Passing by Nella Larsen

“Passing,” by Nella Larsen explores the events that occur after two old childhood friends encounter each other for the first time in many years. One of the women, Clare Kendry, has been passing as white because when she was 16 her two white aunts told her to pass after her father died. As Clare grows up she continues to hide her race and marries a white racist man, John Bellows, whom she has a family with. The other woman, Irene Redfield, could pass as white but chooses to be proud of her black heritage. Unlike Clare, Irene marries a black man, lives in Harlem, has other black friends, and accepts being a black woman in America. The novel explores the curiosity each woman has for the other’s life. For example, as Clare spends more time with Irene she begins to wonder and rethink about her disconnect with black culture. As their relationship progresses Irene begins to fear that Clare and her husband Brain are having an affair, but the reader, like Irene, never find out if her suspicions are true or not. The book ends with John coming to a Harlem party only to learn that Clare is black. As he approaches her, she and Irene are standing by a window and Clare suddenly falls out. The reader is unaware if Irene secretly pushed her or if Clare jumped out.

This is the second time I have read this book and also my second time reading “The Auto-Biography of an Ex-Colored Man” by James Weldon Johnson, but it is the first time I have read the two in the same class. As I reread both stories I noticed a lot of similarities, the main one being that one of the main characters in each book makes the conscious decision to pass as white. Both the ex-colored man and Clare feel that by hiding their race, they can go further in their lives and feel that identifying as black will be a burden. One of the interesting aspects of this book is the very contrasting relationship between Clare and Irene. The two women’s lives are complete opposites from each other’s, but yet they are drawn to each other and wonder what life would be like in the other woman’s shoes.

The book is split into three different sections, “The Encounter,” “The Re-Encounter,” and “The Finale.” The three parts show the different stages in the relationship Clare and Irene form over time. For example, in “The Encounter” the two women meet for the first time in around 15 years. This section is about them catching up and briefly explores the issue of passing. In “The Re-Encounter,” the issues are looked at deeper and are examined more carefully by each woman. The last section, “The Finale,” is somewhat of a resolution in their lives and shows how their relationship and issues have escalated. I felt that although there are a lot of unanswered questions at the end of the book, there was still a sense of closure. Although it is not clear how Clare died, it leaves it open to different interpretations, which lead to various explanations for each scenario. If Irene pushed Clare, that shows Irene’s jealously of Clare and shows that she wanted to get rid of her. But if Clare killed herself then it makes me think more about the shame she felt of being associated with being black, especially by her husband. It makes me think that she felt killing herself was the only option she had to deal with the secret she has been hiding her whole life.