Discuss the Relationship Between Irene and Clare in Nella Larsen's Passing

Passing is a fiction tale written by Nella Larsen to highlight the struggle of American and Africa women and men who forged their identity to liberate themselves from the bonds placed on them by the society. The novel depicts the lives of the two women residing from the segregated culture. Passing portrays the reunion of Irene Westover with her childhood friend Clare Kendry. The relationship between Clare and Irene was complicated but exciting since each one of them has a lifestyle of spying on one another (Larsen 5). Irene married Brain; a black man who was activist; Clare married a white man and migrated and lived in the high echelons part of the society. The two knew each other from high school. The relationship between the two characters was not that close according to the writer. Though the whole story presented on Irene's perspective, the audience has no vision into Clare's point of view. Then this gives an opportunity to explore and analyze the relationship between Irene and Clare as manifested in this novel.

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Irene and Clare's relationship was strained. The novel takes the audience to the two years before where Clare invited Irene over for a tea. At this moment, Irene heard Clare's husband Bellew making racists comments about black people not knowing both Irene and Clare are black African Americans. According to Irene's viewpoint, Clare had a lot of attitudes which irritated, and offended her. She described Clare as "having nature," meaning that Clare had a naive trend of accepting gifts and readily offering herself to people's life (Mcdowell 363).

Clare wrote to Irene not knowing Irene's intention of ending the relationship and contact with her. In particular, this is shown when Irene purported to be aware of the content of the letter and disliked the idea of opening and reading it. Irene was always trying to keep herself as a respectable person. Therefore, she perceived Clare as childish and spoiled. As Irene spend more and more time with Clare, Irene irritations escalated due to Clare's stories and actions.

The relationship changed when Irene suspected that her husband, Brain was having an affair with Clare. In that time, Irene developed a hostile attitude towards her friend Clare and even swore to stop Clare from joining her social life (Mcdowell 363). Irene was determined never to take Clare to the blacks parties. Irene later confronted Clare towards the end of the party as depicted in the final parts of the novel. Clare felt loneliness and yearned for other black women's company. Clare later mysteriously fell through the window and died when Irene was standing close to the scene. Thus, this scene showed that Irene might have been behind Clare's murder.

Even before the purported murder incidence, Clare's marriage to Bellew was in trouble, and further weakened when she refused to move to Brazil with her husband, Bellew. Towards the ends of the novel, Irene spread the propaganda of possible divorce between Clare and her husband when her husband realized Clare's race. Clare narrated to Irene why she did not intend to add more children apart from the one child she had because she feared the child might be born with a black outlook.

Earlier, Irene and Clare's meeting for the first time after twelve years was a circumstance where both purported to be whites (Larsen 10). The duo met while taking tea at the top of Drayton Hotel, a place where only whites were allowed. Irene went to Drayton Hotel after being told by a taxi driver probably means to become a white person, and this was indeed a secret in her desire to be a white (Larsen 21). In the place, Irene was fascinated with Clare's beauty and the way Clare was stirring at her. She suspected that Clare might have realized her identity or instead of passing. Clare later made a bold personality to Irene in an emotional reunion after a long time.

Irene and Clare were both passing as whites, but Irene possessed some jealousy of Clare who was able to penetrate the white society while she seemed happy as a black (Mcdowell 371). Clare's body, however, attracted Irene's attention and seemed to intensify the jealousy nature of Irene. Irene's sexuality was brought out when she described Clare's ways of pondering eyes, tempting mouth, and this pinpoint heterosexuality. Brain acknowledged his awareness of Irene's sexuality when Irene described Brain as extremely good looking.

Conclusion

To conclude, the novel begins with the Irene Redfield, who is a prominent Harlem woman. She opens a letter from her former friend Clare Kendry, a wife to a white man Bellew who is a racist and not aware of the real identity of his wife. According to the letter, Clare insisted that she is lonely and pleaded with her longtime friend Irene if she could meet her up again. In essence, this novel depicts a strained relationship between Irene and Clare.

Works Cited

Larsen, Nella. Passing. Passing. Ed. Carla Kaplan. New York: W. W. Norton and Company, Inc, 2007. 5-82. Print.

Mcdowell, Deborah. "Black Female Sexuality in Passing" Passing. Ed. Carla Kaplan. New York: W. W. Norton and Company, Inc, 2017. 363-379. Print.