Nella Larsen "Passing"

"Passing"

Irene - BrianClare - John (Jack)

Irene gets mail from Clare - flashback to last time:Irene was visiting Chicago and saw Clare on top of fancy hotel (Irene is passing)Clare calls Irene to hang w/her and GertrudeClare's husband John is very racistBack to present:Clare comes to Irene's houseClare wants to join Irene at negro danceClare realizes colored people are greatIrene worries about John finding out Clare's passingIrene tempted to tell JohnIrene worried Clare & Brian having affairIrene & Felise go DT, run into JohnClaire, Irene, Brian go to Felise's party-John storms in, calls Clare out-Clare falls out window & dies

someone with AA ancestry that appears white and pretends to be so

the belief and practice of improving the genetic quality of the human population

if you have one drop of black blood, you are black.

white mother, danish west-indian fathercould have passed herself, but didn'tpioneered "psychological fiction"-heightened interest in all things psychological-modernist moment-"third person focalized" narration

grew up together, took very diff pathsIrene wants us to believe Clare is selfish, cold, hard, catlike, manipulative, superior... but really Clare = IreneClare = race betrayer = IreneClare = selfish, manipulative = IreneClare = superior = IreneIrene = "defender of race" NOT

Evidence of an affair? Not really.

..A theory of suppressed desire:Irene wants Clare. Irene is passing in a different dimension. This repression animates her in the text - she kills Clare (probably)