Passing, Black Identity & Race
"This, she reflected, was of a piece with all that she knew of Clare Kendry. Stepping always on the edge of danger. Always aware, but not drawing back or turning aside. Certainly not because of any alarms or feeling of outrage on the part of others."
What does this quote mean? How is this an example of "passing/black identity"?
What is...Irene’s descriptions of Clare as “on the edge of danger” foreshadow Clare’s future. Moreover, the idea that Clare is in danger because she is perched on a threshold between two spaces is a consistent theme throughout the book, since Larsen uses Clare to explore the liminal space of “passing” and being part of both black and white communities. As the book goes on, it becomes clear that the in-between-space Clare occupies, although beneficial in many ways, also takes an enormous toll on her emotionally.
Which character is defined by her role as a mother? How do we know as readers? Who does his character constantly criticize for her role as a mother
What is Irene Redfield? Irene constantly defines her role in society by being a mom to Junior and Ted. She continuously criticizes Clare and her lack of devotion to motherhood.
"White people were so stupid about such things for all that they usually asserted that they were able to tell; and by the most ridiculous means: fingernails, palms of hands, shapes of ears, teeth, and other equally silly rot. They always took her for an Italian, a Spaniard, a Mexican, or a Gypsy. Never, when she was alone, had they even remotely seemed to suspect that she was a Negro. No, the woman sitting there staring at her couldn’t possibly know."
What is Irene insinuating about white people and their connection between beauty and race?
What is...Irene expresses her belief that the idea of being able to definitively determine someone’s race through a series of physical clues is stupid. Irene associates this folly with white people, whom she describes as being obsessed with decoding race through specific physical features or body parts. Irene takes pleasure it the fact that no white person ever succeeds in guessing her race when she is alone, and she revels in being the example that disproves the idea that, by scrutinizing physical features, someone can definitively determine another person’s race.
"Not so lonely that that old, queer, unhappy restlessness had begun again within him; that craving for some place strange and different, which at the beginning of her marriage she had had to make such strenuous efforts to repress, and which yet faintly alarmed her, though it now sprang up at gradually lessening intervals."
What "craving" is Irene referring to here in her marriage?
What is...the way that Irene thinks about Brian’s longing for South America is extremely intimate, as if Irene understands this “craving.”
Passing refers to:
a). A period of time having occurred
b). The ability to move between different social circles
c). A member of one racial group accepted as another racial group
d). Changing one’s language to suit the cultural environment
What is a member of one racial group accepted as another racial group?
"You can’t know how in this pale life of mine I am all the time seeing the bright pictures of that other that I once thought I was glad to be free of….It’s like an ache, a pain that never ceases."
What does this quote mean? How is this an example of "passing/black identity"?
What is...Clare writes this quote in her second letter to Irene, describing the pain she feels at her alienation from the black community. Clare has received many privileges through passing, including insulation from racial violence, financial security, and the ability to spend time in all-white spaces. However, despite these benefits, Clare is still clearly extremely unhappy and feels tremendously lonely. When Clare describes her life as “pale,” she plays on the idea of paleness as both a complexion and a lack of vibrancy. Through Clare, Larsen conveys the psychological toll that passing can take on black people.
It is evident Irene and Brian are unhappy in their marriage. According to Irene, why does she refuse to allow Brian to leave her:
a). Irene takes pride in motherhood and security and cannot give that up
b). Irene knows she can never be with Clare
c). Brian would not allow her to leave him
d). Brian would spill her secrets about her past "passing"
What is...Irene takes pride in motherhood and security and cannot give that up.
"It’s awful the way it skips generations and then pops out. Why, he actually said he didn’t care what color it turned out, if I would only stop worrying about it. But, of course, nobody wants a dark child."
Why does Gertrude think of blackness as aesthetically unappealing?
What is...Gertrude has an internalized sense of racism and feels that a light-skinned child will make for an easier life and match American beauty standards.
"Her lips, painted a brilliant geranium red, were sweet and sensitive and a little obstinate. A tempting mouth. The face across the forehead and cheeks was a trifle too wide, but the ivory skin had a peculiar soft luster. And the eyes were magnificent! Dark, sometimes absolutely black, always luminous, and set in long, black lashes. Arresting eyes, slow and mesmeric, and with, for all their warmth, something withdrawn and secret about them. Ah! Surely! They were Negro eyes! Mysterious and concealing. And set in that ivory face under that bright hair, there was about them something exotic. Yes, Clare Kendry’s loveliness was absolute, beyond challenge, thanks to those eyes which her grandmother and later her mother and father had given her."
How is this quote an example of Irene's sexual attraction to Clare? Be specific!
What is...Irene’s sexual attraction to Clare is even apparent in this quote. For example, Irene describes Clare’s mouth as “tempting,” suggesting that Irene is imagining kissing Clare. Meanwhile, Clare’s eyes “mesmerize” her, as they seem to contain something “withdrawn and secret” about them. By evoking language about enclosure and secrecy, Irene’s thoughts seem illicit, forbidden—like the possibility of Irene’s desire for Clare.
Irene’s husband wants ____, while she wants ____:
a). to move to Brazil; to maintain her current security
b). to be seen as black; to pass for white
c). to rid their house of Clare; to continue seeing Clare
d). another child; to join the Negro Dance League
What is to move to Brazil; to maintain her current security?
"Later, when she examined her feeling of annoyance, Irene admitted, a shade reluctantly, that it arose from a feeling of being outnumbered, a sense of aloneness, in her adherence to her own class and kind; not merely in the great thing of marriage, but in the whole pattern of her life as well."
What does this quote mean? How is this an example of "passing/black identity"?
What is...Here, the narrator is expressing Irene’s frustration with Gertrude and Clare, who both married white men and seem to think that their choice was superior to Irene’s choice to marry a black man.
Interestingly, Irene being the only one in the room to have married a black man makes her feel “a sense of aloneness.” Later, when Clare begins to spend more time with Irene, Clare expresses how deeply lonely she feels in her marriage to John, a white man. Irene feels judged and, in this instance, lonely for not having a part in white society, while Clare feels lonely for having lost her place in the black community. It’s notable that both Irene and Clare’s senses of alienation come because of their choices in marriage.
How is Clare's rejection to her duties as a mom connected with her desire to "pass"?
What is...In the novel, the reason for Clare to reject motherhood is strongly bonded with her racial passing. In her mind, children will be the potential danger of her own racial passing being discovered.
"Brian, she was thinking, was extremely good-looking. Not, of course, pretty or effeminate; the slight irregularity of his nose saved him from the prettiness, and the rather marked heaviness of his chin saved him from the effeminacy. But he was, in a pleasant masculine way, rather handsome. And yet, wouldn’t he, perhaps, have been merely ordinarily good-looking but for the richness, the beauty of his skin, which was of an exquisitely fine texture and deep copper color?"
What does this quote say about the way in which Irene is describing this character? Who is she talking about? How does this quote differ from pervious character descriptions?
What is...In this quote, Irene is watching Brian read a letter and evaluating his attractiveness. In comparison to Irene’s many drawn-out, lush, and impassioned descriptions of Clare’s beauty, this description of Brian’s attractiveness (the only one in the novel) reads more like a catalogue of traits than a gushing, impulsive admiration. The contrast between Irene’s descriptions of Clare’s and Brian’s beauty serves as more evidence of Irene’s repressed queerness. Moreover, throughout this description, Irene takes note of exactly which features make Brian “not… pretty or effeminate,” suggesting perhaps that Irene pays close attention to gender in evaluating beauty.
"Not so lonely that that old, queer, unhappy restlessness had begun again within him; that craving for some place strange and different, which at the beginning of her marriage she had had to make such strenuous efforts to repress, and which yet faintly alarmed her, though it now sprang up at gradually lessening intervals."
What thought has Irene had to suppress all this time?
What is Irene's growing affection for Clare.
Clare starts expressing how she wants to start seeing “other people.” This refers to:
a). her want to reengage her black heritage
b). to start have an affair
c). to end her friendship with Irene
d). to leave her husband
What is her want to reengage her black heritage?
"It’s funny about ‘passing.’ We disapprove of it and at the same time condone it. It excites our contempt and yet we rather admire it. We shy away from it with an odd kind of revulsion, but we protect it."
What does this quote mean? How is this an example of "passing/black identity"?
What is...Irene’s statement expresses the deep ambivalence that the black community feels toward passing. Irene describes the simultaneous feelings of contempt and admiration that passing elicits in black people, and this shows that passing is a fraught but established aspect of the black experience in the United States. Irene’s description of ambivalence towards passing reflects the broader ambivalence that categorizes Irene’s feelings about nearly everything throughout the book—passing, Clare, Brian, etc.
Irene admits, “She had ever truly known love. Not even for Brian. He was her husband and the father of her sons. But was he anything more? Had she ever wanted or tried for more? In that hour she thought not”
What does this quote suggest about Irene and Brian's relationship?
What is...Irene only loves Brian for his role as a father.
"You can’t know how in this pale life of mine I am all the time seeing the bright pictures of that other that I once thought I was glad to be free of….It’s like an ache, a pain that never ceases."
Who is the speaker of this quote? What "pain" are they referring to?
What is...Clare writes this quote in her second letter to Irene, describing the pain she feels at her alienation from the black community. Clare has received many privileges through passing, including insulation from racial violence, financial security, and the ability to spend time in all-white spaces. However, despite these benefits, Clare is still clearly extremely unhappy and feels tremendously lonely.
"Clare had come softly into the room without knocking and, before Irene could greet her, had dropped a kiss on her dark curls… Redfield had a sudden inexplicable onrush of affectionate feeling. Reaching out, she grasped Clare’s two hands in her own and cried with something like awe in her voice: “Dear God! But aren’t you lovely Clare!”"
What is different about how Irene reacts in this quote to Clare in comparison to her interactions with Brian?
What is...Irene is overwhelmed with excitement and joy when greeted by Clare which confirms her feelings for Clare. When Irene interacts with Brian, there is little to no evidence of such joy belonging in their marriage.
According to Brian, people in his community "pass”:
a). For self-preservation
b). For monetary gain
c). For self-aggrandizement
d). For self-amusement
What is self-preservation?
"You didn’t tell him you were colored, so he’s got no way of knowing about this hankering of yours after....or that it galls you to fury to hear them called black devils. As far as I can see, you’ll just have to endure some things and give up others. As we’ve said before, everything must be paid for."
What does this quote mean? How is this an example of "passing/black identity"?
What is...Irene’s condescending response puts the blame for Clare’s situation on Clare, as Irene reminds Clare that she has subjected herself to John’s racism since she never told him about her race. Irene’s belief that “everything must be paid for” reflects Irene’s sense that by living as a white person and benefitting from white privilege, Clare must sacrifice her black identity and community—to Irene, it’s ridiculous for Clare to expect to hold onto both.
What are the names of Clare and Irene's children?
What is...Margaery (Clare), and Ted/Theo (Irene)
How are beauty and race connected thus far in "Passing"?
What is...Answers may vary but need to be aligned to the ideal that characters are fixated on those who are "beautiful" who have a light skin complexion or are white...
Why is Irene jealous of Clare's marriage?
What is...Irene considers outing Clare to her husband which suggests an envy to which she will not admit. Reinterpreting it into jealousy allows Irene to feel more reasonable, even if it undermines her feelings of superiority about her own marriage versus Clare’s.
Who is Hugh Wentworth?
a). A white neighbor who suspects Clare’s passing
b). A famous white author who frequents black dances/events
c). Gertrude’s husband
d). He puts on the Negro League Dance
What is a famous white author who frequents black dances/events?