Theme Of Passing In The Novel Passing

Nella Larsen is one of the most famous African-American novelistsduring the Harlem Renaissance and is recognized as one of the centralfigures in the African-American and feminist cannon, mainly due to hertwo novels Passing and Quicksand.Her second novel Passing has drawn the attention of many scholarsbecause of its close examination of racial and sexual ambiguities. Theyfocus on three aspects: its historical and cultural background, its writingtechniques, and its different themes. In terms of themes, scholars have doneresearch on racial identity, sexuality, miscegenation, class conflict,domestic violence,“Tragic Mulatta” and African-American women’srebellion against social restraints.As a matter of fact, passing is another important theme in this novel,but, unfortunately, no systematic research has been done on it. Based on W.E. B. Du Bois’s Double Consciousness, it can be found that the two mulattoes in this novel are different from traditional passers. Instead ofpassing for white to achieve freedom and safety, the passing of Clare andIrene has more profound significance. As far as Clare is concerned, she notonly expects to achieve material satisfaction and higher social status, butalso desires for a sense of belonging which is denied to her in black society.Compared with Clare, Irene’s passing is a little different. Besides materialexpectation, she yearns much more for integration with thewhite-dominated society. On the one hand, both Clare’s permanent passingand Irene’s temporary passing bring them benefits; on the other hand, theyinflict psychological torment upon them: the fear of being suddenlyexposed, the loneliness of being abandoned by both the white and the black,and a sense of guilt to her white lover because of her racial deception.The tragedy of Clare and Irene results from their racial identity crisisand their doubt about black culture and race. In a society based on racialdiscrimination, black people were regarded as an inferior group, resultingin their loss of self-identity. Therefore, it is of great significance for blackpeople to build up confidence in their own racial identity, to take pride intheir own culture, and to fight for their racial development.