An Analysis of Nella Larsen's Novel "Passing" Using Du Bois' Concept of Double-Consciousness

The Unconscious Double-Consciousness

In this essay I will consider Irene Refield’s experience as a Black woman in Nella Larsen’s novel Passing through the lens of W. E. B. Du Bois’ concept of double-consciousness as it is presented in his work The Souls of Black Folk. I will argue that in Irene this concept manifests as two contradicting notions - the first, of claiming to be proud of her Black heritage, and the second, of suppressing true manifestations of it in her life as well as in those of her sons. I will consider specific instances of Irene claiming to be proud of her Black identity while benefiting from her light skin tone, such as her ability to easily arrive to and have tea at the Drayton while claiming to be indigent at Clare’s choice of passing and her claim of pride at having a dark-skinned child, but reluctance to reveal to the racist Jack Bellew that she herself is Black. I will then consider how this contradiction manifests in the way that Irene refuses to discuss race issues with her children, attempting to shield them from the harsh reality that comes with being Black, and will conclude that though she claims to be above passing, she nevertheless benefits from her light skin tone and refuses to confront the realities of the Black experience.

It is firstly important to consider what the concept of double-consciousness entails. Du Bois defines the concept as a duality that is experienced by Black folks, a “sense of always looking at one’s self through the eyes of others, of measuring one’s soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity” (Du Bois). He writes that Black people feel this duality as “an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body” (Du Bois), and a Black person exists in “a world which yields him no true self-consciousness, but only lets him see himself through the revelation of the other world” (Du Bois). Essentially, Du Bois explains that Black folks have two ways of perceiving themselves - one is the way in which they see themselves, and the other is the way in which they believe others see them. Irene Redfield exhibits a duality of self-perception in that she presents herself as proud of her Black heritage, but contradicts herself by simultaneously refusing to confront some of the realities of this heritage and even attempting to entirely shield her children, who have already encountered racism and discrimination, from it.

Irene being proud of her heritage manifests in the contempt she feels for Clare passing for a white woman. Simultaneously, however, Irene, too, is able to reap the benefits of passing while remaining firm that she is against it. An example of this contradiction is placed in the very beginning of the book, as though to point it out to the reader. Irene arrives to the Drayton via a cab, which she is able to summon with an ease that might not be accessible to darker-skinned folks. This ease is highlighted by the speed at which she is able to retrieve a cab precisely at her time of need. She feels faint in Chicago’s heat and “[w]ith a quick perception of the need for immediate safety, she lifted a wavering hand in the direction of a cab parker directly in front of her. The perspiring driver jumped out and guided her to his car. He helped, almost lifted her in. She sank down on the hot leather seat” (Larsen, 14). This formulation of the ease with which Irene was able to summon the cab, as well as the detailed account of the help she received from the driver, point to her benefiting from her light skin tone, since a darker-skinned woman is likely to not have received as good of a treatment. Therefore, while claiming that she is against passing and is proud of her identity, Irene enjoys comforts that are only available to her because she has a light skin tone. When Irene and Clare meet for the first time on the roof of the Drayton, Irene demonstrates contempt for Clare’s choice of passing for a white woman. Clare asks Irene “Tell me, honestly, haven’t you ever thought of ‘passing’?” Irene answered promptly: “No. Why should I?” And so disdainful was her voice and manner that Clare’s face flushed and her eyes glinted. (Larsen, 19) Highlighting that Irene’s answer comes rapidly indicates that she is eager to demonstrate her contempt for passing for a white woman. However, though Irene claims to detest the idea of passing, being at the Drayton, in which, as Irene herself points out, Black folks aren’t allowed (Larsen, 17), is an indication that Irene benefits from her light skin tone just as much as Clare does in this case. Her disdain for Clare, therefore, is near-sighted, because while both women reap the benefits of their light skin tones, only Clare is able to call it by its name, whereas Irene lives in denial and claims to be proud of her Black identity without having to confront the reality that comes with it.

In Clare’s hotel room, Clare, Irene, and their friend Gertrude discuss the skin tones of their children. Gertrude remarks “‘But, of course, nobody wants a dark child.’” (Larsen, 37), to which Irene responds “in a voice of whose even tones she was proud: ‘One of my boys is dark’” (Larsen, 37). Thus, Irene presents herself as proud of being Black and having a dark-skinned son, and visibly resents the idea that it is something to be ashamed of. Irene is similarly disgusted by Jack calling Clare the n-word later in the same hotel room (40). She questions why she did not tell Jack her own identity, wondering, “Why hadn’t she spoken that day? Why, in the face of Bellew’s ignorant hate and aversion, had she concealed her own origin? Why had she allowed him to make his assertions and express his misconceptions undisputed? Why simply because of Clare Kendry, who had exposed her to such torment, had she failed to take up the defence of the race to which she belonged?” (Larsen, 52). Though Irene presents herself as indignant at her inaction, and, with these wonderings, highlights belonging to the Black community, she immediately finds a justification for her lack of retort to Bellew. “She couldn’t betray Clare, couldn’t even run the risk of appearing to defend a people that were being maligned, for fear that the defence might in some infinitesimal degree lead the way to final discovery of her secret” (Larsen, 52), she explains, thus justifying her inaction by the need to protect Clare. The speed at which Irene finds an excuse for her inaction, which she had just claimed to enrage her, indicates that she is making up excuses for her inability to confront her own identity, while claiming to be proud of it. Therefore, though Irene claims to be proud of having a dark-skinned son and of her own identity, she does not actually stand up to the racist Jack Bellew, and does not do much beyond claiming to be proud of it and indignant at the idea of concealing it. An important aspect of how this double-consciousness of claiming to be proud of her identity, but refusing to confront aspects of it manifests in Irene is the way in which she actively conceals its aspects from her children. During a family dinner, Irene’s husband Brian speaks of a recent lynching. Their son Ted asks him, “‘Dad, why is it that they only lynch coloured people?’” (Larsen, 107), to which Brian answers “‘Because they hate ‘em, son’” (Larsen, 107). He openly explains to his son the harsh reality of how racists might perceive his identity, attempting to familiarize him with the hatred he is likely to eventually face. Irene immediately attempts to interrupt the conversation by exclaiming “‘Brian!’” (Larsen, 108), in a voice described as “a plea and a rebuke” (Larsen, 108). As the conversation between the father and the son continues, with Ted now inquiring of Brian, why Black people are hated, Irene interrupts them again with the same exclamation, actively attempting to put the subject to rest. One-on-one with Brian, Irene requests “‘I do wish, Brian, that you wouldn’t talk about lynching before Ted and Junior. It was really inexcusable for you to bring up a thing like that at dinner. There’ll be time enough for them to learn about such horrible things when they’re older’” (Larsen, 108), which indicates that she acknowledges the need to tell her sons these things, but is attempting to delay it as much as possible. This desire to delay the communication indicates that Irene lives in denial of the reality of the Black experience. “‘I want their childhood to be happy and as free from the knowledge of such things as it possibly can be’” (Larsen, 108), she says, adding, “‘you’re not to talk to them about the race problem. I won’t have it’” (Larsen, 109). Her children, however, as Brian points out, have already faced the harsh reality of the Black experience. Brian Junior had by then already been called the n-word (Larsen, 108), so Irene’s argument that they will be happy until they are told of the problems associated with being Black is inherently incorrect. The reality of the Black experience is evidently already upon them, and Irene’s reluctance to familiarize them with it can thus be construed as denial. Nella Larsen, through Irene Redfield, thus builds on Du Bois’ concept of double-consciousness, demonstrating how Black folks’ perceptions of themselves and of how they believe they are perceived by others manifest. As Du Bois writes, “[s]uch a double life, with double thoughts, double duties, and double social classes, must give rise to double words and double ideals, and tempt the mind to pretence or revolt, to hypocrisy or radicalism” (Du Bois), and it is precisely pretence and hypocrisy that manifest in the character of Irene. She pretends to be proud of her identity, showing contempt for Clare, who chooses to pass for a white woman, while herself being hypocritical about fully embodying her Black heritage and refusing to explain aspects of it to her sons. Larsen thus contributes an important sense of contradiction and duality of the self to the discourse of Black identity in U.S. literature.

Works Cited:

Du Bois, W. E. B. The Souls of Black Folk. Barnes & Noble Classics, 2005. Larsen, Nella. Passing. Penguin Books, 2018.