Passing (novel)

As early as 1925, Nella Larsen had decided that she wanted to be among the "New Negro" writers receiving considerable attention at the time. Initially writing short stories that were sold early in 1926 to a ladies magazine, she was rumored that year to be writing a novel. In a letter to her friend, Carl Van Vechten, she acknowledges, "it is the awful Truth. But, who knows if I'll get through with the damned thing. Certainly not I."[4] In April 1927, Larsen and her husband, Elmer Imes, moved from Jersey City, New Jersey to Harlem to be closer to the cultural phenomenon.[5] The following year, Larsen published her first novel Quicksand with New York-based publisher Knopf, and its favorable critical reception encouraged her ambitions to become known as a novelist.[6]

The 1920s in the United States was a period marked by considerable anxiety and discussion over the crossing of racial boundaries, the so-called "color line" between blacks and whites.[7] This anxiety was exacerbated by the Great Migration, in which hundreds of thousands of blacks left the rural south for northern and midwestern cities, where, together with new waves of immigrants, they changed the social makeup. The practice of persons "crossing the color line"—attempting to claim recognition in another racial group than the one they were believed to belong to—was known as "passing". As many African Americans had European ancestry in varying proportions, some appeared visibly European.[8] The legacy of slavery, with its creation of a racial caste, and the imposition in the 17th century of the so-called one-drop rule (by which someone with even one ancestor of sub-Saharan-African origin was considered black) led to a hardening of racial lines that had historically been more fluid; at any time, the concept of race was "historically contingent."[9] Although the exact numbers of people who passed is, for obvious reasons, not known, many estimates were made at the time. The sociologist Charles S. Johnson (1893–1956) calculated that 355,000 blacks had passed between 1900 and 1920.[10]

A significant precedent for Larsen's depiction of Clare and Jack's relationship was the 1925 legal trial known as the "Rhinelander Case" (or Rhinelander v. Rhinelander).[11] On the urging of his family, Leonard Kip Rhinelander, a wealthy white man, sued his wife, Alice Beatrice Jones, for annulment and fraud; he alleged that she had failed to inform him of her "colored" blood.[12][13] The case concerned not only race but also status and class, as he had met her when she was working as a domestic. Although the jury eventually returned a verdict for Alice (she contended that her mixed race was obvious, and she had never denied it), it came at a devastating social cost for both parties; intimate exchanges between the couple were read out in court,[14] and Alice was forced to partially disrobe in front of the jury in the judge's chambers in order for them to assess the darkness of her skin.[15] Larsen refers to the case near the end of the novel, when Irene wonders about the consequences of Jack discovering Clare's racial status: "What if Bellew should divorce Clare? Could he? There was the Rhinelander case."[13] The case received substantial coverage in the press of the time, and Larsen could assume that it was common knowledge to her readers.[16]

Passing has been described as "the tragic story of a beautiful light-skinned mulatto passing for white in high society."[20] The tragic mulatto (also "mulatta" when referring to a woman)[21] is a stock character in early African-American literature. Such accounts often featured the light-skinned offspring of a white slaveholder and his black slave, whose mixed heritage in a race-based society means that she is unable to identify or find a place with either blacks or whites.[22] The resulting feeling of exclusion was portrayed as variably manifested in self-loathing, depression, alcoholism, sexual perversion, and attempts at suicide.[23]

On the surface, Passing conforms to that stereotype in its portrayal of Clare Kendry, whose passing for white has tragic consequences;[22] however, the book resists the conventions of the genre, as Clare refuses to feel the expected anguish at the betrayal of her black identity and socializes with blacks for the purposes of excitement rather than racial solidarity.[19][24] Scholars have more generally considered Passing as a novel in which the major concern is not race.[25] For instance, Claudia Tate describes the issue as "merely a mechanism for setting the story in motion, sustaining the suspense, and bringing about the external circumstances for the story's conclusion."[26]

Catherine Rottenberg argues that Larsen's novella is a prime example of race and gender norms portrayed in the US. The main characters, Irene and Clare, and their struggle with their own identification problems in the novel, helps readers understand the difference between gender and race norms. These two central characters are able to pass as white women even though Irene does not fully pass over, and Rottenberg argues the difference between Clare and Irene by re-evaluating the idea of desire/identification. The mis-identification Clare deals with stems from her re-connection with Irene after twelve years of not speaking. Seeing Irene sparked a desire in Clare for her to get back in touch with her African-American culture. Irene's identification trouble is associated with her need to feel safe and in control in her life, the main reason Irene chooses to pass over only on occasion. Irene doesn't want to put herself into a dangerous situation.[27]

As scholars show, race is not the only primary concern in Nella Larsen's "Passing". Class is also a major aspect that is simultaneously developed. Both of the main characters Irene Redfield and Clare Kendry present a strong sense of class. They also demonstrate how they cross clearly defined class borders in order to obtain more power in their life.

Scholarly critics such as Mary Wilson have examined the character of Irene's maid Zulena, who demonstrates  the middle-class African-American family in the 1920s. Irene opposed the idea of discrimination and racism towards the blacks but when it came to maintaining her social class she preferred the domesticity and servitude even if it was from the people from her own black race. Domesticity in the South was often associated with the black woman but Irene's decides to maintain the power and class through servitude of another black woman. Wilson examines that the differences in class was not just embedded in the black versus white society but also within the single black race. Such difference can be seen as a conflict between Irene's ideology and her actions when it comes to maintaining her status as a middle-class African-American. The class privilege is well defined through the skin color as Zulena is described as a "mahogany-coloured creature" which meant that she had no chance to pass like Irene as white and it automatically decides the role for the black colored woman to serve as a maid and belong to the inferior class. Although, Irene calls herself black but having an ability to pass as white makes her behave like white privileged woman because she happily accepts the servitude complicating the issue of race and class.[28] Larsen introduces Zulena in the story as a "colored creature", primarily from Irene's perspective which depicts that Irene's considers her servant from an inferior class and therefore decides to keep a certain distance from her maid.[29]

Clare Kendry crosses social class binaries.[30] Clare does not inhabit any particular social class but rather lives as both a working-class and a middle-class woman in the novel. Clare is born in a working-class family where her father is a janitor of the building that she lives in.[31] In adulthood, she passes during her marriage to obtain the lifestyle of an upper-middle-class woman.[32] Despite having the luxury and comfort that she has always wanted but never had had in her childhood, Clare still longs for her childhood experiences and constantly visits Irene and her maid Zulena. Because Clare shares many experiences of the working-class, she feels very comfortable when talking to Zulena as if Zulena was her friend.[33] Clare's desire to live in both social classes at the same time shows how these class boundaries are fluid.

While Clare demonstrates her class binaries, Irene is very protective towards her own status quo.[34] Irene grew up as a middle-class person and continues to live as such after marrying a doctor.[35] Irene is more hesitant to cross between middle-class and working-class; she isolates herself and avoids all of the circumstances that she might be mistaken for a lower-class person. For example, during Irene's attempt to pass to become an elite white woman at Drayton hotel, she makes a clear distinction between herself and working-class individuals by showing her desire to be separated from the "sweating masses".[36] Irene is also concerned that people at the Negro League Dance might mistake Clare for a prostitute.[37] Throughout the novel, Irene seems comfortable living in a higher social class while Clare constantly crosses between the two classes.

Scholar Sami Schalk argues that the notion of eugenic ideology emerges in the novel. Eugenic Ideology assigns specific behavioral and physical traits to different distinctions of race, class, gender, and sexual identity.[38] Both physical and behavioral features of this ideology are discussed by the main characters in Passing, Irene and Clare. For example, several times in the novel, Irene acknowledges the way white people racially designate physical traits to African Americans in order to identify them.[18] The concept of eugenic ideology also emerges when Clare's aunts assign her to a domestic servant role believing this would align with her skin color. Thus, the aunt's perceptions of Clare's work are distinctly categorized through race.[39]

Schalk further suggests that the novel resists these notions of eugenic ideology by emphasizing how characters pass fluidly between racial identities and resist clear categories of identity.[40] In the novel, Clare Kendry hides her racial identity from her husband and is able travel to places where African Americans are not allowed entry because no one can denote her black heritage from her behavior.[41] In addition, Irene notes several times in the novel that the physical traits white people assign to African Americans are ridiculous.[18] She, too, is able to pass in places where African Americans are not allowed entry and therefore defies racial categorization. The novel resists eugenic distinctions by highlighting the fluid transitions between races.[40]

Scholars have treated "sexuality" with caution and reticence especially during the Harlem Renaissance because the history of slavery and the objectification of the black women. Black novelists, especially female black novelists, had to be more discreet when writing about the sexuality of their characters. During this time, women, especially black women, were used as sexual objects. Due to sexual objectification, black novelists wanted to overcome the legacy of rape. They wanted to end the stereotypes of black women as "sexual objects" and to return to the "timidity and modesty" of Negro womanhood. The writers didn't want to repeat the experience of women's oppression, especially African-American women. McDowell believes that during the Harlem Renaissance female sexuality was acknowledged only in the advertising, beauty, and fashion industries and "sexual pleasure, especially for black women, leads to the dangers of domination in marriage, repeated pregnancy, or exploitation and loss of status."[42]

According to scholar Deborah McDowell, Larsen wanted to tell the story of black women with sexual desires, but the novelist also had to be constrained in that she wanted to establish "black women as respectable" in black middle-class terms. As an example, in the novel, Irene is portrayed as sexually repressed. Irene has a tenuous relationship with her husband Brian. In fact, they have separate rooms. McDowell believes that Irene is confused by her sexual feelings for Clare, which are much more apparent. McDowell argues that the story is about "Irene's awakening sexual desire towards Clare".[43]

Scholars have identified a homoerotic subtext between Irene and Clare, centered on the erotic undertones in Irene's descriptions of Clare and appreciation of her beauty.[44] As scholar Deborah McDowell's writes "the idea of bringing sexual attraction between two women to full narrative expression is, likewise, too dangerous a move, which helps to explain why critics have missed this aspect of the novel".[45] In that interpretation, the novel's central metaphor of "passing" under a different identity "occurs at a surprisingly wide variety of levels," including sexual.[46] This suggests that there are other forms of "passing" that take place in the novel that are not just based on race. Larsen has a clever way of "deriving its surface theme and central metaphor-passing", disguising the plots "neatly" and "symmetrically".[45] The apparently sexless marriage between Brian and Irene (their separate bedrooms and identification as co-parents rather than sexual partners[46]) allows Larsen to "flirt, if only by suggestion, with the idea of a lesbian relationship between [Clare and Irene]."[47] In the novel, these sexual innuendos appear when Irene first lays eyes on Clare at the rooftop of the Drayton Hotel. The novel describes Clare as "a sweetly scented woman in a fluttering dress of green chiffon whose mingled pattern of narcissuses, jonquils, and hyacinths was a reminder of pleasantly chill spring days".[48] These flowers symbolize the attraction Irene has for Clare. Jonquils and narcissuses, both represent excessive interest in one's physical appearance. This alludes to Irene's obsession and physical attraction for Clare. As the novel states, "from the very beginning of their re-encounter, Irene is drawn to Clare like a moth to a flame".[49]

The character of her husband, Brian, has been subject to a similar interpretation: Irene's labeling of him as queer and his oft-expressed desire to go to Brazil, a country then widely thought to be more tolerant of homosexuality than the United States was, are given as evidence. It is also shown that Brazil is considered to be a place with more relaxed ideas about race.[50] Irene begins to believe that Clare and Brian are having an affair to hide or distract from her own feelings for Clare. McDowell writes, "the awakening of Irene's erotic feelings for Clare coincides with Irene's imagination of an affair between Clare and Brian".[49] Although she had no reason to accuse him, Irene did so to protect herself from her own sexual desires.

Scholars such as Claudia Tate and Helena Michie suggest there is a theme of jealousy throughout the novel. Both point to Irene's jealousy in terms of her appreciation for Clare's charisma and desirable appearance in the novel. As Clare meets Irene to go to the Negro Welfare League dance, Irene feels "dowdy and commonplace"[51] in comparison to Clare, who she sees as "exquisite, golden, fragrant, flaunting."[51] The scholars stress that there are two aspects to this jealousy, with Irene exhibiting both bitterness in her perception of Clare, and simultaneously, feelings of affection and desire for her. Helena Michie categorizes the relationship as "sororophobic",[52] a term she defines as a "fear of one's sister." While Irene expresses jealousy in her admiration of Clare's beauty and social charms, she is also susceptible to their seduction and eventually begins to suspect that her husband Brian might be influenced by them as well. In her intensifying suspicions, Irene's jealousy develops into a fear of losing her family, and with it, the identity she has built for herself as a middle class black woman. Irene displays it here when deciding whether to expose Clare or not "She was caught between two allegiances, different, yet the same. Herself. Her race. Race! The thing that bound and suffocated her. Whatever steps she took, or if she took none at all, something would be crushed. A person or the race. Clare, herself, or the race. Or, it might be, all three. Nothing, she imagined, was ever more completely sardonic."[53] Larsen uses jealousy as the main source of conflict in the novel, and uses race as a vehicle for Irene to potentially rid herself of Clare. At this point in the story Irene realizes she can expose Clare's true racial identity to remove Clare from her life, and regain that security she desires more than anything. Albeit she feels jealousy and fear, out of loyalty for her race, Irene does not follow through with her thoughts of exposing Clare.

While the novel primarily focuses on Irene's feelings of jealousy, Clare is also shown to be envious of Irene. Unlike Irene, however, Clare exhibits jealousy towards Irene's lifestyle. Clare perceives Irene as being close to her blackness and her community, a state that Clare has previously chosen to leave behind but strives to experience again. As Clare and Irene converse during Clare's first visit to Irene's home, Clare expresses her loneliness to Irene, contrasting her view of Irene's condition to Clare's own feelings of isolation: "'How could you know? How could you? You're free. You're happy.'"[54] Clare expresses her own jealousy outwardly, even as the novel centers on Irene's inner turmoil.

Scholars such as Catherine Rottenberg examine how Larsen's characters struggle against race and gender norms of "whiteness" in the United States. Rottenberg shows how the main characters in the novel confront normative characteristics of white culture. Clare, who is of mixed race, chooses to identify with the white culture. Irene, who identifies as an African American, chooses to pass when she feels the need to blend into white culture. The essence of Rottenberg's scholarship shows how the novel's characters struggle against the desire for whiteness because of the positive stereotypes society has created around "white" identity. Clare's experience growing up with her white aunts, who treated her as a servant, directly impacts Clare's initial desire towards whiteness. Hence, she passes as a white woman, marries a white man, and forgets her African-American culture. Even though as a society the white race is the desirable race, Rottenberg explains how there are limitations put into place so the inferior race can never fully be white. For example, Clare has this desire to pass as a white woman because she believes that is the only way she will have a social power, but after reconnecting with her childhood friend Irene, she begins to struggle with her misplaced desire for whiteness and returns to her African-American identification. Seeing Irene sparks a desire in Clare to get back in touch with her African-American culture. Similarly, Irene identifies as black, but because she desires to feel safe and in control at all times in her life, she chooses to pass over only on occasion. Irene's desire to be white comes from her wanting the middle-class lifestyle because it will give her the security she needs. Irene doesn't want to put herself into a dangerous situation, which in a way, makes her feel like her marriage and the life she knows at risk. Throughout Larsen's novel Rottenberg explains how Clare has evolved from wanting to achieve whiteness to reconnecting with the African-American culture, while Irene still has a desire to achieve "whiteness" to feel secure.[27]

Scholars such as Andrew W. Davis and Zahirah Sabir acknowledge Irene's psychology of safety and security, which likely originated from "the threat of racism" surrounding her family.[55] In the novel, Irene states that she places security as the first priority in her life, on top of race and friendship in the novel.[56]

Davis states that the reason that Irene prioritizes security is she wants to protect her children from the social prejudices of the time.[55] In addition, Irene wants Brian, her husband, to stay in New York as a doctor to provide security for her children.[56] When Brian desires to leave for Brazil, Irene is anxious due to the fact that New York is still a white society, and is a familiar to her as an African-American middle-class woman. Clare's presence in Irene's life is a threat to this security. It makes Irene sense the insecurity of her marriage with her husband, Brian. And, it makes her acknowledge the reality of questions of race and class that surround her and her children's life.[57]

Passing, although focuses on the races aspect of the book, the chapters have talked about motherhood where both Irene and Clare are depicted to be mothers. It is interesting as Irene sees her sons, Junior and Theodore, differently than how Clare sees her daughter, Margery.

Irene views her children as her security; she sees them as the reason Brian would stay with her. Their child ties them together and thus would make Brian stay with Irene even if they have a fallout. Irene holds her children dear to her and would do whatever she can for them. Irene is also the more protective parent compared to Brian; she wants to shield the children from the bad things in the world, like the knowledge of lynching and racism. Irene wants what's best for her children even if it means acting like specific topics do not affect them although they do, like racism.

Meanwhile, Clare views motherhood as a requirement in her lifetime. She had Margery and no longer wants any more children as she cannot handle the suspense of knowing another babies' skin tone. She also mentions how "children aren't everything" this shows how she prioritizes her priorities, we see circumstances where she would leave her daughter with her husband and instead socialize with the black community.

Unlike Irene, Clare actually rejects the thought of motherhood in fear that her identity might be revealed. Irene, on the other hand, is the devoted mother wanting the best for her boys, and always talking and thinking about them.[58] Clare does not have the same attachments to Margery like Irene have to Junior and Ted as Clare sees motherhood as a binding thing that forces her to stay in a marriage she feels trapped in, while Irene is in the same boat Irene like this and uses it for her security.