Summary Of Passing By Nella Larsen

Webster dictionary defines home as one's place of residence or one's place of origin. Though a person's home cannot always be defined, it depends on who that person is and what they view as their home. Some people view homes as a place, some people view home as a certain heritage or traditions, and some people view home as a person. The novel, Passing by Nella Larsen addresses the idea of home or identity, and allows each character to be interpreted on each one's home and identity. The novel tells the story of two women, Clare and Irene, and both are black, but because of the complexion of their skin, they are able to “pass” as white women in public. This idea of passing brings both benefits and complications to the lives of both women, …show more content…
Irene tries to make her life and her family’s life as if they were white and surrounded by white culture. Irene’s husband Brian is a doctor and wants to go to Brazil in order to help sick people there, though Irene does not want to leave the world that she has created for herself, and tries to change Brian to fit the fantasy she has created in her head. Irene tries to control the happiness of her husband, “It was only that she wanted him to be happy, resenting however, his inability to be so with things as they were, and never acknowledging that though she did want him to be happy, it was only in her own way and by some plan of hers for him that she truly desired him to be so” (Larsen.62). Irene wants her husband to be happy, but she only wants him to be happy about the things that she is happy about and she is the only one that brings him happiness. Because Irene longs for the idea of being white she “passes” or pretends to be white in public to do or get the things that she normally would not be able to do or get if she told people she was black. Irene acts as if passing is not a large part of her life stating, “It’s funny about ‘passing.’ We disapprove of it and at the same time condone it. We shy away from it with an odd kind of revulsion, nut we protect it” (Larsen.56). Irene uses “passing” as a way for her to connect to her …show more content…
Because both women unconsciously wish for the others life they cannot live the life that they have been given the right, they try to change things in the life that they want and not the life that they have. Irene tries to change her family and make them live the perfect white life; while Clare tries to ignore the life she has created “passing” and become more involved in the black community. While both women want the life of the other many other problems in the novel can be explained through this idea, such as Irene’s jealousy. Throughout the last half of the novel, Irene is jealous of Clare and believes that she could be having an affair with her husband. Irene states, “Of course, I’m glad you did. And in spite of my recent remarks, Clare does add to any part. She’s so easy on the eyes”(Larsen.89). Irene has been driven mad by the littlest idea that her husband could be having an affair with Clare and has even become a different person because of it. Irene longs for the perfect life that Clare seems to have and unconsciously longs for her life so much that she has become jealous of Clare even to the point of believing that her husband would leave her for Clare. Irene has become so involved with white culture and what her life could be like she has begun to ignore her actual life. Similarly Clare has begun to ignore that life that she has because she unconsciously

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