In Nella Larsen’s Passing, a narrow line is towed between pride of the race one has chosen, and desire of the race one has not. The protagonist in this novel, Irene Renfield, grapples between feeling proud of her race and jealousy of the societal and social advantages that passing as white provides, which is represented through her friend Clare Kendry. Irene and Clare are mulatto women living in Harlem during the 1920s. Their mixed race allows them to “pass” as white or be seen as black, Clare has chosen to “pass” while Irene has remained true to her race. This creates an odd dichotomy where Clare reaps the financial benefits and enhanced status that accompanies being white during this time, but also gets to enjoy the same black parties and …show more content…
This is a very pure look into how Irene perceives white women as she has not yet realized it is Clare who she is looking at. Irene finds herself subconsciously admiring this woman because of how she looks, and while it is presented as pure admiration now, this onlooking turns into envy as the novel progresses. Elizabeth Dean, in her article, “The Gaze, the Glance, the Mirror: Queer Desire and Panoptic Discipline in Nella Larsen's Passing”, points out the fact that Irene has a “clear appreciation” for Clare’s fair skin, figure, and lips the first time that they see each other at the Drayton (Dean, 3). Whether this “appreciation” is unique to just Clare is unclear, but in the novel Irene does not ever gawk over the features of any of the black women the way she does over Clare’s appearance, pointing to the fact that it may be the whiteness of Clare that Irene is really infatuated with. Clare seems to bring an aura that overtakes Irene whenever they are in each other’s presence. It seems as if Clare’s mere presence influences Irene’s desire to pass
Passing The novel, Passing by Nella Larsen, tells a story of two African- American women’s who work hard for the American dream. Larson demonstrates certain conflicts such as betrayal, jealousy, lies, race, and sexuality. Clare Kendry and Irene Reinfield were childhood friends, but when Clare’s father died, she moved away with her aunts and Irene never saw her again. Both Clare and Irene are light skinned who may pass as white. Irene stays with her race while Clare abandons her race by passing as
Identity and Duality in Nella Larsen’s Passing The Harlem Renaissance was a 1920’s cultural movement that allowed African Americans growth after years of discrimination hindered them culturally. There are many well renowned writers associated with the movement, however although unrecognized Nella Larsen was a very relevant and important contribution with her novels Passing and Quicksand. Her novel Passing in particular, focuses on the lives of Irene and Brian Redfield and John Bellow and how their
Passing, by Nella Larsen is a book of racial identification focused on the reunion of two childhood friends, Clare Kendry and Irene Redfield. Clare and Irene’s relationship reflects jealousy and envy throughout the story. This novel tells a story of two African American woman who are very similar, yet different with their experiences of “passing” as white. In passing, Clare and Irene create a unique feeling of identity and belonging. Irene has the ability to suppress her feelings as well as a strong
sphere like staying at home and taking care of their children. Knowing this concept, people can understand well the book Passing because some of the content in Passing not only mentions about the domesticity about the womanhood, also it implies that woman does not want to be restrained by this concept—“True Womanhood.” In her book Passing by Nella Larsen, it talks about the passing women that are afraid of exposing their real racial identity in the white
The novel passing by Nella Larsen centers on racial issues African American were faced with during the 1920s, due to the color of their skin. It reveals the mal-treatment they were subjected to and discloses that the only way they could have escaped these harsh treatments was by passing for a white person. This only applied to individuals who were of mixed race, since their fair complexion mirrored that of a white person. Since the novel has been written a lot of changes have been made in the African-
According to Psychology Today, Jealousy is usually regarded as the emotional reaction to a threat to one’s relationship with a real or imagined romantic rival. In the short story Passing by Nella Larsen, the aforementioned description can be attributed to the story’s main protagonist. Within the story, Irene Redfield develops feelings of jealousy towards her friend Clare Kendry. Although the two women are initially close, the relationship between the two is severed when Irene starts to believe Clare
communication can make and unmake places, uplifting or diminishing the appeal of a site. Similar to the poem “The Tropics of New York” by Claude McKay and the novel the “Passing” by Nella Larsen and others. In relation to literature you need to pay attention to the little things in the stories that are read. I choose the texts “Passing” by Nella Larsen and “The Tropics of New” by Claude McKay because the two texts provide great examples that push my point even further. The spaces and places that are discussed