Passing by Nella Larsen is very similar to Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man by James Weldon Johnson due to the theme of passing. Both authors depict the positive and negative sides to passing. The narrator in Autobiography lived a pleasant and leisurely life while traveling Europe with his millionaire friend, but he felt he was missing something bigger than that. He was longing to find himself and where he belonged in society. Even after he decided to pass, marry a white woman and have children, he still felt lost and fearful of others finding out about his true identity. Larsen uses Clare to illustrate these same ideas, but down plays the fear. Irene shows more fear for Clare and her daughter Margery than anything. This just goes to show how selfish Clare is. She isn’t concerned about Margery or her husband and how her life would be ruined if anyone was to find out about her situation. It emphasizes Clare’s characteristics of being tough and “stepping always on the edge of danger” (pg. 4).
The difference I found between Larsen and Johnson’s novels is that Johnson’s character had a reason to pass, for his music career, while Clare didn’t. I think she just wanted to live the wealthy life and enjoy all the perks of it. At the same time Clare does express feelings of loneliness and missing her race especially when she invited herself to the Negro Welfare League dance. Her frequent visits after the NFL dance also support this idea.
1 comment:
I think we definately get to see a deeper side to Clare in this second half. She starts to not feel so sure about herself anymore which ironically is what Irene is going through as well.
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