Reflection on Passing by Nella Larsen - Term Paper Example

Inserts His/her Inserts Inserts Grade Inserts Here (Day, Month, Year) Passing by Nella Larsen This story is about two African women Irene and Clare. Irene Redfield, a fair African American woman ethnically passing for white, is faced with mental difficulties due to wrong decisions taken by Clare. In the commencement, Irene, the central character, goes to Chicago and stays at an elegant hotel Drayton. Meanwhile, sitting on the table she finds a beautiful woman gazing at her and after a few minutes that strange woman comes and sits with her.

Irene finds out that the woman was Clare, a woman from her childhood. Irene was a woman who hated racism. Irene learns that Clare has been hiding her African inheritance throughout her wedding. Heatedly, Irene returns home and decides to keep away from Clare, but finds herself yielding to Clare's attraction once again. Clare wants to retort the black community and induces Irene to invite her to a social circle. During the dance, Irene resentfully comprehends that Clare seems to get along with everyone and grows disappointed with her.

When Irene repeatedly watches Clare's luck augment concerning her hazardous risks, she feels endangered and in the end, kills Clare by pushing her out of the window. Not only does Clare pass in skin shade, but she also passes in societal rank, which intimidates Irene's outlook of the idyllic middle-class African American. Because Clare passes for white, marries a rich man and hides her African race. Although Irene resented the way Clare hid her African race but still she supported her because of the racial ties she shares with her.

As Clare was afraid of what will happen if she will show that she is African. She thought that her social class will fall and she will lose all friends but Irene didn’t believe it to be true but still she doesn’t go against her as this would be against her rules as well. When Clare talks with Irene, she declares that she misses black people and wishes to retort once again with them. Irene, being a determined woman, also takes the responsibility of rejoining Clare with her African family. Same racial background was not the only reason why Irene was supporting Clare; there was a homosexual relation between them which, in my point of view, played a more important part.

This relation was dangerous and tempting to both women as whenever Irene talks to Clare, she just admires her beauty. This homosexuality is from the beginning as Irene had a sexless marriage with her husband. This becomes obvious because they each sleep in two different beds. Irene didn’t have any love for her husband; the reason for living with him was economic support. In addition to that, they lived together for psychological as well as communal safety. If Irene had refused to live with her husband, then she would have been refused by her social circle as most of the homosexuals are not liked by the society.

This would have lead to a social rejection of Irene and most probably her husband as well. All the actions that Irene did were to restore things back to normal. The novel shows Irene as an African homosexual woman who is attracted to another beautiful African woman due to racial and more importantly homosexual ties. Their relation becomes stronger but creates more and more problems for Irene. The act of Irene pushing Clare out of the window becomes her key move to restore her social order which was earlier disturbed by the introduction of Clare into her life.

As for Irene, it is now easier for her to be normal as the woman she was attracted to have died and the same woman was causing the racial misbalance. So whatever Irene did it eventually lead to restore the things back to how the society wanted them to be. Reference “Passing by Nella Larsen”, enotes, enotes online,1929. Web, 2011. http://www.enotes.com/passing-salem/passing “Passing by Nella Larsen”, Monkeynotes, Monkeynotes online, 2008. Web, 2011. http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/monkeynote/pmPassingSample.pdf