Summary Of Passing By Nella Larsen

“Personal Identity v. Racial Identity”

Passing by Nella Larsen is the story of a woman, Clare, who is Black, but is able to “pass” for white. She chooses to dwell in white society, even going as far as marrying a racist white man who does not know her heritage. Clare’s foil is Irene, her childhood best friend. When they reconnect, Clare uses Irene as her way into Black culture and society, even though she chose to leave it behind. Irene resists Clare’s friendship, but eventually caves in to Clare’s “seduction”. This acceptance of Clare poses many problems for Irene. In Passing, Irene exhibits a struggle between her personal relationships and the obligations of her identity as a Black woman when she is faced with potentially outing Clare as

Herself. Her race. Race! The thing that bound and suffocated her. Whatever steps she took, or if she took none at all, something would be crushed. A person or the race. Clare, herself, or the race” (Larsen 69). Regardless of her decision, Irene was caught in an undesirable situation. She feels a duty to Clare. At first, she was reluctant to reconnect to her old friend due to the fact that she was “passing” completely as a white woman and had integrated herself into white society. To an extent, Irene is disgusted by Clare’s choice to pass, but after they meet again, Clare is able to charm both Irene and her family. In particular, after a Negro Welfare League Dance, Clare and Irene bonded: “...It marked the beginning of a new factor in Irene Redfield’s life, something that left its trace on all the future years of her existence. It was the beginning of a

Clare is attempting to cross into African-American culture. “...it wasn’t that Clare cared all about the race or what was to become of it. She didn’t...No, Clare Kendry cared nothing for the race, She only belonged to it” (Larsen 36). Clare wasn’t an active member of the Black community and she couldn’t while she was passing for white. Why should Clare be able to pass and enjoy so many privileges? Instead, all women of color should be free, unbounded by their skin color and origin. Clare was an outsider peering into Black culture. At the resolution of the novel, Bellew finds out that Clare is Black and explosively confronts her but, “Clare stood at the window, composed...She seemed unaware of any danger or uncaring...It was the smile that maddened Irene...She couldn't have Clare Kendry cast aside by Bellew. She couldn’t have her free” (Larsen 79). Irene did not want Clare to be free to identify with Blackness. She did not want Clare to take away her own heritage, and also her husband. So it is assumed at the end that Irene is the one who pushed Clare out the window to her untimely death. She reconciled her competing identities by choosing race over