Passing
Nella Larsen’s fascinating exploration of race and identity—the inspiration for the Netflix film directed by Rebecca Hall, starring Tessa Thompson and Ruth Negga.
This Signet Classics edition of Passing includes an Introduction by Brit Bennett, the bestselling author of The Vanishing Half.
One of The Atlantic’s Great American Novels of the Past 100 Years
Irene Redfield is a Black woman living an affluent, comfortable life with her husband and children in the thriving neighborhood of Harlem in the 1920s. When she reconnects with her childhood friend Clare Kendry, who is similarly light-skinned, Irene discovers that Clare has been passing for a white woman after severing ties to her past—even hiding the truth from her racist husband.
Clare finds herself drawn to Irene’s sense of ease and security with her Black identity and longs for the community (and, increasingly, the woman) she lost. Irene is both riveted and repulsed by Clare and her dangerous secret, as Clare begins to insert herself—and her deception—into every part of Irene’s stable existence. First published in 1929, Larsen’s brilliant examination of the various ways in which we all seek to “pass,” is as timely as ever.
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Readers say that *Passing* offers a compelling exploration of race, identity, and societal roles, with powerful themes and well-developed characters. ...
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What’s it about?
This slim novel was first published in 1929. Two old friends, Irene and Clare, run into each other unexpectedly at an all-white hotel in Chicago. It has been twenty years since they last saw each other. Irene has since married a doctor and lives a privileged life in Harlem as a black woman- she only passes on occasion when she feels it is necessary. As it turns out, Clare has been passing as a white woman since they last met, in fact she is married to a very racist white man that has no idea of her past. With conflicting feelings, Irene slowly lets Clare back into her life in Harlem.
What did it make me think about?
Were people always this formal and polite?
Should I read it?
This was a quick and interesting read. The pacing and the plot were notable, but I was struck by the formality of the writing. Even the character’s internal thoughts seem formal and stilted. For me, it was a little hard to get too emotionally involved as the language keeps you at a distance. Even when Irene talks about feeling depressed and not being in the Christmas spirit you are kept at a polite distance. “Though, she admitted, reluctantly, she herself didn’t feel the proper Christmas spirit this year either. But that couldn’t be helped, it seemed, any more than the weather. She was weary and depressed. And for all her trying, she couldn’t be free of that dull, indefinite misery which with increasing tenaciousness had laid ahold of her.”
So, this is a novel that I am reading with a group. There is a lot to appreciate about this book and I am glad I read it. Harlem in the 1920’s was an interesting place. Irene and Clare are at two opposite ends of the spectrum in how they chose to live their lives- and this should make for an interesting discussion. I have no doubt I will come away with more of an appreciation for this story once we discuss it. Lots to be unraveled about race, identity, and the choices we make.
Quote-
“But she shrank away from telling that man, Clare Kendry’s white husband, anything that would lead him to suspect that his wife was a Negro. Nor could she write it, telephone it, or tell it to someone else who would tell him.
She was caught between two allegiances, different, yet the same. Herself. Her race. Race! The thing that bound and suffocated her.”
What’s it about?
This slim novel was first published in 1929. Two old friends, Irene and Clare, run into each other unexpectedly at an all-white hotel in Chicago. It has been twenty years since they last saw each other. Irene has since married a doctor and lives a privileged life in Harlem as a black woman- she only passes on occasion when she feels it is necessary. As it turns out, Clare has been passing as a white woman since they last met, in fact she is married to a very racist white man that has no idea of her past. With conflicting feelings, Irene slowly lets Clare back into her life in Harlem.
What did it make me think about?
Were people always this formal and polite?
Should I read it?
This was a quick and interesting read. The pacing and the plot were notable, but I was struck by the formality of the writing. Even the character’s internal thoughts seem formal and stilted. For me, it was a little hard to get too emotionally involved as the language keeps you at a distance. Even when Irene talks about feeling depressed and not being in the Christmas spirit you are kept at a polite distance. “Though, she admitted, reluctantly, she herself didn’t feel the proper Christmas spirit this year either. But that couldn’t be helped, it seemed, any more than the weather. She was weary and depressed. And for all her trying, she couldn’t be free of that dull, indefinite misery which with increasing tenaciousness had laid ahold of her.”
So, this is a novel that I am reading with a group. There is a lot to appreciate about this book and I am glad I read it. Harlem in the 1920’s was an interesting place. Irene and Clare are at two opposite ends of the spectrum in how they chose to live their lives- and this should make for an interesting discussion. I have no doubt I will come away with more of an appreciation for this story once we discuss it. Lots to be unraveled about race, identity, and the choices we make.
Quote-
“But she shrank away from telling that man, Clare Kendry’s white husband, anything that would lead him to suspect that his wife was a Negro. Nor could she write it, telephone it, or tell it to someone else who would tell him.
She was caught between two allegiances, different, yet the same. Herself. Her race. Race! The thing that bound and suffocated her.”
I wasn't expecting to like this story as much as I did. It was required reading for school, and it made me think.
The story is told from one character's point of view. Was she a reliable narrator? Is this the story the way it really happened, or just the way it happened in her mind? Did the story really end that way? Where are the answers?
Definitely worth reading!
The story is told from one character's point of view. Was she a reliable narrator? Is this the story the way it really happened, or just the way it happened in her mind? Did the story really end that way? Where are the answers?
Definitely worth reading!
Re-read for the first time since undergrad. The ending really redeems this book as far as it being interesting. The actual development of passing as an idea in the first 2/3 of the book is somewhat bland - the characters have conversations in which they explain the psychology and sociology of it. They react emotionally too - it isn't all "tell" as opposed to "show", but there's an awful lot of "tell"-ing. There's a romantic development that you can kind of see coming a mile away, too. The main element of suspense was really - "where is this all going?" and a bit of "when the main character decides to pretend, is that supposed to be a parallel to passing?". Luckily, the first question gets answered in the sense that there is a dramatic ending to it all. It's actually quite a neat parallel to the first chapter - in both scenes, the characters meet on the top floor of a building. In both scenes, a person of one race intrudes into a space they are not supposed to be in, a space dedicated to the other race. Both scenes are driven by unspoken knowledge, taboo, racial tension, danger. Both scenes involve ... impulsive decisions. But I found the ending to be a little disappointing because it left the romantic development unresolved. I'm trying not to spoil anything here. In the end, the story felt like a scaffold on which to hang some sociological and psychological observations more than a proper novel. It's still interesting and good, but just doesn't feel like it's all that finished.
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