Nella_Larsen_-_Passing

1. Introduction This term paper is part of the senior seminar Literature and Hybridity held by Dr. Warren Carriou during summer semester 2008. In the seminar we dealt with the novel Passing by Nella Larsen, which describes the idea of ‘passing’ as a white person in the United States of America, although you have a black background. Legally these individuals would be considered as black at the time the novel is set to be. However, they would not be recognized as black during everyday life due to their looks and appearance. The protagonists Irene Redfield and Clare Kendry live in two different worlds with two different racial identities. In this term paper I would like to analyze the ways these two characters try to deal with their situations. In my opinion, they have to create an illusion or disguise themselves in order to get along in their or another world. Irene and Clare have different problems to deal with and therefore also different strategies to deal with them. I will focus on the ideas of illusion, pretense and disguise throughout the book. These motifs are closely related to the occurring racial problems Irene and Clare face. Finally, when I read the book it reminded me somehow of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. When Irene sits in the Drayton (the waving curtains (Larsen 1997 : 13)), it reminded me of the world Jay Getz lives in. Probably, I had a scene of the 1974 motion picture in mind, staring Robert Redford. Nevertheless, I made me think about the illusions which are existing in Gatsby. It is also a world of illusions, but it is a white men’s world. Is there a difference' That is why I want to compare these two novels in two important aspects. On the one hand, the illusion which is necessary to pass or being recognized and on the other hand the tragic ending. Can one be living on an illusion or better on a lie' To me, this is not possible. 2. The Illusion in Passing In this chapter I would like to deal with the idea of creating an illusion in order to pass as white. Right from the beginning of the novel, we learn that there must be two different worlds or microcosms we have to deal with. Irene Redfield lives in New York. She is part of the black society, her husband a well-known, honored doctor. They seem to fit in their society. Clare Kendry lives in Chicago and she chose to leave New York a long time ago, because she wanted to change her live and end her misery. Both have their own little world in which, at least it seems so, they have found their place. However, before Clare decided to pass as white she lived an Afro-American life in her youth. She had to stay with her two aunts, which seem like the typical fulfillment of all black stereotypes. Her aunts were poor as church mice, believed in hard labor, had negro blood and believed in the Curse of Ham. Interestingly, this is all Clare mentions about her past and it only seems logical that she wants to leave that life behind. (Larsen 1997 : 26). Clare desires a better life and she is willing to sacrifice a lot for it. This becomes clear in another scene where she steals in order to buy a dress. The dress is a symbol for another world. For Clare it is important to pretend to be something different. By disguising, it is a lot easier to pass as white. The outer appearance defines one’s status/place in society (Larsen 1997 : 19). Note that already in the beginning of The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatz states that image/appearance is an important factor for an up rise in society (Kindler 1999 : Fitzgerald) To draw a conclusion, the image you project upon others defines your position. If you are able to disguise, you can change your position. Nevertheless, you are creating an illusion to be something different. Illusions are an essential part of passing and without them passing would not be possible. 2.0 Why passing' - Motivation The next chapter deals with the motivation of passing. It would be too easy to say that Clare is only lounging for material things. She also desires love and affection which she hopes to find in another world. Since she has only experienced a black world in her childhood, the things she desires must be in another world – a white one. To successfully pass, she has to adapt to the new white world she is living in. She is doing that by assimilating and not raising any attention. The best way to disguise is probably to be close to the area or location you would never expected to be. Passing is a way to change your social status. By passing you give up your old racial identity. No, Clare Kendry cared nothing for the race. She only belonged to it (Larsen 1997 : 52). When Irene and Clare see each other for the first time after all these years their two separate worlds touch. On the one hand, Irene is Clare’s link to the past life and on the other hand Clare is Irene’s link to the white world. It seems like this contact is not desired by Irene. She is overstrained and tries to escape from it. A good example for this is the scene where tears apart Clare’s obtrusive letters. With an unusual methodicalness she tore the offending letter into tiny ragged squares (Larsen 1997 : 47). This behavior seems immature because it reminds the reader of a child that is closing its eyes in order to hide. We can find this behavior for Irene throughout the novel. Although Clare has been passing for all these years she is missing something about her past. The motivation for passing is the desire of a better life. Nevertheless, it seems like you cannot totally leave behind your roots. There must be an instinct within humans to come back to their origin. 3.0 The Aspect of Fear Another aspect of passing as white is the permanent fear of getting caught. This fear must create an immense pressure on people and affect their behavior as well. For example, the fear that Irene experiences when she sits in the Drayton and believes that someone, she is yet unaware of Clare, might have recognized her as black (Larsen 1997 : 16). Interestingly, she is not afraid o being recognized as black, but she would consider it as inappropriate to be removed from the café. Another example for the permanent fear is the conversation Gertrude, Irene and Clare have about giving birth. Women that pass as white live in constant fear that the baby they give birth to could be black. They have to withstand a high pressure the whole pregnancy (Larsen 1997 : 36). Since there was no anti-baby pill yet, it was risky to get pregnant all the time. Furthermore, the refusal of sexual intercourse might lead to suspicion and/or divorce. In my opinion it seems to be a vicious circle. However, the image of fear is changing in the novel. Irene keeps her attitude that it would be dangerous for Clare to associate with black people. Clare instead leaves her worries behind when she asks Irene if it would be all right to join the Negro Welfare League dance. Clare’s desire for black company is so huge that she leaves precautions behind. Irene’s motivation can either be real fear or it could be the desire to ban Clare out of her life. In passing we find different variations of fear that go along with the concept of passing. On the one hand, we experience the everyday fear of uncloaking passing people face. In every situation these people have to be careful and plan every step. Passing is a complex method of disguising, pretending and lying which requires a focused mind On the other hand, we observe that the desire to come back to one’s origin is so strong that you leave all your concerns behind. In my opinion, the concept of passing works only for a certain amount of time. Either you make a mistake and get caught or you feel so displaced that you wish to return to you origin. 3. Racism Racism is a motif we come across the whole novel. Therefore I have decided to analyze some selected quotations and text passages in order to show the eminent hostility towards Afro-Americans. A perfect portrait of the American racist is John Bellew, Clare’s husband. He represents the purest form of hatred against Afro-Americans. For example, he calls his wife Nig which clearly is an abbreviation of the word Negro. Ironically, you could take Clare’s name as symbol for light and the nickname Nig as a symbol for dark. In my opinion there is no better specification than the quotation, “[…] I don’t dislike them. I hate them. […]” (Larsen 1997 : 40) John Bellew does not care about Afro-Americans nor does he signal any readiness to compromise. He symbolizes to me the group of fundamentalists in the United States that believe in white supremacy no matter what. Later in the novel, John Bellew’s world collapses or maybe it collides with Irene’s world. The result is the same. It is the end of the successful passing and foreshadows by its open ending a negative ending. Bellew had believed that his wife was black, but now that he meets Irene with Felise Freeland, he is realizes that Irene was passing. He must know from there on that his wife was fooling him for all those years. His racism and disrespect is more subtle at this point, but not less hard. “His hat came off. He held out his hand, smiling genially. Bu the smile faded at once. Surprise, incredulity, and – was it understanding' – passed over his features.” (Larsen 1997 : 99) However, racism has different facets in Passing. As well as one could argue that Irene is passing as well as Clare, there is also a kind of racism that comes from Irene. Zulena, a small mahogany-colored creature brought in the grapefruit. (Larsen 1997 : 54) At first this does not seem too important, but if you take a closer look, you will find some noteworthy aspects. Although, Irene has an Afro-American background, she describes Zulena as mahogany-colored, usually a term used by whites to describe or categorize blackness. In my opinion this is unusual for a black person describing another black person. Additionally, we come across the word creature. This shows Irene’s superior point of view. To sum it up, we find different forms of racism. Interestingly both ethnical groups, blacks and whites, have at least a little tendency to be racists in Passing. Finally, I would like to point out another important point. It is a quotation from Irene and she says it to Brian after her encounter with John Bellew. […]I’m really not such an idiot that I don’t realize that if a man calls me a nigger, it’s his fault the first time, but mine if he has the opportunity to do it again. Clearly, this quote shows what Irene thinks of Bellew and of racists. But does she really pursue her idea of not giving Bellew the opportunity to insult her again' In my opinion, she does not. By continuously meeting Clare she allows racism its place in her life. It is not Bellew himself, but the white world that insults her and probably the only way to stop it is avoiding it. As long as Irene is still passing, may it be conscious or unconscious she will have to face racism. To sum it up, racism is an important motive in Passing. We encounter different variations of it throughout the novel. Nellla Larsen gives us an overview of the racial aspects during the 1920’s. 5.0 The Great Gatsby In this chapter I would like to compare some aspects of The Great Gatsby and Passing. As mentioned earlier, it was the creation of an illusion in Passing that brought The Great Gatsby back to my mind. In Passing we have a third person narrator who is omniscient. In Gatsby we have Nick Carraway who is recapitulating the events. However, he hast to admit that he may have lost some years and some details. As well as in Passing we have different microcosms in The Great Gatsby. Located on the shores of Long Island lie East Egg, the location were the old aristocratic families live, and West Egg where the “new” rising class lives. These two worlds are not only socially separated, but also separated through a water body. There is a distinguished class system which values East Egg over West Egg. Nick Carraway, one of the protagonists, moves to West Egg and is the neighbor of a Jay Getz. Getz is famous for throwing excessive parties and he creates an illusion around his person that allows him to rise up in society. I do not want to go into details with the plot, it is only important to remember that it is the shine that helps to change your position in society. Furthermore, Gatsby symbolizes the American Dream. Everything is possible as long as you believe in. But is that really true' In my opinion this is true for a white world. More or less, Gatsby is a bootlegger who made a fortune with liquor and he overcomes all hardships and turns into a successful illusionary businessman. In Passing we have a black world and it does not seem possible for escape from the black world Irene is living in or to live entirely happy in a white world. From another point of view this scene is very interesting, because Irene is passing as white in that moment. She accepts the suggestion of the taxi driver to take her to the Drayton and then she is entering ‘white’ territory. Essentially is that she is doing it whether she is aware of it or not remains unanswered. How can she despise Clare for doing the same' Conclusion As shown above passing is the concept of giving up your identity in order to live a new different live. Passing is the desire to escape from your ordinary life and change your class and social status for the better. To me, the price you have to pay for that change is the question. Passing means to sell your identity and personality. In order to pass successfully you have to disguise permanently and you have to be careful at any time. Passing creates an intense psychological pressure. Passing includes a change in class, because otherwise it would not make any sense. The reason why people try to pass as white ist that they live in a black community and -------------------------------------------- [ 2 ]. Note that they are both light enough to pass as white [ 3 ]. Clothes as tool to disguise [ 4 ]. Online edition [ 5 ]. Irene tries to protect her child from racial issues and sex [ 6 ]. 07-20-2008: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2838/is_n3_v32/ai_212