Summary Of Passing By Nella Larsen

“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 chance in another environment, not entirely strange, perhaps, but certainly not entirely friendly” (Larsen 15). In her novel, “Passing,” Larsen explores the troubled life of two African- American women, Irene Redfield and Clare Kendry, who identify as a race other than their own. The book begins with Irene’s first encounter with being mistaken for a white woman without trying. She then discovers a childhood friend who has been “passing” for some time now, and realizes she too, can pass. The encounter then leads to discovering secrets, lies, and betrayal. Where does a writer find inspiration for a plot

Once her mother then remarried to a white Danish man, she was then discluded from her family (Sullivan 374). After being shipped to boarding school, her mother refused to include Larsen on the year’s census making her history and presence unknown to the world. Forced into a society of hate and segregation alone, Larsen then found herself as a nursing student where she met and married Elmer S. Imes. The marriage eventually ended, due to abhor Larsen received from her mother- in – law due to her background. Larsen was then to discover an affair between her new husband and a white colleague. Neil Sullivan notes, “Although there were many problems in the Larsen- Imes union, the divorce contains the hint of another command to “turn white or disappear,” (374). Larsen, motivated by her hurt, expressed through the characters of Irene and Clare her longing for acceptance. That acceptance would be easier to obtain through the “other side”- the more desirable race at the time. “Recognition is always bound to the Other’s inscrutable desire, for “man’s desire is the desire of the Other” (Lacan, Four38).” (Sullivan

“…in 1928, Johnson argued in the essay "Race Prejudice and the Negro Artist" that racism was being fought on religious, educational, political, industrial, ethical, economic, and sociological fronts, but that it was "the individual Negro artist that is now doing most to effect a crumbling of the inner walls of race prejudice" (1928, 771).” (Carroll 60). One of the most noted works at the time was “God’s Trombones” by James Weldon Johnson. The book of sermons from black preachers was used to show a different side of African – American people. According to Anne Carroll, “They hoped that texts showing African-Americans' accomplishments might contribute to a reassessment of African-Americans, and that such a reassessment might help undermine the racism that was still prevalent in American society in the 1920s” (57). When writing “Passing,” that, too, was the goal of Nella Larsen- to show a different view of African- Americans and biracial individuals. In the novel, the character of Jack Bellew claims to “know one when he sees one.” “Oh no Nig…nothing like that with me. I know you’re no nigger, so it’s all right. You can get as black as you please as far as I’m concerned, since I know you’re no nigger. I draw the line at that. No niggers in my family. Never have been and never will be” (Larsen 40). Interesting enough, he did not know. That’s what Larsen intended