At the beginning of the book, Clare seems to think that her lifestyle, in which her black identity is totally erased, is better than Irene’s. Clare lies to her husband, John, who believes she is completely white, and who is openly racist around her. Clare has forgone her black identity to live among white people as a white person.

Other characters, such as Clare, have passed completely, totally rejecting and hiding their black identities. Gertrude seems to be willing to reject blackness, or at least dark-skinned children, in order to become a part of the white community. Take, for instance, Irene’s childhood acquaintance Gertrude, who has married a white man, and who says she prefers to have light-skinned children. Irene’s commitment to her black identity distinguishes her from other characters who pass not for occasional convenience, but because they prefer life in white communities. Irene also takes care while passing at Drayton’s to remind herself that she is passing for convenience, not because she rejects anything about her black identity. To Irene, passing is a convenience that allows her to move through the white world without ridicule or exclusion, but not a lifestyle. In general, Irene embraces her black identity, and is proud of her black community in Harlem, where she lives with Brian, who cannot pass, and her children. While at Drayton’s, Irene notes that she only passes when she is alone, associating the concept of passing with isolation from the black community. For example, she passes at the beginning of the book so she can drink an iced tea in the white hotel Drayton’s. Irene is an example of a character who passes as white only when it suits her. Some of Larsen’s characters pass only occasionally, when it is convenient and beneficial to them, but live in black communities and embrace their black identity, while others live their lives as white people, keeping their black heritage secret. In Passing, Nella Larsen presents black characters who “pass” as white to varying degrees, moving back and forth between different outward identities as it suits them.

The Clare Kane Identity by L.M. Severin