21 Best Nella Larsen Quotes

“Irene Redfield was a Negro, and knew it.”

This is the opening line of Part 1, immediately establishing Irene's racial identity and her self-awareness. It contrasts sharply with Clare's choice to pass, setting up the central conflict and theme of racial identity in the novel.

“It was like an itch in the brain, and I'm always scratching it.”

Clare Kendry says this to Irene, referring to her insatiable curiosity and desire for new experiences, particularly her longing to reconnect with the Black community she left behind. It reveals her restless nature and foreshadows her disruptive re-entry into Irene's life.

“We're all of us, aren't we, just passing?”

Clare speaks this line to Irene, suggesting that everyone, regardless of race, performs an identity or hides aspects of themselves. It broadens the concept of 'passing' beyond racial identity to encompass social performance and the universal human experience of self-presentation.

“It was the most important thing in the world, to be safe.”

This thought frequently recurs in Irene's mind, revealing her deepest desire for security and stability in her life, marriage, and community. It underscores her cautious nature and her fear of anything that threatens her carefully constructed world, especially Clare's recklessness.

“She was caught between two allegiances, a desire to be loyal to her race and a desire to be loyal to herself.”

This describes Irene's internal conflict. While she values her racial identity and community, she also has personal desires and a need for self-preservation. This tension is exacerbated by Clare's presence, forcing Irene to confront the compromises and choices inherent in her life.

“She hated Clare Kendry. Hated her. Hated her.”

This intense internal monologue reveals the depth of Irene's animosity towards Clare in the novel's climax. It signifies her complete psychological breakdown and the culmination of her jealousy, fear, and resentment, hinting at the dark impulses that may lead to Clare's demise.

“What was the good of it, this passing? What was the good of pretending to be what you weren't?”

Irene's internal questions reflect her moral and practical objections to racial passing. She struggles to understand Clare's motivations, viewing passing as a betrayal of one's heritage and an inherently dishonest way of living, despite occasionally passing herself for convenience.

“White people were so stupid, so easily taken in.”

Irene's cynical observation highlights the irony of racial passing. She recognizes the superficiality of racial distinctions and the blindness of white society, which allows individuals like Clare to successfully deceive them. It reveals her own complex feelings about race and deception.

“Security. Was that it? Or was it something else?”

Irene questions her own motivations, particularly her unwavering pursuit of security. This line suggests a deeper, perhaps unacknowledged, desire or dissatisfaction beneath her seemingly stable life. It hints at the repressed emotions and desires that Clare's presence brings to the surface.

“She had only to look at Clare to feel a queer something stirring in her, a feeling that was half envy, half contempt.”

This describes Irene's complex emotional response to Clare. The 'queer something' suggests a repressed attraction or fascination, while the mix of envy and contempt encapsulates her conflicted feelings about Clare's beauty, freedom, and dangerous choices.

“She was not a moral woman, but she was a good mother.”

This line describes Clare, highlighting the paradox of her character. Despite her unconventional choices and perceived moral transgressions (from Irene's perspective), she genuinely loves and cares for her daughter, Margery, adding complexity to her portrayal.

“It was a dangerous game, this passing.”

Irene's thought underscores the inherent risks and psychological toll of living a life of racial deception. This line foreshadows the tragic consequences that can arise from such a precarious existence, particularly for Clare, who constantly fears exposure.

“She wished, for the first time in her life, that she had been a man.”

Irene's desperate thought reflects her feeling of powerlessness and entrapment as a woman in her society. She believes that being a man would grant her the freedom and agency to escape her domestic frustrations and the escalating tensions with Clare and Brian.

“The trouble with Clare was that she was a woman who always got what she wanted.”

Irene's observation about Clare reveals her perception of Clare's manipulative and determined nature. It also highlights Irene's own frustration and feeling of being controlled or outmaneuvered by Clare, fueling her resentment and fear.

“She had a way of looking at you that made you feel as if you were the only person in the world.”

This describes Clare's captivating charm and charisma, which she uses to draw people in, including Irene. It explains Clare's powerful influence over others and her ability to make them feel special, despite her often self-serving motives.

“It's not a new thing, the wish to pass. It's as old as the world.”

Irene reflects on the historical nature of passing and the societal pressures that drive it, early in the novel.

“She was caught between two worlds, and she knew it, but she didn't care. She was free.”

Irene observes Clare's seemingly carefree attitude despite the immense risks she takes by passing as white.

“Security. Was it not the most important thing in the world?”

Irene often ponders the value of security and stability, contrasting it with Clare's dangerous pursuit of freedom and excitement.

“She wished to find out about this hazardous business of 'passing,' this breaking away from all that was familiar and friendly to one's race and class.”

Irene's internal monologue as she grapples with understanding Clare's choices and the implications of her own occasional passing.

“It was as if Clare had drawn her into a dangerous game, and Irene, despite her fears, found herself unable to resist.”

Irene acknowledges her unwilling fascination with Clare and the unsettling pull Clare exerts on her life.

“Negroes are such a warm-hearted, emotional race. That's why I love them.”

John Bellew, Clare's racist husband, makes this comment, ironically unaware that he is speaking about his own wife's race.