Racial And Sexual Boundaries In Passing By Nella Larson

Passing by Nella Larson focuses on racial and sexual boundaries in the 1920s during the Harlem Renaissance. The novel is about two women with the same origin, yet different life outcomes. Irene Redfield and Clare Kendry are both upper-middle class black women, yet Irene lives a traditional life while Clare has spent her time dangerously passing as a white woman. Although they now live very contrastive lives, they are both light-skinned African American women who are able to pass as white when they please. When these two women come together, however, it is evident that they are even more alike than just these similarities. Clare is a double for Irene because she represents Irene’s desires about race, her feelings regarding her husband, and

When reacquainted with Clare, Irene is both attracted and repulsed by her and her lifestyle. Although ostracizing herself from her racial society, Clare “seemed certainly to have succeeded in having a few of the things she wanted” (20). Clare’s confidence in her dangerous situation, where her white husband does not know the race of his wife, intrigues Irene. Irene’s pale complexion would make it easy for her to “pass”; however, she strays from doing so. Yet, Irene admits that “She wished to find out about this hazardous business of “passing,” this breaking away from all that was familiar and friendly to take one’s chances in another environment, not entirely strange, perhaps, but certainly not entirely friendly” (24). Irene has lived a very safe and secure life. However, upon reuniting with Clare, a spark ignites in Irene, lighting up her desire for a life outside of the African American community. Reflecting on a tea party she attended with Clare, Clare’s

Irene is married to Brian, a dark skinned doctor, with whom she has two children. They may appear to be happy to their friends, yet their interactions suggest otherwise. Brian talks to Irene in a very demanding way; when asking if Irene will visit Clare, Irene notes that “His words, however were in reality not a question, but… an admonition” (54). The relationship between Irene and Brian requires work from both sides in order to keep the marriage together. And Clare’s appearance in Irene’s life brings out her fears regarding Brian’s loyalty. Irene is nervous that she would “never be free of it, that fear which crouched always, deep down within her, stealing away the sense of security, the feeling of permanence, from the life which she had so admirably for them all” (57). Irene fears that someone like Clare could take away all the security she had made for herself. And, later when Irene concludes that Brian is having an affair with Clare, her psyche takes over. Irene’s reaction suggests that she is paranoid, “She shook her head, unable to speak, for there was a choking in her throat, and the confusion in her mind was like the beating of wings” (90). Irene’s assertion that Brian is cheating on her with Clare emphasizes her insecurity and anxiety over her marriage. Clare’s confidence and demeanor forces Irene to recognize and display her inner feelings. Also, Irene’s