First Impressions are Deceiving

The beginning of Nella Larsen’s Passing shows Irene Redfiel as a confident woman who is proud of her origin, her marriage, and her position in life. However, this image takes a turn when the reader reaches the second part of the book, Re-Encounter. It is at this point in the novel that the reader learns that Irene’s marriage is not as wonderful as she made it out to be when speaking to Clare; in fact, her marriage has been strained since the moment she refused to move to Brazil with her husband. And even though she feels she was right, she still has some doubts about standing up to her husband, about the guilt she feels, about how that has damaged and clouded their relationship.

“It isn’t fair, it isn’t fair. After all these years to still blame [me] like this. Hadn’t his success proved that [I’d] been right in insisting that he stick to his profession right here in New York? Couldn’t he see, even now that it had been best? Not for me, oh no, not for me—I had never really considered [my]self—but for him and the boys,” (57) Irene thinks as she and her husband get into a small argument about her not being ready on time. This passage, I believe, shows exactly how much Irene doubts herself and her decisions when it comes to her marriage and her role as a mother. Her husband’s disapproval and remorse towards her for this shows that Irene is actually insecure about her marriage, and not as happy as she painted herself to be.

I believe the purpose Larsen had with this second part of the book was to prepare the reader for the ending. Knowing what Irene is going through in her personal life gives the reader insight as to why her husband is tempted to act the way he does in the ending, and why Irene’s reaction to it is as passive as it is.