Passing by Nella Larsen, published in 1929, features the issue of racial passing in a society which segregates people of Negro descent from the dominant white American class. Wall claims that "Not only is Passing set in Harlem at the height of its vogue, it is itself a product of the vogue. Aptly then, it acknowledges the opportunities as well as the risks that the more fluid racial and cultural boundaries of the period created".
Irene Redfield, one of the two female protagonists, is able to pass, but still chose a life within Harlem and a coloured husband. Her counterpart Clare Kendry, on the contrary, is completely passing by being married to a white man who does not know about her descent. Still, she is highly fascinated by the life Irene leads in Harlem and thus she attempts at leading a double-life. As Clare becomes increasingly involved in the black culture of that time, she also has to fear about her husband finding out the truth about her.
In order to set the issue of racial passing in a historical and cultural framework, I attempt at focusing on the connection between the novel and a jurisdictional case from 1925, called the Rhinelander Case. This case is also being referred to in Passing: "What if Bellew should divorce Clare? Could he? There was the Rhinelander case". Furthermore, Madigan claims the following: "That Larsen has the case enter Irene's mind so quickly, however, testifies to the Rhinelanders' importance to discussions of miscegenation, the law, and racial passing during the period of the Harlem Renaissance". Leonard Kip Rhinelander, who was from the upper white class of New York, got married to Alice Jones, who was mixed-raced and from the working class.
Rhinelander attempted at annulling the marriage as he claimed he had not known about his wife's race before the wedding. She countered by claiming that he has known about their race before their marriage as it was unmistakable. The jury the young couple had to face was all-male and white. Thereupon, this term paper will deal with the following research question: How can the relationship between the Rhinelander Case and Nella Larsen's Passing be defined and which are the means by which this relationship is being constituted?
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. The Act of Passing
2.1 Irene Redfield and Clare Kendry
2.2 Alice Jones
3. Representation and Readability
3.1 Representation and Readability in Passing
3.2 Representation and Readability in the Rhinelander Case
4. Conclusion
5. Bibliography
Objectives & Core Topics
This paper examines the relationship between racial passing in Nella Larsen's novel Passing and the historical Rhinelander Case of 1925, focusing on how societal expectations, racial visibility, and performative identity are constructed and perceived in both narratives.
- Analysis of racial passing as a social and performative phenomenon.
- Comparison of the fictional characters Irene Redfield and Clare Kendry with the historical figure Alice Jones.
- Investigation of how racial identity is "read" through appearance, class, and social codes.
- Examination of the interplay between bodily presentation and legal/social scrutiny.
- Critique of the binary racial classification system in the early 20th-century United States.
Excerpt from the Book
2. The Act of Passing
As the title of Larsen's novel already suggests, the act of passing is a central issue and also the topic which the Rhinelander trial centres on. Especially the characters that are discussed here are the ones concerned with the act of passing in their respective narratives. Passing, in the context of this term paper, refers to mixed-raced Afro-Americans passing as part of the light-skinned population, their black descent remaining unnoticed. Nisetich states that “[w]hat is troubling about the concept of racial passing is that it necessitates placing people of mixed ancestry in one racial category over another” (350). Thus, the USA is recreated as a biracial society where one has to be either black or white with no categories in-between. As a result of the continuing racism that whites approach people of other skin-colours with, the possibility of race-passing becomes increasingly attractive for those of the discriminated race in New York City of the 1920s. On that account, Singh claims that “[f]or a black, the risks in passing have always been higher, but the possibilities that lie beyond have been more tempting” (91).
One should take notice though that the aforementioned narratives not only feature passing as an appearance-related topic but one that goes further by incorporating demeanour as it is being associated with the white middle-class which these women try to slip into. Thus, as Wald suggests, “[…] the figure of 'passing' in these texts is produced and mediated not only through race, but through a variety of social discourses, especially class and sexuality” (29). This implies that passing is not only made possible by means of skin-colour, but also by applying class- and gender-specific practices. However, one should not forget the risks and sacrifices the passing person has to face. Hobbs claims that passing has two sides, namely that “[t]he delight of 'fooling white folks' and prevailing over an unjust racial regime was often accompanied by the agony of losing one's sense of self and one's family” (176).
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: This chapter introduces the research context, outlining the novel Passing and the Rhinelander Case, and establishes the central research question regarding their thematic relationship.
2. The Act of Passing: This section defines the socio-cultural phenomenon of racial passing and analyzes the specific motivations and risks faced by the protagonists Irene, Clare, and Alice.
3. Representation and Readability: This chapter explores how these women utilize fashion, demeanor, and social performance to navigate racial categorizations and how they are "read" by society.
4. Conclusion: The concluding chapter synthesizes the findings, confirming that both the novel and the legal trial expose the performative nature of race and the limitations of binary classification systems.
5. Bibliography: A comprehensive list of the primary and secondary sources utilized for the academic analysis.
Keywords
Passing, Rhinelander Case, Nella Larsen, racial identity, performance, readability, representation, Harlem Renaissance, black femininity, social construct, one-drop rule, mixed-race, societal norms, racial binary, Alice Jones.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this academic paper?
The paper explores the intersection of racial identity and societal perception in the 1920s by comparing Nella Larsen’s novel Passing with the real-life Rhinelander Case.
What are the central thematic fields discussed?
The main themes include racial passing, the social construction of race, the performance of identity through class and etiquette, and the concept of "readability" of the black female body.
What is the core research question?
The research seeks to define the relationship between the Rhinelander Case and Nella Larsen’s Passing and identify the mechanisms through which this relationship is constituted.
Which scientific methods are employed?
The author uses a comparative literary and cultural studies approach, analyzing narrative texts alongside historical/legal records to examine how racial codes function within societal frameworks.
What does the main body of the work cover?
The main body analyzes how characters (Irene, Clare, and Alice) manage their identity through appearance and social behavior, contrasting their personal self-identification with the external interpretations by their environment.
What key concepts characterize the analysis?
The analysis relies on concepts such as the "one-drop rule," performance of femininity, racial visibility, and the breakdown of binary racial distinctions.
How is the Rhinelander Case specifically linked to the novel?
The paper argues that the trial and the novel share a preoccupation with how a woman's race is "read" by the public, effectively turning their bodies into objects of scrutiny and text.
Why did Alice Jones become a central focus for this comparison?
Alice Jones serves as a real-world example of the struggle for self-definition against a system that forces racial labels, providing a legal parallel to the fictional dilemmas of Clare Kendry.
- Quote paper
- Katharina Lurz (Author), 2015, The Relationship Between Nella Larsen's "Passing" and the Rhinelander Case, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/432063
