Summary Of Passing By Nella Larsen

One of the defining features of the United States of American is the omnipresent topic of class. From examining skills on the athletic field to assessing levels of wealth, society categorizes people into brackets that end up defining them. In her short novel “Passing”, Nella Larsen addresses the topic of classification through the lens of black women passing as white in America during the 1920’s. Writing in the age of the Harlem Renaissance, Larsen uses the character of Irene to demonstrate social difficulties stemming from the values imposed upon people by the constructs of class. Larsen’s primary goal in her novel is to question the true motivations of those involved with the harlem renaissance by establishing how internal insecurities hinder

Larsen effectively demonstrates that the most effective way to gain acceptance into a class to which one does not belong is to be thoughtful and passive, rather than emotional and active. Clare is a character that did not have to rise through different social groups as she simply marries into a higher class. Irene on the other hand constantly struggles to move up through the higher social classes of blacks. During an interaction when the two main characters discuss what would happen if they were discovered as not truly part of the white race emphasizes just this. In reaction to the idea, “Clare Kendra smiled quickly, a smile that came and went like a flash, leaving untouched the gravity of her face. That smile and and the quiet resolution […] filled [Irene’s] feet like ice, her heart like a stone weight. Even her tongue was like a heavy dying thing”(Larsen 75). The interaction shows the attitudes of the two woman towards their efforts to pass as something they are not. Clare acts indifferently to the prospect of being discovered and simply fits in by doing as little as possible, while Irene lives in constant fear of not fitting in correctly as she attempts to make the social climb. When Irene asserts that “she was curious” and that “there were things that she wanted to ask Clare Kendry […] to find out about this hazardous business of passing” (Larsen 17) she reveals that she feels unsuccessful in her efforts while Clare has managed to pass with ease and, as a result, alienates herself further from her true