Nella Larsen Passing Summary

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

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