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A review by mariahistryingtoread
Passing by Nella Larsen
4.0
I wasn't sure I would like this book given the fact that it was written so long ago. Classics are classics for a reason, but that's not always a good reason. Thankfully, this was one of the good ones.
Passing is an interesting story in its simplicity. Outside of the ending it's a story that in theory has high stakes while in practice is relatively small scale. Despite discovery meaning ruination for both Clare and Irene, the story is not really about that fear. If it was it would have probably focused more on Clare actively attempting to hide her Black background. Instead, the entry character is Irene; an outsider looking in that allows us to immerse ourselves in the situation through her. There were many times that I got so caught up in what Irene was feeling that I did not think critically about the situation which made the latter half of the book anxiety inducing for arguably no reason. To me, Irene is an unreliable narrator, but what’s interesting is that depending on the stance you take the degree to which she is an unreliable narrator can differ thereby changing the trajectory of the narrative.
The first half is pretty straightforward. Irene and Clare reunite. Clare, in what we’re told is typical Clare fashion, traipses over a boundary putting Irene at risk causing a rift in the friendship. Several months later the two reconnect again and this time it sticks. The second half of the book is Irene spiraling due to a possible misinterpretation of a situation that she has obsessively fixated on for reasons that remain nebulous until the bitter end.
This book is a mental breakdown through the lens of the Black experience. Mental illness affects everyone differently, but there’s often an additional weight placed on minorities due to how we are systemically subjugated every day to varying extents. This comes into play tremendously when looking at Irene’s character.
Not only is she Black, not only is she living in the 1920s which is a clearly awful time to be Black comparatively, she also is caught between the contentious racial politics of the time by simple virtue of her existence - allowing for a uniquely traumatic reality. She originally has a superior attitude in regards to Clare because she views herself as better than for choosing to live as a Black woman; a fact that is magnified by how great Irene’s life is (at least on paper) regardless of her being Black. Basically, she thinks that Clare betrayed her race for nothing, especially since she holds the belief that those who choose to live as white inevitably are drawn back. She fails to recognize her own privilege as Irene also reaps the benefits of passing even if she does not deliberately seek it out. While Irene using the fact that she cannot always immediately be placed as Black to go to a fancy restaurant is not nearly on the same level of Clare marrying a white man, her contempt for Clare is hypocritical as well as illuminating about how Irene’s perception of Clare revolves around her own mental hang-ups.
Irene takes a very self-righteous position yet as time passes her moral center begins to devolve more and more as Clare begins to insinuate herself further into Irene’s life. It’s not even altogether about Clare specifically; it’s about what Clare represents to Irene. Clare is a mirror to Irene and she exposes the inadequacies of Irene’s life that Irene wanted to ignore. It’s telling that Irene has a recurring fight with her husband that predates Clare’s re-introduction into Irene’s life yet when it crops up again in the latter half of the book Irene is quick to blame Clare’s influence rather than examine the deeper underlying issues present. And while a lot of attention is not paid to Clare, as again she functions more as a vessel for the ideas presented in the book rather than an actual character, what we do get paints an interesting, conflicting picture.
She’s a woman who knowingly married a racist white man for her own benefit. She allows this white man to call her by a slur as a nickname. She has a child with this man; a child she is totally disinterested in. She doggedly pursues a relationship with Irene with no concern for how it could ruin the both of them if her secret were to come out. By all accounts I should hate her. However, all I felt was a deep sadness for the hand she had been dealt; the mistreatment that pushed her to believe this was her only option at a good life, the fact that she arguably was correct. I didn’t like Clare - her decisions while understandable were too inexcusable on a certain level for me to like her - but I totally got why Irene felt somewhat enamored with her even though Clare could be so flighty and morally bankrupt.
There is a sapphic element to this book that I personally did not see when reading, but after having it pointed out, I could definitely see the underpinnings of. I think it creates another kind of tension when looking at Irene and Clare, particularly when looking at why Irene spirals but this was a conclusion made in hindsight not one I made while reading.
I enjoyed this book a lot. It was a quick read that had a lot to say. I can’t believe a book like this was written so long ago; by which I mean it’s momentous that a book discussing these issues was able to be published in the first place. I would recommend this though keep in mind that while I’m impressed at the subject matter considering the time period, it is still a classic so be prepared for the older writing style.
Passing is an interesting story in its simplicity. Outside of the ending it's a story that in theory has high stakes while in practice is relatively small scale. Despite discovery meaning ruination for both Clare and Irene, the story is not really about that fear. If it was it would have probably focused more on Clare actively attempting to hide her Black background. Instead, the entry character is Irene; an outsider looking in that allows us to immerse ourselves in the situation through her. There were many times that I got so caught up in what Irene was feeling that I did not think critically about the situation which made the latter half of the book anxiety inducing for arguably no reason. To me, Irene is an unreliable narrator, but what’s interesting is that depending on the stance you take the degree to which she is an unreliable narrator can differ thereby changing the trajectory of the narrative.
The first half is pretty straightforward. Irene and Clare reunite. Clare, in what we’re told is typical Clare fashion, traipses over a boundary putting Irene at risk causing a rift in the friendship. Several months later the two reconnect again and this time it sticks. The second half of the book is Irene spiraling due to a possible misinterpretation of a situation that she has obsessively fixated on for reasons that remain nebulous until the bitter end.
This book is a mental breakdown through the lens of the Black experience. Mental illness affects everyone differently, but there’s often an additional weight placed on minorities due to how we are systemically subjugated every day to varying extents. This comes into play tremendously when looking at Irene’s character.
Not only is she Black, not only is she living in the 1920s which is a clearly awful time to be Black comparatively, she also is caught between the contentious racial politics of the time by simple virtue of her existence - allowing for a uniquely traumatic reality. She originally has a superior attitude in regards to Clare because she views herself as better than for choosing to live as a Black woman; a fact that is magnified by how great Irene’s life is (at least on paper) regardless of her being Black. Basically, she thinks that Clare betrayed her race for nothing, especially since she holds the belief that those who choose to live as white inevitably are drawn back. She fails to recognize her own privilege as Irene also reaps the benefits of passing even if she does not deliberately seek it out. While Irene using the fact that she cannot always immediately be placed as Black to go to a fancy restaurant is not nearly on the same level of Clare marrying a white man, her contempt for Clare is hypocritical as well as illuminating about how Irene’s perception of Clare revolves around her own mental hang-ups.
Irene takes a very self-righteous position yet as time passes her moral center begins to devolve more and more as Clare begins to insinuate herself further into Irene’s life. It’s not even altogether about Clare specifically; it’s about what Clare represents to Irene. Clare is a mirror to Irene and she exposes the inadequacies of Irene’s life that Irene wanted to ignore. It’s telling that Irene has a recurring fight with her husband that predates Clare’s re-introduction into Irene’s life yet when it crops up again in the latter half of the book Irene is quick to blame Clare’s influence rather than examine the deeper underlying issues present. And while a lot of attention is not paid to Clare, as again she functions more as a vessel for the ideas presented in the book rather than an actual character, what we do get paints an interesting, conflicting picture.
She’s a woman who knowingly married a racist white man for her own benefit. She allows this white man to call her by a slur as a nickname. She has a child with this man; a child she is totally disinterested in. She doggedly pursues a relationship with Irene with no concern for how it could ruin the both of them if her secret were to come out. By all accounts I should hate her. However, all I felt was a deep sadness for the hand she had been dealt; the mistreatment that pushed her to believe this was her only option at a good life, the fact that she arguably was correct. I didn’t like Clare - her decisions while understandable were too inexcusable on a certain level for me to like her - but I totally got why Irene felt somewhat enamored with her even though Clare could be so flighty and morally bankrupt.
There is a sapphic element to this book that I personally did not see when reading, but after having it pointed out, I could definitely see the underpinnings of. I think it creates another kind of tension when looking at Irene and Clare, particularly when looking at why Irene spirals but this was a conclusion made in hindsight not one I made while reading.
I enjoyed this book a lot. It was a quick read that had a lot to say. I can’t believe a book like this was written so long ago; by which I mean it’s momentous that a book discussing these issues was able to be published in the first place. I would recommend this though keep in mind that while I’m impressed at the subject matter considering the time period, it is still a classic so be prepared for the older writing style.