with Clare.

In the book, Passing by Nella Larsen, the two main characters are opposites in many ways except for appearance. They are both half white, half African American women who grew up together and live in a time when racial tensions were high. What is unique to them is that they are both light skinned enough to ‘pass’ for white. This is when their similarities stop. Clare decides to attempt to get a better life for herself by lying to her husband and society about her heritage. Irene, on the other hand, embraces her black side and stays within the community they grew up in.

It is easy to see Clare’s motivations for ‘passing’… she longs for a better life and the privilege that comes with the heritage, the reader can understand her desires and why she does what she does. However, the reader empathizes more with Irene because she chooses not to go the privileged way, she chooses not to renounce her heritage despite the lowered status she has as a result. We see Irene as a character who chooses to stand for her beliefs and not surround herself with people who hate a part of her and who repeatedly disrespect her race (as Clare Kendry’s husband does).

Additionally, Larsen decides to write the book in Irene’s point of view, which causes the reader to naturally sympathize with that character. We get to see Irene’s thoughts, her experiences, everything through Irene’s eyes. All the knowledge we get of Clare is through her interactions with Irene and Irene’s thoughts about her. This makes us naturally prejudice towards her. When we witness the effects Clare has on Irene’s marriage, we start to see her as a meddlesome, troublesome, careless woman who always wants to be the center of attention. We hardly think about her loneliness or how hard it must to be to live in a house where others despise parts of her. Even when Irene kills Clare I don’t believe sympathies change. That doesn’t mean the audience craves her death or destruction, just that the majority of the support still goes to Irene.

While readers can with both characters as they struggle with who they are, we applaud Irene for always being truthful (unless you count omission as dishonesty), for actively fighting for her race, and for not succumbing to the many advantages that come with ‘passing’. While I believe Irene is the more sympathetic and admirable character, I cannot conclusively say that, were I in their shoes, I would follow her path.

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.

 

In her novel, Passing, Nella Larsen uses the relationship between Irene and Clare to show the effect of racial “passing.” Passing, as it is discussed in the novel, is when a black person pretends to be (or passes as) white in society because of their white physical traits. Both Irene and Clare pass as white for different reasons. In the end, both characters suffer devastating consequences as a result of pretending to be someone they’re not. Still, Larsen manages to make the reader sympathize more with Irene than Clare because of the focus on Irene’s point of view, her strong black identity, and the destruction of her lifestyle at the hands on Clare.

The novel is written in the third-person but it follows Irene around. The reader gets to see Irene’s personal life without Clare and then get to see how Clare’s presence turns it all into turmoil. The reader knows more about Irene and start to think of her as caring and motherly because of her family role. On the other hand, the reader knows very little about Clare and why she is the way she is. When Clare and her family are the focus, they’re hardly presented in a positive light.

Irene also has a strong black identity. Irene passes for convenience, not because she identifies as white. She wants access to public places that she wouldn’t have access to as a black woman. She simply wants to take advantage of resources that she deserves (as a human being). The reader sees Irene’s pride in having dark children and a dark husband. When Irene suffers, the reader is quick to sympathize with her. On the other hand, Clare is presented in a way that says she sees everything as a game and simply isn’t aware of how she condemns blacks. Clare doesn’t defend her black friends in front of her husband but she doesn’t reinforce his words either. She bluntly states she doesn’t want dark colored children. She wants to lead a white lifestyle and attempts to do so with her white husband. The reader sees her as a coward and as a phony and is less likely to sympathize with her in times of trouble.

Lastly, the author shows the negative effects that Clare has on Irene. Clare’s presence only brings pain in Irene’s life. This is particularly clear when Irene concludes that her husband is having an affair with Clare. Clare’s role in breaking up a marriage and putting Irene and her children in jeopardy makes the reader resent her. The reader gets to see more of Irene’s feelings of hatred, anger, jealousy and helplessness. It’s extremely pitiable when Irene decides that as long as her husband stays with her and her kids, she will let the affair go on. Clare is the mentally and socially destructive force in Irene’s life.
All in all, the Larsen makes it easier for the reader to sympathize with Irene. The story follows Irene around and as a result, the reader gets to know a lot more about her life and why she makes the choices she does. The reader also admires Irene for claiming her identity as a black woman and defending her children. Finally, the reader sees Clare’s destructive role in Irene’s marriage, mental health and social life. The reader’s ability to better understand and admire Irene makes Irene easier to sympathize with than Clare.

There is no obvious answer to choosing between Claire and Irene in terms of who is the more admirable character. Claire, while looked down upon because of her alienation of Black society to better herself, can be pitied. She lost her father and was removed from the Black community by her aunts— “passing” as white to marry John Bellew was an opportunity I am not sure she could have let pass her. Irene, on the other hand, while capable of passing, remained in the Black community and settled there as an adult where she raised a stable family. However, while an admirable life choice, Irene cannot be forgiven for her dreadful act out of spite at the end of the novel. Irene’s need to have complete control over all external factors influencing her life and, by extension, the life of her family drove her to eliminate Claire, a selfish free spirit that there was no controlling. While Claire is no doubt a frustrating character in regards to her relationship with the community that raised her, she sacrificed her comfort in that community to move up in the world, and albeit by dishonest means, that self-sacrifice is more admirable than Irene’s paranoia.

The word passing on its own has several meanings. It expresses death when someone passes away, it describes movement when a person passes through or by something, but it could also mean passing for something. In this case, the characters describe a sensation in which they had to pass for being white – and not black. At the time, this was a movement many people of color faced, in hopes that it would allow them to go further in life. The book expresses times in which Clare and Irene subconsciously or outright “passed.” Furthermore, it delves into the idea of other people passing. Clare takes this idea and is in a sense brought up to follow through with it. After being raised by her two white, christian aunts, she knew nothing other than passing for white and evidently marrying a white man. Irene on the other hand does it without feeling her integrity as a black woman is lost. We see this especially in the beginning of the novel when she visits a hotel rooftop for tea – and hopes that the server or other customers notice she is not of white descent. Paradoxically, she exclaims her pride in marrying a black man and how she hasn’t lost sense in who she truly is. This becomes a recurring theme in the novel as it spearheads the contrast between Irene and Clare. In the end, Clare is no longer passing for, but rather passing away, as Irene becomes mad and kills her.

Nella Larson’s Passing deals with the idea of racial identity and the conflicts that come with it. The novel follows two African-American women, Irene Redfield and Clare Kendry, who are both able to “pass” as white women. While Clare lives most of her life “passing,” Irene chooses to live proudly as a colored woman only choosing to “pass” to go to restaurants, get show tickets, etc. By the end of the book, it is unclear to the reader who really is the more admirable character but we seem to align with Irene more than Clare due to many different factors.

Clare renounces her race in order to marry a white man and live a rich and lavish life. She lives her life in fear of being found out by her husband and uses Irene to become closer to her race while still being separate from it. She tries to have both her white life and her African-American life but is ultimately unable able to keep them secret from each other. She is punished for her acts when she is pushed off the ledge by Irene towards the end of the story.

Although we may sympathize with Clare saying that she did not deserve to die for her acts, we can’t help but side with Irene throughout the whole story. Since we see Clare through the point of view of Irene mostly, we think that Clare is annoying and unfaithful to her race. We sympathize with Irene because she faces turmoil that drives her crazy after seeing Clare again in Chicago. Before meeting Clare again, she dedicated her life to her family and to her community. Unlike Clare, her children are her first priority and she has earned respect from various people. Clare went about her life in a manner that was way too risky. It seems like something was bound to happen to stop this all and her death absolutely did the trick. Although the reader can agree that pushing Clare off the ledge is a horrible thing, we can’t help but admire Irene for doing whatever it takes to keep her family in check and her race in check.

 

Passing Judgment

To chose between Claire and Irene is complex. Both have their issues. She tells Irene that she is willing to turn her back on anyone, sacrifice anything, to get that she wants. This is, to an extent, true. However, she is in a sense, innocent. Her dazzling good looks and talented tonged allow her to defuse almost any situation, and win over almost anyone. Even Irene is not immune to her charms. Because she can get whatever she wants, she functions with a kind of sardonic amorality, which makes it difficult to judge her actions and thoughts. She is not completely self reliant, as shown by her loneliness, and desire for contact, but she is completely self absorbed. This selfishness makes her irritating, but in a way, makes her impossible to judge. She is, in a way, not responsible for her actions. Claire is, as Irene observes, a sort of child.

It is tempting to side with Irene, but she is also very complex. Though it is a cliché, she is very like Claire, and many of the things she hates most about Claire either come from jealousy, or are her own worst qualities. she is frustrated that Claire can break all the rules, playing with fire and not getting burned. Despite her isolation and captivity, Claire has a certain inner freedom which Irene envies. In the end, Irene changes, adopting Claire’s ability to break the rules when she murders her. Irene’s overwhelming lamentation at the end of the book is very reminiscent of her earlier response to her abusive father’s death, more a release of pent up frustration then a show of genuine sorrow. Irene is also very controlling; she wants to make her husband and children the best they can be, and claims to know her husband better then he does himself. This phrase reminded me of Ballew’s claim that his acquaintances understood blacks better then they did. This seems to suggest that Irene is not as good a judge of character as she thinks she is. I regard neither character particularly highly, and I believe they are both subject to thoughts and feelings beyond their direct comprehension