Nella Larsen was a novelist of the Harlem Renaissance, born in Chicago, Illinois to a white, Danish mother and a black father from the West Indies in the 1891. As a child, Larsen’s father died and her mother remarried a white man, so Larsen grew up as a black woman in a white household, and in a white community. The 1920s was an era of epic changes in society. People were experimenting with their sexuality, racial boundaries were being crossed, the black community in Harlem was growing at a rapid pace developing a rich enclave of African American artists. In her novel, Passing, Larsen explores the multiple layers of being an African American who can pass as white in the 1920s. The novel revolves around Irene Redfield and Clare Kendry, who are
…show more content…
“I don’t believe I’ve ever gone native in my life except for the convenience, restaurants, theatre tickets, and things like that. Never socially I mean, except once. You’ve passed the only person that I’ve ever met disguised as a white woman” (100). Irene referred to white being “native,” “native” being the standard, original, and normal. Irene also only connects passing as being in disguise further saying that she cannot, and neither can Clare, become a white woman and belong to the white race. Irene only chose to benefit from the assumptions of her light skin. Irene is a race woman, she tries to elevate the black race in opposition to how society tries to disparage it. She had no want to pass, growing up Irene didn’t have terrible experiences because of her blackness. She was relatively well off, was to benefit from the assumptions people made about her race. Larsen makes a difference between passing “socially” and passing for “convenience,” to pass socially would mean that Irene’s is actively trying to “disguise” herself as a white woman, to pass for “convenience” in Irene’s case is unintentional. Irene never felt the need to pass because she felt connected to her blackness and she felt she belonged in the black community, which early in the novel, Clare questioned. Irene’s experiences being black prevented her from feeling the need to actively
“I don’t believe I’ve ever gone native in my life except for the convenience, restaurants, theatre tickets, and things like that. Never socially I mean, except once. You’ve passed the only person that I’ve ever met disguised as a white woman” (100). Irene referred to white being “native,” “native” being the standard, original, and normal. Irene also only connects passing as being in disguise further saying that she cannot, and neither can Clare, become a white woman and belong to the white race. Irene only chose to benefit from the assumptions of her light skin. Irene is a race woman, she tries to elevate the black race in opposition to how society tries to disparage it. She had no want to pass, growing up Irene didn’t have terrible experiences because of her blackness. She was relatively well off, was to benefit from the assumptions people made about her race. Larsen makes a difference between passing “socially” and passing for “convenience,” to pass socially would mean that Irene’s is actively trying to “disguise” herself as a white woman, to pass for “convenience” in Irene’s case is unintentional. Irene never felt the need to pass because she felt connected to her blackness and she felt she belonged in the black community, which early in the novel, Clare questioned. Irene’s experiences being black prevented her from feeling the need to actively