Nella Larson’s Passing is the second and final novel written by the noted Harlem Renaissance author, originally published in 1929, which focuses mostly around two main characters, Irene and Clare. Passing refers to a person, usually classified as being a member of a certain race or social status, choosing to identify with another race or social group. In the case of this novel passing can be seen in a few different ways. First, and most obviously there is Clare, a black woman, or part black rather, who passes as a white woman, and is married to a white husband. Then there is Irene. Irene is a black woman, who by all accounts could very well pass for white, but does not. However, Irene is from the south side of Chicago, which historically not exactly the nicest part of the city, who appears to be somewhat obsessed with being a part of the high society of the black community in New York. So, throughout the novel the reader is constantly given examples of the different ways in which people are “passing” making it not so much a book about race, but a book about people and middle class culture.
The book begins with Irene sitting at home, going through her mail, when she discovers a letter with no return address. Irene immediately knows who it is from, and is somewhat displeased by the fact the letter has a New York post-mark on it. Irene reads the letter and is immediately reminded of her childhood. As it turns out, Irene and Clare grew up together in the same neighborhood. Clare’s father was the janitor or maintenance man for the apartment complex in which they lived. Also, Clare’s father was a drinker. One night, Clare’s father was killed in a bar fight, and Clare moved away, never to be heard from again (for the most part), or so it appeard.
In Clare’s letter to Irene, she mentions a time in Chicago, and Irene remembers this too. It was summer, and Irene was in Chicago visiting her father, she was out shopping, and almost fainted. So, she got in a cab and headed to the Drayton Hotel to have some iced tea. While at the hotel, Irene sees a woman, whom she can not ignore. After a while, Irene notices the woman is staring at her. This woman turns out to be Clare. They sit and talk for quite some time, and after Irene invites Clare to Idlewild for the weekend to meet up with all of her friends, and Clare declines, it becomes evident that Clare is indeed passing as a white woman, and has been for years, since she left the neighborhood. Clare then insists that they meet up again before Irene leaves, and that they should have tea on Tuesday.
On Tuesday morning, the day Irene is supposed to meet with Clare. Clare calls Irene’s house numerous times but every time Irene has her servant answer and say she’s not in. Finally Irene get so annoyed with the repetitive calling that she finally answers and agrees to meet Clare even though she did not want to.
They met in the hallway of the Morgan and when they entered the room Irene was surprised to have found Gertrude sitting on the couch. Gertrude was a girl they all went to high school with who had, as well as Clare, married a white man and was considered to be “passing”. Irene was annoyed, not so much by Gertrude, but by “a feeling of being outnumbered (Larson 167),” because she was the only one out of the three who married a dark man. After talking for a while amongst themselves, they spoke of their children and their husbands and it shocked Clare and Gertrude that Irene had a dark son as well as a dark husband. Irene found out quite quickly that she was very much different from Clare and Gertrude now that they were all women.
After all this talk we soon meet Clare’s husband, John Bellew. Both Irene and Gertrude were shocked when they heard him call Clare “Nig”. We find out that he has no idea that Clare is part Negro, and that he also hates Negroes. He had no idea that he was surrounded by three Negro women. We learn that Clare has created a life of lies for herself.
After leaving Clare and her husband, Irene and Gertrude conversed about how Clare was leading a life of lies and how they could not believe she put them in that position. They realized that she is always taking a chance and does not care about other people’s feelings. Soon after Irene and Gertrude parted ways, Irene thought to herself for the rest of the day how rude Clare was to have put her through all of that. She ends up blaming herself for her unfortunate afternoon because she knew all along that she should have never gone in the first place.
The next section of the novel begins with Irene’s thoughts of Clare. She is very upset with Clare and her husband John Bellew. She can not get over his hurtful words and she thinks of someday being able to reveal Clare’s race to Bellew but it is something she cannot do. Even after the letter that Clare writes Irene she still feels hurt. Irene thinks to herself, “No, Clare Kendry cared nothing for the race. She only belonged to it.” This is an ironic statement because Clare has built her entire life around an identity of race that is false. Also how could Irene think this about Clare when she is very insecure of herself and her race? Brian and Irene sit and talk about the letter, Clare and her struggle with race. Irene says, “It’s a funny about ‘passing.’ We disapprove of it and at the same time condone it.” As Irene and Brian talk she begins to realize how truly unhappy Brian is with his life. They get into an argument in a car ride over their son, Junior. She worries about Brian and her two sons and tries to make herself believe that things will work out.
The letter from Clare has been thrown out and Irene tries to focus on her family. Irene finds Clare at her door step because she never received a response. Clare finds out about the Negro Welfare League dance and she persists that she must come. Irene tries to give her many excuses but loses to Clare’s persuasion.
At the dance Clare received much attention from the men of every race. She enjoyed being able to dance with the black men. Irene spent time talking with Hugh Wentworth, a white man. They talked about Clare and although Irene never said he guessed that Clare had black blood.
After the dance Clare felt as though Irene had become a very close friend and she came over much more frequently. Clare began going out with Irene and Brian to parties and she visited irregularly. Irene started to suspect things. First she was unsure about John Bellew back at home. Was he suspicious of her behavior? What about her daughter Margery? Clare begins to cry for no apparent reason when she is questioned leaving the reader and Irene confused.
The third and final section of the novel is a bit of a whirlwind plot-wise. Irene begins to fear, or assume, that her husband, Brian, is having an affair with Clare. However, Irene assures herself that Clare will be leaving soon, and that it is no big deal. One day while walking on the street with another black woman, Irene runs into Clare’s husband, John Bellew. She does everything she can to avoid Bellew but is unsuccessful. Irene is certain that Bellew will make the connection and discover that his wife, Clare is actually a black woman. However, Irene does not mention this encounter to her husband or Clare.
Later, Irene and Brian are preparing to go to the party held by some of their friends. Brian informs Irene that he has invited Clare to join them, and this does not please Irene at all. The three of them then go to the party, which is being held on the sixth floor of a building (this is important). While at the party, which Clare is the only “white” woman, John Bellew suddenly appears, and he is extremely upset. He yells at Clare, and can not believe that she had deceived him or that he was married to a black woman. Clare is by a window, and Irene moves towards her. There is a slight gap in the story here. We suddenly find that Clare has fallen to her death, but we do not know why. Everyone at the party runs down the stairs and outside, save one. Irene takes her time. She thinks it is cold outside and grabs a jacket for Brian. Irene then walks outside where people ask her what happened, and she tells them that she does not recall what happened at the window. So, the reader is forced to wonder what exactly happened, did Bellew push Clare? Did Irene? Or did Clare jump or fall on her own?