Allison Carr 1
ENGL 2526
Passing Proves that Race Should Not Matter
Nella Larsen’s Passing explores the psychological and moral implications of crossing the
socially constructed color line of the 1920’s. As both racially mixed women who are eligible to
pass, Irene Redfield and Clare Kendry constantly struggle with their identities in society. Clare,
in attempt to escape poverty, completely immerses herself into the Caucasian elite and conceals
her racial heritage. Irene lives freely among the African American community and criticizes
Clare for abandoning her true pedigree, yet Irene also passes and uses her light skin to her
advantage when it suits her. After years of marriage to the fabulously wealthy and horrifically
racist John Bellew, Clare threatens her closely protected white identity by rekindling her
childhood friendship with Irene, hosting her to tea. As John meets Irene for the first time, he
ignorantly bashes the African American race, clearly unaware of Irene’s and his wife’s,
ancestries, as he remarks to Clare: “I know you’re no nigger, so it’s all right. You can get as
black as you please as far as I’m concerned, since I know you’re no nigger. I draw the line
at that. No Niggers in my family. Never have been and never will be” (40). This quotation
reveals the true risk of passing, displaying its utterly cruel and unforgiving consequences through
an instance of unbearable dramatic irony. Larsen uses John Bellew’s ignorance to challenge the
moral question of passing, and in doing so, demonstrates the misleading nature of racial
appearance and the worthlessness of race as a determining factor in the character of a person.
Nella Larsen’s “novel of passing” inquires whether it is morally right to falsify one’s
identity in order to achieve equal public treatment from the community. At first, passing may
seem like necessity to those who are able to pass, in order to gain the level of respect which
every human deserves. Larsen, however, presents the complexity of passing in revealing the
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emotion of Clare’s husband. John clearly maintains an unwavering “No niggers in my family”
standard for his lineage. Larsen presents his unwavering racism as distasteful and morally
skewed. At the same time, however, she skillfully makes the point that John has the right to raise
a family with whatever beliefs he may hold, without regard to whether or not they are honorable.
Through Bellew’s rant, Larsen poses the ultimate question—if John Bellew truly loves his wife
as he claims, does her heritage truly matter, or does he have the right to know the true lineage of
his wife? Bellew clearly holds the importance of race as a high priority, for he “draws the line”
with a no-negro policy, and he even tells Clare she can “get as dark as [she] pleases”, as long as
she does not have any African American blood. This remark resonates with agonizing irony, as
Bellew says that Clare can even appear African American (which would be the only way he
could identify her race), as long as she actually is not; in reality she does not appear African
American and actually is. John Bellew falls in love with Clare, who appears white, for her light
skin masks her African American heritage. He assumes that she is Caucasian. Therefore, his
feelings for Clare show that appearance provides racial identity. If one’s appearance does not
afford any ethnic clues, and that person is still attractive to those of other races, then race and
heritage do not matter in terms of who we consider as life partners. Clare and John’s relationship
underscores the meaninglessness of racial stereotypes that cause people to try to pass in the first
place.
The fact that an extreme racist such as Bellew is unaware of his wife’s Negro descent,
contributes profoundly to this narrative of passing. His ignorance, and passing in general
undermine any argument supporting racist beliefs. In the story, African Americans with
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Caucasian appearances have the ability to assimilate into white culture without the knowledge of
racist whites. Therefore, the act of passing itself proves all racist judgments as invalid, for
without physical attributes to signify one’s heritage, racism would seize to exist. Further research
of the psychological effects of skin color and ethnicity on people’s judgments hopefully reveals
some moral progress within our culture since the 1920s.