This is another excerpt from my in-class essay on Passing, by Nella Larsen, which I wrote across three class periods.
Just for reference, here is my thesis again:
Irene’s desire, especially that for Clare, in the novel relates ideas of race and sexuality to authenticity, and conveys the idea that to be authentic to yourself if to allow yourself to change.
Although Irene is very upset with this notion that the meeting with Clare in Chicago presents her with, her life begins to change and slowly slip out of her control. This idea of Irene losing or nearly losing control is repeated throughout the novel, each instance bringing Irene closer to a total loss of control. This loss of agency and control greatly upsets Irene and disrupts her chosen way of life, but in actuality causes her to be more authentic to herself than if her life had remained the same. The word “penetrating” is used to describe the “chill” which affects Irene’s household after she receives the letter from Clare which she resolves not to respond to (64). Penetrating has multiple connotations, the first of which is unwillingness. Irene is adamantly against ever seeing Clare again at this point in the novel, yet she is nonetheless affected by Clare. The second connotation of the word “penetrating” is sexual, and presents the idea that whatever is being described cannot be undone, just as one’s virginity cannot be regained. Whatever effect Clare has begun to have on Irene’s life will not cease, and will in fact continue to grow and change Irene whether she resists it or not. This idea is reinforced by the mentioning of how outside the house which is penetrated by the cold, “only a dull grey light was left of the day” (64). Clare is often likened to sunlight, most notably when she is described as “like a sunlit say” (77) and in the scene when Irene receives a letter from her and “a flood of October sunlight [streamed] in” (51). The “dull grey light” is used to emphasize that Clare is no longer physically present with Irene. However, the next line is that “inside, lamps had already been lighted” (64), suggesting that Clare had already made an impact on Irene’s inner self and emotions that will persist despite their distance.
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