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Fiona Dwire

Andrea Malouf

English 2610

14 October 2023

An Intersectional–Feminist Character Analysis of Passing

Nella Larson’s story Passing chronicles the rise and fall of the relationship between Irene

Redfield and Clare Kendry. On the surface Clare and Irene are positioned as opposites to each

other, seemingly living different lives led in different social realities. Rather than complete

opposites, Clare and Irene act as inverse reflections of one another, showcasing a spectrum of

race and gender similarities and divisions. Narratively, Irene as a character represents the concept

of security while Clare represents danger and risk.

Both Irene and Clare are light-skinned black women, capable as passing as white, but

only Clare has done so completely. Clare’s abusive childhood left her orphaned after her father

died, and the racism of her white aunts who raised her afterwards heavily influenced her sense of

self. In describing her upbringing, she tells Irene how her aunts used her for household labor

because of their belief that God had cursed black people to lives of hard labor, and when Irene

laughs at the obvious racism, Clare stiffly replies: “It was more than a joke, I assure you, Rene”

(Larson 17). The decision for Clare to hide her black heritage and pass as a white woman was

cemented when she felt unwelcome within the black community, as she heard the rumors her

peers would say about her, “It was that very thing which, in a way, finally decided me not to go

out and see you one last time before I went away to stay” (Larson 12). Clare ’s decision to live as
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a white woman alienated her as she distanced herself from her abusive aunts, married the anti-

black racist John Bellew (Larson 18), and shunned other black people to the point her husband

assumed she was also racist to avoid the possibility of anyone revealing her secret (Larson 30).

When Clare invites Irene and another old friend light-skinned black woman, Gertrude, she seems

to be desperately reaching out for community and understanding from other women who can

empathize with the liminal space she inhabits.

Inversely, Irene is very involved with the black community of Harlem. She is the head of

the ticket committee for the Negroe Welfare League dance (Larson 53), and she prides herself on

embracing her black identity. When Clare and Gertrude agree that no one wants a dark skinned

child, Irene interjected ‘in a voice of whose even tones she was proud: “One of my boys is dark”

(Larson 26). Even though Irene is proud of her black identity and entirely disproves of Clare

passing as white full time, Irene is still able to pass as white when she chooses to. Irene insists

that she only ever passes as a way of convenience and never socially (Larson 79), but her drive

to do so is the same drive motivating Clare to pass as a white woman full time.

Irene and Clare’s lives mirror each other in ways other than both characters being

biracial. Clare decided to marry John Bellew after he made his fortune and returned from South

America (Larson 18), and Irene has insisted on keeping her family in Harlem despite her

husband’s desire to move them to none other than South America (Larson 43). In her dissection

of the the racial discrimination within Passing, Renee Harper states that “There is an air of

internalized racism within the book that begs discussion within the mutual interactions of the two

characters” (Harper 2), examining the ways Clare represents white privilege in contrast to Irene’s

identity as a black woman. While The American class system has always been inextricably tied
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to race, even though Clare passes as a white woman and Irene embraces being a black woman,

they’re both in the higher class bracket of their communities., making them more similar in this

regard than different. The connection between the race and class is addressed directly in the

novella and is demonstrated by how taken aback Irene is at Clare mingling with lower class

women like Gertrude: “it did seem to her odd that the woman that Clare was now should have

invited the woman that Gertrude was” (Larson 24).

Both Clare and Irene are living under the societal pressures of patriarchy, and so are

affected not only in their role as people of color, but also specifically as women. Clare seems to

be navigating a loveless marriage due to her husbands racism, as she reaches out to Irene and

manufactures for her to meet her husband to witness his bigotry as a cry for help (Larson 51).

Irene navigates a similarly passionless marriage with her husband as they sleep in separate

bedrooms (Larson 77). The impact of misogyny on the lives of these characters is especially

prevalent in Part Two of the story; When Irene is describing to Brian the ways John Bellew

expressed his racism in front of Clare by calling her a racial slur, Brian defends Bellew over his

wife, saying: “Besides, the man, her husband, didn’t call you [a slur.] there’s a difference, you

know (Larson 40).” Clare and Irene have different approaches to their roles as wives and

mothers. Clare tries to actively run away from her marriage, visiting Harlem while her husband

is away and considering her daughter the main thing that keeps her trapped in her repressed life

as a white woman (Larson 85). Irene tackles her marriage like a job or a problem to be fixed as

she constantly worries about managing her husbands emotions (Larson 67, 76-77) and considers

children a way for women to build security in their relationships (Larson 33, 74).
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Despite first appearing to be opposites within the story, the similarities between Irene and

Claire’s characters have been well recognized by readers. Camille Cottle notes in her analysis of

Passing how both Clare and Irene’s decision to choose their respective racial identities are

motivated by self-preservation, by securing socioeconomic advantage and shedding the

disadvantages of being racially marginalized: “Both characters are showcased through their

performance of identity in living in American culture. They both “choose” their identity,

allowing each a socioeconomic advantage while only occasionally occupying the other

identity" (Cottle 3). This concept is directly stated in the novella when Irene asks her husband

why people who pass through racial categories try to inhabit both, and he responds that “it’s

always that way” (Larson 41).

While Clare is the obvious example of this through her white passing, both characters

showcase the same kind of self preservation and social drive that the other expresses. In her

essay “Bound by Roots,” Lauren Hope highlights how both Irene and Claire are similarly drawn

to each other despite the danger of chasing the parts of their identities they have decided to

distance themselves from: “The internal struggles of our main characters mirror one another’s

ultimate desire to maintain ties with their past” (Hope 2). By crafting characters that appear

contrasting on the surface but operate in the same capacity, Larson draws attention to the ways

race is a socially constructed category rather than fixed and immutable. This commentary on the

absurdism of racial categories is echoed in the same conversation between Irene and Brian when

he answers her: “If I knew that, I’d know what race is” (Larson 41).

From the beginning of the story, Irene is shown to be incredibly sensible, and Clare has

been portrayed as a dangerous presence. In her own description of herself, Irene is “wholly
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unable to comprehend such an attitude towards danger” as Clare demonstrates (Larson 1). Irene

may pride herself on being an active member of the black community in Harlem, but it’s also the

most familiar and secure feeling community she has known, even though she is also capable of

passing as white when she chooses. Irene’s interest in talking with Clare when she first meets her

is to find out more about passing, “this breaking away from all that was familiar and friendly to

take one’s chance in another environment” (Larson 15). When Irene decides that Brian and Clare

are having an affair she begins spiraling and worrying about how precarious her life may be if

her and Brian divorce (Larson 74). Irene laments directly to the reader: “Security. Was it just a

word?” (Larson 86).

Clare is the embodiment of risk and danger both to Irene and within the story’s narrative.

Irene and Clare both recognize that for Clare to pass as a white woman without telling her

husband puts her at incredible risk given his racism (Larson 33). Clare compensates this risk with

the benefits she receives from living as white, telling Irene when talking of money, “Money’s

awfully nice to have. In fact, all things considered, I think […] that it’s even worth the price.”

Despite how dangerous it is for Clare to associate with other black people and spend time in

Harlem, she does it anyway. Clare is comfortable navigating dangerous situations because her

life is built in a precarious way, telling Irene “One risk more or less, […] it can’t make all the

difference in the world. […] Besides, I’m used to risks” (Larson 52).

Clare and Irene mirror each other as characters clearly throughout the narrative. Both are

biracial women, while Clare embraces her white self and Irene embraces her black self, both are

able to pass through either community at their discretion and effort. Both women are effected by

living under patriarchy that amplifies their racial discrimination and restricts them to traditionally
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feminine roles as only wives and mothers. The key difference between Irene and Clare isn’t in

their drive or decisions but how they choose to approach their lives and make decisions with

caution or daring.
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Works Cited

Cottle, Camille. “The Passing.” 2023, page 3.

Harper, Renee. “Passing Interpretation Project.” 2023, page 2.

Hope, Lauren. “Bound by Roots.” 2023, page 2.

Larsen, Nella. Passing. Dover Publications, 2004.