In Nella Larsen’s text Passing, our attention is drawn to two childhood friends, Irene and Clare, who encounter each other after 12 years on the Drayton hotel roof, both “passing” as white for entry. Irene Redfield lives in a middle class black society and marries a black man, remaining loyal to her identity but passes only when it is convenient for her. On the other hand, Clare Kendry lives in an upper class white society and marries a white man but abandons her true identity to pass for white permanently. In this novel, Larsen shows us, through Irene and Clare, what it is like to live in both worlds as women who are black but are able to “pass” as white. Although both characters may seem loyal to their identity that they have chosen to live
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Clare begins to face difficulties with “passing” as white when her encounter with Irene makes her realize that she feels lonely in her race and craves the company of black women. From a letter she writes to Irene, Clare describes “passing” as “an ache, a pain that never ceases” (Larsen 3). She longs to be free from “passing” but is trapped in the white society that she has chosen for herself. Clare marries a white racist man and begins a family with him, having a daughter whom she sends to boarding school. At every given opportunity Clare has alone, when her husband is out of town, she visits Irene and her people. She envies Irene’s life and tells her, “you had all the things I wanted and never had had” (17). But Irene dismisses this comment because to Irene, Clare’s “idea of life” consists of “nothing sacrificial” (2). Irene believes that Clare has everything she wants and that she never had to work for anything because it was all given to her. Even when Clare disappears for 12 years, Irene hears from other girls that Clare always had a “having way with her” (11). And on the Drayton hotel roof, Irene “acknowledge[s], judging from [Clare’s] appearance and manner” (11) that Clare “seemed certainly to have succeeded in having a few of the things she wanted” (11). Although Clare may have gotten what she wanted as a benefit of her upper class, it is clear that Clare prefers the company of black
Clare begins to face difficulties with “passing” as white when her encounter with Irene makes her realize that she feels lonely in her race and craves the company of black women. From a letter she writes to Irene, Clare describes “passing” as “an ache, a pain that never ceases” (Larsen 3). She longs to be free from “passing” but is trapped in the white society that she has chosen for herself. Clare marries a white racist man and begins a family with him, having a daughter whom she sends to boarding school. At every given opportunity Clare has alone, when her husband is out of town, she visits Irene and her people. She envies Irene’s life and tells her, “you had all the things I wanted and never had had” (17). But Irene dismisses this comment because to Irene, Clare’s “idea of life” consists of “nothing sacrificial” (2). Irene believes that Clare has everything she wants and that she never had to work for anything because it was all given to her. Even when Clare disappears for 12 years, Irene hears from other girls that Clare always had a “having way with her” (11). And on the Drayton hotel roof, Irene “acknowledge[s], judging from [Clare’s] appearance and manner” (11) that Clare “seemed certainly to have succeeded in having a few of the things she wanted” (11). Although Clare may have gotten what she wanted as a benefit of her upper class, it is clear that Clare prefers the company of black