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Nella Larsen Passing Summary

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At first glance, Nella Larsen’s Passing is a novel primarily concerned with the construction and representation of race and racial boundaries. While the theme of passing for white is important to the text, it masks the exploration of same-sex desire, passing unnoticed by most readers. Through the characterization of Irene, Larsen demonstrates how the intersection of identities effects a person’s perspective of the world around them and their experiences with others. Irene Redfield leads a fairly secure, middle class life in Harlem until she is revisited by a figurative ghost from her past, her childhood friend, Clare Kendry, at the top of the Drayton hotel. The novel’s narration is third person limited with the focalization on Irene’s experience and …show more content…

Irene and Brian’s main source of conflict seems to stem from Irene’s desire for security and control versus Brian’s hope to prepare his sons for the world in which they live or to move to a place that is more tolerant than the United States. “It’s South America that attracts him” (Larsen 143). Brian repeatedly expresses interest in moving to Brazil, a peculiar choice on Larsen’s behalf considering Brazil was known for its sexual freedom, potentially allowing Larsen to allude at Brian’s desire for freedom to not only integrate into a less racist community but a sexually liberated one. Irene frequently objects to Brian’s desire to move and refers to his desire as being “restless,” resulting in his unhappiness. In a moment of introspection, Irene thinks, “If only I could only be sure that at bottom it’s just Brazil” (Larsen 174). While Brian’s inclination to move to Brazil could solely be interpreted as a solely racial desire, Irene seems to suggest that her concerns with moving to Brazil has more to do with the security of her marriage with Brian, alluding to his

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1920’s society offered a prominent way for blacks that look white to exploit its barrier and pass in society. Visible within Nella Larsen’s Passing, access to the regular world exists only for those who fit the criteria of white skin and white husband. Through internal conflict and characterization, the novella reveals deception slowly devours the deceitful. In Passing, Clare and Irene both deceive people. They both engage in deceit by having the ability to pass when they are not of the proper race to do so.

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I will be taking a postmodern approach to the text and supplementing it with modernism and psychoanalytic theories before stating my final stance that postmodernism may be the most appropriate approach. This approach ensures that different perspectives are present in my analysis and ensures that it is not one-sided. The question that I hope to focus my argument on is “Does the postmodernist approach better emerge the idea of self from racism?” Rottenberg, Catherine. " Passing : Race, Identification, and Desire. " Criticism, vol. 45, no. 4, 2004, pp. 435-452.

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Irene's marriage with Brian Redfield is empty and unfulfilling. Brian resents Irene because she was the reason why he could not be where he wanted to be, which has led to discomfort and arguments throughout their marriage. Brian very much wanted to be in Brazil, but Irene insisted upon him

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Nella Larson’s novel Passing, tells the story of two African American women Irene Redfield and Clare Kendry who embark on a journey to “reconnect” with one another. Although, similar in appearance, these two women were very different in the way they determined race. For women like Irene and Clare who were physically able to “pass” as white women, despite having African American heritage the typical connotation that race was distinguished by the color of one’s skin did not apply to them. As a result, many women like Irene and Clare would cross the racial lines. The character Clare Kendry was the perfect example of “passing.”

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Passing, a novel by Nella Larsen, addresses the issue of race by telling the story of two African American women - Clare Kendry and Irene Redfield - who represent different aspects of passing1. In the novel, passing refers to the process of crossing the color line, where a light skinned person who belongs to the black racial community enjoys white privilege2. However, people who pass struggle with double consciousness as they long to honor their race without necessarily being associated with it3. The novel is highly invested in ambiguity to show the fluidity and complexity of race, and how it paves the way for passing4. Passing illustrates the struggle African Americans face with their unchosen race and their attempt to control their identity

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Nella Larsen’s Passing is a novella about the past experiences of African American women ‘passing’ as whites for equal opportunities. Larsen presents the day to day issues African American women face during their ‘passing’ journey through her characters of Irene Redfield and Clare Kendry. During the reading process, we progressively realize ‘passing’ in Harlem, New York during the 1920’s becomes difficult for both of these women physically and mentally as different kinds of challenges approach ahead. Although Larsen decides the novella to be told in a third person narrative, different thoughts and messages of Irene and Clare communicate broken ideas for the reader, causing the interpretation of the novella to vary from different perspectives.

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