Passing

By Nella Larsen

"Absolutely absorbing, fascinating, and indispensable.--Alice Walker
"A work so fine, sensitive, and distinguished that it rises above race categories and becomes that rare object, a good novel."--The Saturday Review of Literature
Married to a successful physician and prominently ensconced in Harlem's vibrant society of the 1920s, Irene Redfield leads a charmed existence-until she is shaken out of it by a chance encounter with a childhood friend who has been "passing for white." An important figure in the Harlem Renaissance, Nella Larsen was the first African-American woman to be awarded a Guggenheim fellowship. Her fictional portraits of women seeking their identities through a fog of racial confusion were informed by her own Danish-West Indian parentage, and Passing offers fascinating psychological insights into issues of race and gender.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dover Publications
• Release date: Mar 5, 2012
• ISBN: 9780486113463

Nella Larsen

Nella Larsen was born in Chicago in 1891 to a white Danish mother and a black West Indian father. She studied in America and Denmark and throughout her writing career she worked as a children’s librarian and primarily as a nurse. In 1928 her first novel Quicksand was published to great critical acclaim. Passing was published a year later. Her marriage to Dr Elmer Imes brought her into contact with the upper echelons of New York’s black society and she became an important female voice of the Harlem Renaissance. She was the first black woman to receive a Guggenheim Fellowship for creative writing. Divorced in 1933, she spent the rest of her life working as nurse. Nella Larsen died in 1964.

Reviews for Passing

[lostinalibrary · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Written in 1929 during the Harlem Renaissance, Passing by Nella Larsen tells the story of two biracial and light-skinned black women who can pass as white. One, Clare, has married a racist white man who is completely unaware of her past and her identity. Irene, the other, has married a black physician and has no real wish to pass. However when she is tired after a shopping trip, she stops for tea at a whites only tea room where the two women encounter each other. They had grown up in the same neighbourhood but haven’t seen each other since childhood until this meeting. The encounter will lead to unexpected and eventually tragic consequences for both women.Passing is a very short book that packs a huge wallop. It is an intriguing, surprisingly suspenseful, and very insightful book about racial identity and attitudes that still resonates today. There is also an exploration of the tensions that develop between women, between the sexes, and between classes. Irene acts as narrator albeit an untrustworthy one adding a layer of ambiguity to the story and this ambiguity is nowhere more evident than at the end, one that was completely unexpected at least by me. This is not an easy or even a comfortable read but it is an important one and I recommend it highly.Thanks to Edelweiss+ and Restless Books for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review

[encephalical · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Got totally caught up in the central conflict, was not expecting the resolution. The intro in the Penguin Classics edition was so bad, full of spoilers and academese, that I put it down for six years before restarting it.

[melissalenhardt · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I've gotten to the point in my reading life where I can frequently predict what's going to happen in a book. Whether it's a result of reading so voraciously for so many years or from my knowledge of story structure, themes or being able to interpret subtext and recognize foreshadowing, I'm not sure. Of course, I'm not always right, but my batting average is pretty darn good. That's why books that surprise me in some what always end up as favorites. The ending of Passing surprised me, though it probably shouldn't have.

Larsen pulls off a neat trick by making the reader believe this book is about blacks passing as whites and the pull black culture retains over those who "pass." It is a thematic red herring. What this book is really about is one woman's determination to preserve her way of life, social standing and family. Irene is a wonderfully complex character who was alternately sympathetic and a little scary in her single-minded pursuit of her own will.

Great book. Recommended.

[bibliofemmes · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The number of commas renders some of the sentences stilted, so the writing is a bit off-putting. The characters of Irene and Clare, two mixed-race women who pass for different reasons and once childhood acquaintances, meet as adults. One selfish and self-centered, heedless of the harm she causes, the other self-sacrificing and jealous and only too aware of "doing the right thing." An unreliable narrator and the question of passing drives the story, but the personalities of the two women, so different but the same creates the tension and the ambiguous end.

[dreesie-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A short novel about a woman who crossed the color line in 1920s New York/Chicago. After her parents' deaths, teen Clare was sent to love with her elderly white aunts in New York. And with that, she successfully crossed the color line, marrying a wealthy white businessman.But that meant she could not go back to Chicago, and had to let those friends go. And her husband teases her for how dark she gets in the sun. They have a daughter, Clare is beautiful, but when she runs into her childhood friend Irene some 20 years later, she admits she misses the culture she grew up in and the people she grew up with, despite wondering why more don't cross just for the convenience.But she is playing with fire. Visiting Irene and another friend or two, making new friends, attending events in Harlem. She must know this won't end well--Irene is worried.

[judygibson-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Eye opening, needed it.

[carolfoisset · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This rather slim book packs a punch. Read The Vanishing Half awhile ago which made me think deeper about the act of "passing" and how that would play out through a persons life. Highly recommend both books

[scottjpearson · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This short classic, set in New York City, was originally published in 1929 during the Harlem Renaissance. It examined the phenomenon of “passing” – a black person acting as a white person. Of course, the American context has changed significantly since 1929. The concept of race is now, thankfully, widely considered a social construct, without any biological merit. The concept of passing, though still present on occasion, is less of an issue.Nonetheless, Larsen gives us insight into how a culture obsessed with race, as early twentieth-century America was, can sometimes devolve into strange scenarios. In this particular scenario, Irene Redfield lives a comfortable life in Harlem with her physician-husband and children. Notably, she has light skin, but lives as an African American. She becomes reacquainted with a childhood friend Claire Bellew/Kendry. Claire, likewise, has light skin, but effectively “passes” as a white woman with a white husband. Even Claire’s husband does not know of her black lineage.By resuming a loose friendship with Irene, Claire realizes a spiritual longing for the black community in Harlem. Perhaps this is innate, due to her upbringing; perhaps this stems from living some kind of inauthentic existence. Nonetheless, Claire begins to spend time secretly with Irene whenever Claire’s husband is out of town on business. The husband, however, is openly racist and routinely uses the n-word. The obvious instability in this scenario ends up playing out in a shocking manner.In a post-George Floyd era, this book addresses timely issues such as how race affects how we interact in the world. Race in 1920s America is different than race in the 2020s, granted, but we aren’t so far as to be fully colorblind. To cite Cornel West, race still matters. Thus, contemporary readers should not treat this classic as a mere relic of the past.Should people be made to feel ashamed of their race? Is it all about how one presents one’s self? What role does authenticity have to play with the construct of race? This book’s style is easily accessible by many, even youth (though it does contain the n-word). At around 150 pages, it doesn’t take long to read either. In perusing it, perhaps we will find out that the world of the 1920s isn’t all that much different from today’s inequities.

[toric90 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

3.5 stars but rounded up. The ending! Really the whole journey... but that ending!!! I read The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett right before this — they were an interesting pair together.

[etxgardener · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

When light skinned Irene Redfield meets her childhood friend, Clare, by chane in Chicago, she discovers that her old friend has been passing for white and is married to a racist.Irene is shocked,, but puts the incident out of her mind when she returns home to Harlem and her prominent physician husband. But then Clare shows up in New York and Irene finds herself increasingly entangled in Clare’s deception until all of Clare’s lies have a tragic end.

[bookworm12_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This 1929 novel is about two Black women, one who is “passing” as a white woman. Though the book isn’t long, it packs a powerful punch. The drama is taut and it’s shockingly relevant. It touches on issues of class, gender, and obviously race. I’m sure this story must have inspired The Vanishing Half in some ways. There were a lot of similarities, but this was written almost a century before! A must read!

[ani_jo_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

loved it!! It was riveting and I would read it again if I have too

[alanteder · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Intriguing Portraits in PassingReview of the Penguin Vitae hardcover edition (2017) of the 1929 original.Nella Larsen (1891-1964) was a Harlem Renaissance author who published only two novels, Quicksand (1928) and Passing (1929) before she completely disassociated from writing and spent the rest of her life working as a nurse. This superb new edition from Penguin Vitae includes a thorough 30 page introduction by Emily Bernard and 8 pages of excellent Explanatory Notes by Thaddeus M. Davis.Passing is somewhat of a cat and mouse intrigue between two light-skinned African American women. Clare Kendry is passing for white, even though she is married to a virulently racist White American. Irene Redfield, although she could have passed, has stuck by her African American heritage and community. Kendry now regrets what she has left behind and begins to insinuate herself back into Redfield's life after a chance re-meeting (they had known each other as children) with eventual tragic consequences.I read Passing as part of my subscription to the inaugural 2020 Shakespeare and Company Lost Treasures curated selection. 4 books of the expected 12 have been delivered as of March 2020.

[bookconcierge · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Irene Redfield is doing some shopping while on a trip to Chicago, when she stops for a brief rest and some tea at an elegant hotel’s restaurant. She notices a woman at a nearby table keeps staring at her and she’s immediately concerned. Could the woman have somehow discerned that Irene is not white, but a Negro? Larsen was part of the Harlem Renaissance and this book is a marvel of social commentary. In this slim volume Larsen explores issues of black/white identity, of the desire to get ahead and the societal obstacles to that path, of male/female relationships, and female-female rivalries. There is tension, fear, anger, joy, desire and hope. We get a wonderful glimpse of middle-class Black culture in 1920s Harlem. And that ending! My F2F book club had a stimulating discussion.A word of caution re the introduction: Definitely read the introduction, which will give you much insight into the book, the author’s background, and the critical thoughts of various experts. BUT … read the book FIRST, as the introduction will contain major spoilers for what happens in the novel.

[deltaqueen50 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

One of the great things about reading from the 1,001 Books to Read Before You Die List is that I have been introduced to many writers that I had not experienced before. Such is the case with Passing by Nella Larsen. This is the story of two American women in the 1920s with a similar background who chose very different ways to live.Both women are very light skinned black women and while Irene is a respected member of the Black community, married to a black doctor and allowing herself to “pass” for white only occasionally, Clare actually lives the life of a white woman, completely denying her black heritage and even hiding her race from her rich, white and bigoted husband. But Clare seemingly desires some contact with the black community and latches onto Irene in order to attend various black social functions. Irene has mixed feelings about Clare, she doesn’t approve of her life choices yet she does her best to protect her secret. Her feelings become even more challenged when she realizes that her husband and Clare are having an affair.I found Passing to be a very interesting story. Nella Larsen herself was of mixed heritage, her mother was Danish and her father a black American. Racial segregation laws were in force until the 1960s and some light-skinned blacks used “passing” in order to obtain equal opportunities and rights, social standing and acceptance. It is unfortunate that Nella Larsen only wrote one other book, but I will be reading that in the near future.

[lynsey2-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A very quick and easy read that must have been quite controversial when it was written. Passing is the story of two black women who are so light skinned they can pass for white. One is married to a black man, the other who is married to a white man who does not know that she has"negro blood."

[salsabrarian · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Melodramatic and overwrought prose by today's standards, but still revealing of race relations of its time (1920s). A rather shocking ending...was not expecting that at all!

[eadieb-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was a very interesting, enjoyable read. Even though it was written in 1929, the book is very relevant to present day also. The characters are well developed and the author's writing is such that you are drawn to loathe some of their behavior. I did not expect the ending and was very surprised. I would recommend this book to everyone and I look forward to reading more of Larsen's work.

[akblanchard_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Passing is an unusual novella about the lives of upper-crust African-American Harlemites in the 1920's.Light-skinned Irene Redfield and her darker husband Brian, a successful but unhappy doctor, have a very comfortable lifestyle at the top of their social set. But Irene's security and tranquility (two things that are very important to her) are badly shaken when her beautiful, reckless childhood friend Clare comes into the picture. For years, Clare has passed for white, and has even married and had a child with a virulent racist (Clare's husband calls her "Nig", not exactly as an endearment, but apparently he has no clue about her origins). Yet Clare misses her people, and her insistence on straddling the line between black and white ultimately leads to tragedy. My copy of Passing (from Dover Publications) is only 94 pages long, but it took me a week to finish it. The period slang and dense descriptions of emotional states make it slow going at times. Nonetheless, the novel provides interesting insights into female friendship and race relations in the age of the "one drop" rule.

[froxgirl · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The second novella from Nella Larsen, lost writer of the Harlem Renaissance. In this book, Irene reconnects with her childhood friend Clare, who is passing for white in a marriage with a typical white racist of the Jazz Era. Irene's physician husband Brian wants to leave the US for Brazil, where he is convinced that their sons will be able to avoid a childhood of suffering from extreme racism. Irene, however, is a "race woman" who is very comfortable in her middle class Harlem life and is a control freak to boot, keeping her husband and boys in line. Clare, a "sheba", is a symbol of all that is free and wild and there is an underlying sexual tension between the women that Irene greatly fears. In fact, under her staid life, Irene is the sum of many fears, and Clare ends up suffering for them. I loved this book and thought that Larsen did an amazing job voicing Irene's inner thoughts. Wow, would this make a movie, comparable to "Their Eyes Were Watching God".

[june_clark-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Page turner! The end leaves you wondering why?

[mlyons1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A great look into the world of passing as it existed in the 1920's.

[poetontheone · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Nella Larson's Passing is one of the key novels of the Harlem Renaissance, written in a restless and apprehensive prose that is more than a little gothic. A solid example of the psychological novel, the book is of great interests to scholars of Black Criticism for its articulations of race, and also to feminist theory for its questions about gender roles and motherhood. I read this book for an LGBT Literature class, and the application of queer theory here poses the question, "Is Passing passing as a novel about passing?" Is there a subtext of same sex attraction here that is taken out of focus by the novel's strong emphasis on race?I think all of the possible theoretical queries that the novel invites us to pursue our worth considering, but the plot's penchant for mystery and the necessity of reader inference into details make all but the most obvious questions challenging.

[diovival · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I keep waffling between 3 and 4 stars. There were moments of brilliance when I just wanted to run up to someone and shove the pages of this book in their face. "Read this! Read this!" I wanted to blurt out at the person closest to me. But, then the story got predictable real fast. I sometimes have little patience for characters who do painfully stupid things.

[kristelh_15 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Great book, quick read. Passing is the story of two women who are black and grew up as childhood friends in Chicago. It was published in 1929 and is set in Harlem Renaissance period, a period covering from 1918 to 1930 and is a time period of black culture/art. It did not just occur in Harlem New York but that might be the largest setting. This is a story of race and choices. One girl chose to escape her culture and married a white man and did not tell him. The other girl, Irene, married within her race and it is her story as well. There is a third choice but that girl only has a small part in the book. She married white but he knew she was black. That is just one layer of this great book. Passing is not the first book to be written about Passing; not the first book to examine Passing, The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man,The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson, The Father of Désirée's Baby, The Garies and Their Friends but this book does offer a inventive approach and fresh ideas to the topic, showing how even though one married black and lived as black she was still creating her own fiction. The story is great with an interesting conclusion. I guess I didn't see that coming but when it was done, I also was not surprised. And the ending remains ambiguous, IMO. The characters are great. It is highly readable. Achievement: 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die (2006/2008/2010/2012 Edition), Guardian 1000 (State of the nation), 500 Great Books by Women (Choices), David Bowie's Top 100 (1929). The book is told from Irene's POV and some is her stream of conscious and some her interactions.

[toddsherman · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Nella Larsen’s use of color in “Passing” is apropos since it’s a story about different women who can racially pass as white and the attendant problems of identity within different social circles. It’s also the first time the two main characters have met in years. The idea of passing could also refer to marital infidelity or transitory relationships or, simply, the brief glimpse a person may get of themselves —that moment of stark lucidity before the mirror. There’s a lot going on here. But the author’s use of color is as beautiful, original and evocative as it is pervasive. “Brilliant red patches flamed in Irene Redfield’s warm olive cheeks.” “A waiter passed her, followed by a sweetly scented woman in a fluttering dress of green chiffon whose mingled pattern of narcissuses, jonquils, and hyacinths was a reminder of pleasantly chill spring days.”“Irene watched her spread out her napkin, saw the silver spoon in the white hand slit the dull gold of the melon.”“Entering, Irene found herself in a sitting room, large and high, at whose windows hung startling blue draperies which triumphantly dragged attention from the gloomy chocolate-colored furniture. And Clare was wearing a thin floating dress of the same shade of blue, which suited her and the rather difficult room to perfection.”“A pale rose color came into Clare’s ivory cheeks.”“Clare, exquisite, golden, fragrant, in a stately gown of shining black taffeta, whose long, full skirt lay in graceful folds about her slim golden feet; her glistening hair drawn smoothly back into a small twist at the nape of her neck; her eyes sparkling like dark jewels. Irene, with her new rose-colored chiffon frock ending at the knees, and her cropped curls, felt dowdy and commonplace.”“Clare fair and golden, like a sunlit day. Hazelton dark, with gleaming eyes, like a moonlit night.”“Irene couldn’t remember ever having seen her look better. She was wearing a superlatively simple cinnamon-brown frock which brought out all her vivid beauty, and a little golden bowl of a hat. Around her neck hung a string of amber beads that would easily have made six or eight like one Irene owned. Yes, she was stunning.”“The day was an exceptionally cold one, with a strong wind that had whipped a dusky red into Felise’s smooth golden cheeks and driven moisture into Irene’s soft brown eyes.”OK, so I know that’s a lot to drop in an FB post, but that’s the power color has in this book. It’s a cumulative power. And all that paint builds up like impasto and makes you aware of each individual line in the brush strokes. The pain, the jealousy, the struggles, the frustration, the awe, the heartbreak—it’s all in there. Layers upon layers of gorgeously tormented meetings in the passing between humans. From race to race, sex to sex, social class to class, we all leave our thick lines in the paint. Will it compliment or contrast our idea of our own existence when we see it—when we happen upon that glimpse in the passing?“Her whole body went taut. In that second she saw that she could bear anything, but only if no one knew that she had anything to bear. It hurt. It frightened her, but she could bear it.”Goddamnit, Nella Larsen. You wrote a book that will have a far greater effect on me than the title would otherwise suggest.

[gbill_7 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

‘Passing’ is a novella on race relations, written and set during the period of the ‘Harlem Renaissance’ of the 1920’s, with some historical significance. 60 years after emancipation, 40 years before the Civil Rights Act, and 50 more beyond that to the present day, where race is still a major problem in America, this represents a time slice in a particular place and cultural segment that Nella Larsen was familiar with first-hand.For the most part in this story, there is peaceful coexistence between races. It’s not a horror story with overt violence. There are some people who are deemed ‘black’ because of some fractional African-American heritage who ‘pass’ as white either permanently, or selectively in some situations. There are society events in Harlem attended by whites either out of interest in the culture (in vogue at the time), or their attraction to African-Americans, and these are harmonious. And there are African-Americans who can’t ‘pass’ who likely run into racism in their lives routinely – but this is not their story, and those events are untold. However, there is one glaring exception – one of the white men who has married a woman who has ‘passed’ (and never told him of her ancestry) is a blatant racist, and at one point he spews his venom in front of her and two others who ‘pass’, without realizing the company he’s in. His tone is not only insulting but murderous. There is therefore an undercurrent of danger in ‘passing’, which ranges from small but humiliating things like being escorted out of a restaurant in front of everyone if detected, to larger things like the annulment of a marriage, or violence. Detection could come from memories of the past, the company one kept, or, if having a child, ‘surprise’ racial characteristics in the baby. There is also an undercurrent of guilt. To what lengths would one go to escape ‘blackness’ in a world filled with racism, where social progress was measured by economic and cultural advancement? What price would be paid by rejecting a portion of one’s ancestry? How could one rationalize and come to terms with wanting children who were “less dark”?Without explicitly asking it, the novella also begs the question, what does it mean to be ‘black’? For it’s odd that those who were 1/4 black and who appeared white would even be considered ‘black’. It was as if any percentage of ‘black blood’ tainted someone, and indeed, the Plessy vs. Ferguson case resulting in the ‘separate but equal’ ruling was pursued by Homer Plessy, who was 1/8 black and denied rights and legal privileges as a result. Aside from the obvious wrongs of racism and segregation, the need to categorize ‘mixed-race’ people to begin with, and then to deem them all black regardless of appearance or the majority of their racial make-up, are additional wrongs – though no one (white or black) in the novella questions this, and in fact, they prefer to know and to ‘bin’ people as one or the other. Larsen herself was acutely aware of this, being herself the daughter of a mixed-race father from the Danish West Indies, and a white mother from Denmark. When her father died when she was young and her mother remarried a white man (and had a white daughter by him), Larsen was the lone ‘colored’ member of the family, and in an ambiguous situation with both white and African-American communities. Anyway, that’s the backdrop and part of what makes it interesting, on top of the questions it raises and the period it represents. However, the writing is only so-so, and the plot line involving infidelity is weak; hence, my somewhat average review score.Just these quotes, the first, on religion:“’Have you ever stopped to think, Clare,’ Irene demanded, ‘how much unhappiness and downright cruelty are laid to the loving-kindness of the Lord? And always by His most ardent followers, it seems.’”And:“’Well, Hugh does think he’s God, you know.’‘That,’ Irene declared, getting out of bed, ‘is absolutely not true. He thinks ever so much better of himself than that, as you, who know and have read him, ought to be able to guess. If you remember what a low opinion he has of God, you won’t make such a silly mistake.’”Lastly, a note on the random connection discovered to the book I read previously, which was McSweeney’s Mammoth Treasury of Thrilling Tales – the characterization early on of Clare Kendry as “Catlike. Certainly that was the word which best described Clare Kendry, if any single word could describe her.” – reminding me of the cats and “Their movements were catlike, or perhaps clockwork”, in the story Catskin, by Kelly Link.

[getrus · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Written in 1929 Larsen conveys the thoughts and feelings as well as the turmoil and animosity toward African Americans that were prevalent to the times.Irene is a light skinned negro who at many times can pass for a white person, provided she is not with people of her own race. It is on one of these such days that she takes tea by herself and finds a woman staring at her. Who she comes to find out is a friend from her past, also very light skinned. This woman, Clare, invites Irene to come to her home for a small party one night and after much hesitation she accepts. Here Irene, Clare, and Gertrude (another light skinned negro whom they both grew up with) enjoy each others’ company until Clare’s husband comes home. He is white and extremely racist and has no idea his wife is part negro.This novella is about how Clare and Irene find their own identity apart from what has been branded on them. As much as it is about them finding their own identity it also deals with how the rest of the world sees them.

[g0ldenboy_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Clear, well-written piece on identity. Ending is great.

[gisbooks · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Not a particularly good book, very light and similar to the other anti passing novels in treatment of character.