Passing #2

Novel: Passing

Author: Nella Larsen

Analysis&Quote:

Irene was thinking: “I had my chance and didn’t take it.”    

Again, I think this book is similar to The Great Gatsby in the fact that this novel chronicles the life of a women who seemingly has everything. Instead of class/economic background being kept a secret it is race.

            Honestly, I am not entirely sure what Larsen is trying to say in the novel, but I think she is hinting that you can’t repress your emotions or other cultural parts of you. When Clare started “passing” as white, she had to repress her black heritage/side. And although “passing” did have its economic benefits she was still unhappy with the life she was living because she couldn’t express her desire or actually have the chance to be around black people. Since she repressed herself for so long when the opportunity arrived she took it because it would give her the chance to fulfill her unmet desires.

            The same is said for Irene who held such a tight and controlled grip on her emotions. She put a lot of strain on herself by not allowing herself to express anger, sadness, and any other emotion that wasn’t happiness or joy. She was too scared to speak or say something and always found ways to justify why she didn’t say the sentence or mention something that happened. Because of this, when Clare started to enter her life she became even more frustrated because she wanted to say something but couldn’t. Her lack of courage and confidence made her yield to other people’s commands/wishes. This isn’t realized until she sees that she can never say no to Clare and once Clare does enter her life she realizes that even though she thought she had control over Brian that he actually had control over her. I believe she thought that since she was able to stop them from moving to Brazil that she had some sort of power or foothold in their relationship. But I think the moment she made that decision that Brian lost all respect for her and slowly and subtly started to control her, but Irene didn’t realize this until Clare came along.

            That said Brian is the most obvious example of repressed desires. He wanted to move to Brazil to make life better for his children so they wouldn’t grow up in a racist society and wanted to be somewhere new. However, he gave that up for Irene because he loved her at the time. Over time, I think his resentment started to build up and took form in him mocking his wife and sarcastically answering her.

            I think what Larsen demonstrates is a sort of give/take relationship or pro/con. She says that if you do repress certain desires of parts of yourself that you have to take into consideration what you are giving up and what you will take in return. I think Passing shows the reader or even warns the reader that you have to make decisions carefully because they can determine the rest of your life.