In Passing, Nella Larsen uses the third person limited point of view to further illustrate the different fears of the characters, highlighting fears of discovery, violence against race, possible infidelity, and the fear of commitment. Although we as the audience are only privy to Irene’s thoughts and feelings, we can infer from the comments and gestures of other characters how their own fears pervade their lives. However, as the story is through Irene’s point of view, Irene’s thoughts and comments perhaps cloud and disregard the fears of others, showing how dread of the unknown can drive people to protect themselves and possibly forego the care of their friends and families. A theme that recurs throughout the novel is the fear of being discovered
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Irene passes as it pleases her while Clare has fully passed over, marrying a white man and almost completely cutting out any relation to her life with the black community from before. At Clare’s tea party, all three women, Clare, Gertrude, and Irene, talk about their children and their perspectives on their children’s skin color. Both Clare and Gertrude express their distress when they were pregnant that they feared their children would be born with darker skin. Clare, having concealed her race from her husband, exclaims that she “nearly died of terror the whole nine months before Margery was born for fear she might be dark… the strain is simply too —too hellish” (Larsen 36). For those nine months, Clare lived with the fear that she would be discovered that she was part black and that it would show in her child, compromising her own financial security, social status, and even her safety. Although Gertrude did marry a white man who knows her race, she still relives her apprehension, saying how it was “awful the way [skin color] skips generations and then pops out… he said he didn’t care what colour it turned out… but of course, no one wants a dark child” (Larsen 36). Gertrude still desires to pass, and she would rather her boys pass too, giving them better opportunities for schooling, work, and social than if they were labelled as “black.” Irene, having married Brian, a black man, does not depend on passing to secure her life and safety, and the audience is able to see her thoughts about Clare and how fully passing is a dangerous way to
Irene passes as it pleases her while Clare has fully passed over, marrying a white man and almost completely cutting out any relation to her life with the black community from before. At Clare’s tea party, all three women, Clare, Gertrude, and Irene, talk about their children and their perspectives on their children’s skin color. Both Clare and Gertrude express their distress when they were pregnant that they feared their children would be born with darker skin. Clare, having concealed her race from her husband, exclaims that she “nearly died of terror the whole nine months before Margery was born for fear she might be dark… the strain is simply too —too hellish” (Larsen 36). For those nine months, Clare lived with the fear that she would be discovered that she was part black and that it would show in her child, compromising her own financial security, social status, and even her safety. Although Gertrude did marry a white man who knows her race, she still relives her apprehension, saying how it was “awful the way [skin color] skips generations and then pops out… he said he didn’t care what colour it turned out… but of course, no one wants a dark child” (Larsen 36). Gertrude still desires to pass, and she would rather her boys pass too, giving them better opportunities for schooling, work, and social than if they were labelled as “black.” Irene, having married Brian, a black man, does not depend on passing to secure her life and safety, and the audience is able to see her thoughts about Clare and how fully passing is a dangerous way to