Nella Larsen was an American novelist of the 20th century whose works have always amazed the readers with their high quality and modernity. Throughout her career as a writer she created two novels and several short stories. Of these works, “Passing” is one of her novels that attracted the audience’s special attention due to its touching upon the topic which will always be urgent- the racism. “Passing” presents a race-based conflict of two characters, Irene Renfield and Clare Kendry who both are women of mixed race; this being their only similarity, Irene can be considered a stronger character, while Clare is more submissive due to her agreeing to “pass” as a white woman.
What should be mentioned above all is that Irene’s character is originally stronger than that of Clare’s. The author lets the readers know about this indirectly by stating that Irene was “a year or more older than Clare” (10). In addition, telling the story from Irene’s perspective makes this character more important. Irene’s character is contradictory by its nature and her values and beliefs change throughout the story. On the one hand, she does not hide her being black, like Clare does, and even marries a black man; on the other hand, however, she expresses certain racism towards white people, for instance, by criticizing Clare’s desire to be among white people. To be more exact, she is being judgmental about her denying her race and, what is even more disgracing from her point of view, letting to be controlled by a white man who does not value her sufficiently. Irene’s personality is absolutely opposite to Clare’s; this becomes especially clear when she opens Clare’s letter to her, a letter in the “long envelope of thin Italian paper … Foreign paper of extraordinary size” (9) in which Clare expresses her desire to see Irene again. Irene’s implacable refusal to do so shows resoluteness of her character. Therefore, Irene is a strong and determined character for who self-respect and personal values are the most important.
As far as Clare’s character is concerned, it seems to be more submissive, though at this Clare’s personality is not weak. From the beginning of the story Larsen does not present Clare as a positive character, though she tries to soften her negative features to some extent: “She was selfish, and cold, and hard. And yet she had, too, a strange capacity of transforming warmth into passion, verging sometimes almost on theatrical heroics” (10). Since most of Clare’s characteristics are given by Irene, they can hardly be regarded as objective due to the fact that Irene often expresses her resentment and dissatisfaction with Clare and the way she chose to live her life. Nevertheless, this gives a perfect idea of how contrasting these two characters are and which attitude Irene has towards Clare (basing on the deeds of the latter): “Catlike. Certainly that was the word which best described Clare, if any single word could describe her” (10). The idea that Clare is a submissive character can be proven by the fact that she was afraid to be racially oppressed. Clare does not seem to be strong enough to fight for her right and for her nation choosing instead to live among white people and to “pass” as white. Thus, Clare is emotionally weaker than Irene, though at this she remains selfish and convinced in her rightness in any situation.
If choosing who of these two characters from Larsen’s story I like most of all, I would probably name Irene. Here, I must admit, the fact that the story is viewed from behind Irene’s eyes is decisive, because what she says about Clare is automatically perceived as truth and every time she blames Clare for something, any reader is likely to agree with her. However, the only idea that Clare was ashamed of what she was makes me dislike her. I am aware of how difficult it was for black people to survive in the 20th-century America, but if I were Clare, I would never appease with simply “passing” as white and bearing humiliation and sneers on the part of white people all the time. Irene, though she might be wrong in some situations, is still loyal to herself, which is why I prefer her personality to that of Clare’s.
In conclusion, it can be stated that the characters of Irene Renfield and Clare Kendry are absolutely different with Irene having a stronger personality. Throughout the story these two women are both best friends and biggest enemies who love and hate each other at the same time. The greatest reason of their constant disagreement is race, the issue which America of the 20th century was highly preoccupied with. Clare who wishes to be accepted by the white society agrees to at least “pass” as a white woman, which is totally unacceptable for Irene who is proud of her skin color and who will never be satisfied by “passing” as white. This is the root of these characters’ conflict with their only similarity being mixed race.
Work Cited
Larsen, Nella and Davis, Thadious M. Passing. London: Penguin Classics.