Joyce Ann Joyce - class > race
“the novel is more about class than it is about race”
Mary True (1929) - race divide between blacks and whites
“You are made vividly aware… Of the barriers existing between blacks and whites”
Jonathan Little (1992) - Clare Kendry’s return to the Black community
“Even after returning back across the colour line into the Black community Clare Kendry finds no (peace, rest, loyalty)”
Richard Bernstein (2001) - advantage of being white
“(Passing) is a tragic story rooted in inescapable facts of American life: whiteness conferred an almost universal unearned advantage”
Richard Bernstein (2001) - Pride in being black
“loyalty to a black racial identity was not only an act of pride but also one of courage”
Rodrigues - American Dream
“the gap between white people and people of colour must collapse in order to come close to its…label”
Wall - effect of false identity
“Larsen’s protagonists assume false identities that ensure social survival but result in psychological suicide”
Greenidge - Being white NOT benefiting Clare
“in her whiteness, Clare is not free” “emotional and spiritual captivity”
Askew - Being Black = authentic
“Irene Redfield is deeply invested in her sense of authenticity as a member of the black bourgeoisie”
M. Anderson - Irene’s marriage = selfish
“the absence of love reduces their marriage to a selfish arrangement for Irene’s security”
Fisher - Irene superior to Clare
“Irene assumes a moral superiority over Clare because Irene is grounded in the black bourgeoisie”
Eva McKnight - the effects of the white gaze
“Larsen illustrates the irreparable damage and self-hating effects of the white gaze”
Bernard - Passing due to wealth not race
“Clare passed for white because she hated being poor, not being black”
