Passing
by Nella Larsen
'Passing' Summary
The story is written as a third person narrative from the perspective of Irene Redfield, a mixed-race woman who lives in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City.
Part One of the book, titled "Encounter," opens with Irene receiving a letter from Clare Kendry, causing her to recall a chance encounter she had had with her, at the roof restaurant of the Drayton Hotel in Chicago, during a brief stay in the city. Irene does not answer Clare's attempts to reconnect written in the letters.The women grew up together but lost touch when Clare's bi-racial father died and she was taken to live with her two paternal white aunts. Irene learns that Clare "passes" for white, living primarily in Europe with her unsuspecting, rich, white husband and their daughter. Although Irene tries to avoid further engagement with Clare, she never is able to fully exclude her from her life as she later visits Clare for tea along with another childhood friend, Gertrude Martin. Toward the end of the visit, Clare's white husband John (Jack) Bellew arrives. Unaware that all three women are bi-racial, Jack expresses some very racist views and makes the women uneasy. However, the women play along in an effort to maintain Clare's secret identity. Afterward, Irene and Gertrude decide that Clare's situation is too dangerous for them to continue associating with her and are uncomfortable around Clare and her husband. Irene receives a letter of apology from Clare but destroys it in her quest to try and forget about Clare and get her out of her life. Instead Irene wants to focus on her life with her husband, Brian, and her two sons, Theodore and Brian Jr.
Part Two of the book, "Re-encounter," returns to the present, with Irene having received the new letter from Clare. After Irene ignores Clare's letter, Clare visits in person so Irene reluctantly agrees to see her. When it is brought up that Irene serves on the committee for the "Negro Welfare League" (NWL)[b] Clare invites herself to their upcoming dance despite Irene's advice against it for fear that Jack will find out. Clare attends the dance and enjoys herself without her husband finding out, which encourages her to continue spending time in Harlem. Irene and Clare resume their childhood companionship, and Clare frequently visits Irene's home.
The third and final part of the novel begins before Christmas, as Irene's relationship with her husband has become increasingly fraught. Aware of her friend's appeal, Irene becomes convinced that her husband is having an affair with Clare. During a shopping trip with her visibly black friend Felise Freeland, Irene encounters Jack, who becomes aware of her and, by extension, Clare's, racial status. Irene considers warning Clare about Jack's new-found knowledge but decides against it, worried that the pair's divorce might encourage her husband to leave her for Clare. Later, Clare accompanies Irene and Brian to a party hosted by Felise. The gathering is interrupted by Jack, who accuses Clare of being a "damned dirty nigger!" Irene rushes to Clare, who is standing by an open window. Suddenly, Clare falls out of the window from the top floor of the building to the ground below, where she is pronounced dead by the guests who eventually gather at the site. Whether she has fallen accidentally, was pushed by either Irene or Bellew, or committed suicide, is unclear. The book ends with Irene's fragmented anguish at Clare's death.
Book Details
Language
EnglishOriginal Language
EnglishPublished In
1929Author
Nella Larsen
United States
Nellallitea "Nella" Larsen was an American novelist. Working as a nurse and a librarian, she published two novels, Quicksand (1928) and Passing (1929), and a few sho...
More on Nella LarsenDownload eBooks
Listen/Download Audiobook
- Select Speed
Related books
The Diary of a Nobody by George Grossmith
Grossmith’s comic novel unveils the daily chronicles of the pompous and clumsy middle-aged clerk Charles Pooter, who has just moved to the London subu...
32 Caliber by Donald McGibney
32 Caliber is a 1920 detective novel by Donald McGibney. The novel is set in New York City and tells the story of a lawyer named John C. Blake who is...
Better Angel by Forman Brown
Better Angel is a novel by Forman Brown first published in 1933 under the pseudonym Richard Meeker. It was republished as Torment in 1951. It is an ea...
Imperium in Imperio: A Study of the Negro Race Problem by Sutton Griggs
Imperium in Imperio is a historical fiction novel by Sutton Griggs, published in 1899. The novel covers the life of Belton Piedmont, an educated and d...
Citadel of Lost Ships by Leigh Brackett
"It was a Gypsy world, built of space flotsam, peopled with the few free races of the Solar System. Roy Campbell, outcast prey of the Coalition, enter...
Don Quixote Vol. 01 by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha or just Don Quixote is a Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes. It was originally published in two par...
An Earthman on Venus by Ralph Milne Farley
The novel concerns electrical engineer Myles Cabot, who disappears from his home in Boston while performing an experiment. He finds himself transporte...
The Girl with the Golden Eyes by Honoré de Balzac
La Fille aux yeux d'or (English: The Girl With the Golden Eyes) is an 1835 novella by Honoré de Balzac. It is the third part of the Thirteen series, w...
The Hand of Ethelberta by Thomas Hardy
The Hand of Ethelberta: A Comedy in Chapters is a novel by Thomas Hardy, published in 1876. It was written, in serial form, for the Cornhill Magazine,...
Jennie Gerhardt by Theodore Dreiser
Jennie Gerhardt is a 1911 novel by Theodore Dreiser.
Reviews for Passing
No reviews posted or approved, yet...