Brilliant guide, Haley! In particular, I love what you’ve brought up about: physical spaces, the ‘economy of passing,’ and the etymology and meanings behind the word ‘encounter’
For those who are going to read my entire comment, I apologize, it’s very long but I have so many thoughts —
Because I knew how the book ended going into this reading, for a lot of the time while I was reading, I was looking for clues to the ending. I found so many; but I still don’t know if I have an answer as to what happens at the end.
In last week’s comments, I mentioned that I was paying attention to emotions, and in particular, Irene’s emotions — this, along with paying attention to the theme of power, unlocked a whole new reading for me.
Irene thinks herself the orchestra director. She wants to control everything around her, whether that is convincing her husband to stay in New York, sheltering her children from the world, or even coordinating a simple afternoon tea. But she can’t manage to control the most important thing: herself. She quickly loses control of her emotions and unravels at the slightest trigger throughout the book.
Though she tries to coordinate everything around her, oddly (and probably because of the strange hold that Clare has over her), whenever she plans to do something, she seems to back out at the last minute. She is either unable to do it, or she ends up doing the exact opposite (eg, trying to resist Clare’s invitations; or when she convinces herself to let slip Clare’s identity to Bellew but then doesn’t do it when she has the perfect opportunity to).
But on the other hand, she has no control over her emotions, and is quick to fly into a rage (picking a fight with Brian, ripping up Clare’s letters, breaking the teacup at that party towards the end). There seems to be a disconnect between the ‘logical’ and ‘emotional’ parts of her mind when it comes to her actions, and the emotional side usually wins.
So for most of the book, knowing the ending, I grew convinced that Irene pushed Clare out the window. She was so angry, so wont to act on irrational, sudden impulses, that she MUST have done it in a fit of anger.
But… as we get closer to the end, Irene starts to meditate on the idea of getting rid of Clare; first vaguely, then explicitly imagining her dead. And so seeds of doubt sprung up in my mind. If Irene were to stay true to character, then she would, at the last minute, do the exact OPPOSITE of what she had been planning - which, in this case, would mean that she didn’t push Clare out the window. So which is it?
When Irene plans a thing, at the last minute she often does the opposite. And when she is inspired by a sudden surge of emotion, she acts without thinking. So whether you think Irene killed Clare depends on whether you think she planned it, or acted in the spur of the moment - which is it?
There are so many instances of foreshadowing of the final scene — for example, part one begins with the arrival of a letter, and ends with Irene destroying it (the letter represents Clare’s arrival in Irene’s life, and so if you sub ‘Clare’ for ‘letter’ then this represents the beginning and end of the book: the arrival of Clare and her ultimate destruction). There is also a line in the last part about Irene watching a spark fly out the window from her cigarette and get snuffed out — this is most definitely referencing the end. And, that line about Irene not knowing how to get rid of the teacup until five minutes ago — either she is already subconsciously thinking of Clare, or this incident is what puts the idea into her head.
In this reading I also found myself paying more attention to Brian and Irene’s marriage, and as I did so, I started to notice, with more clarity, the cracks in their relationship. The last time I read the book, I thought the imagined relationship between Brian and Clare was all in Irene’s head, a result of her paranoia. But on this reading, I was convinced that they were actually having an affair.
A lot of the symbols I was using to annotate started to dwindle as the book went on - there simply weren’t as many discussions of society, desire, or appearances anymore, and so towards the end of the book I think the central conflict of the novel comes into sharper focus, as if zooming in to the two women.
I also found myself thinking of the idea of doubles, and Irene and Clare as versions of each other. This called me back to Rebecca - when I have more time, I want to think more on this idea, and the connections between different books that use doubles.
I also have SO many thoughts on the last line of the book, but I have already rambled on for long enough, so for those interested I’ll share two podcast episodes on The Novel Tea from last year about Passing, in which we talk about the last line, among other things (in one episode we compared Passing with The Vanishing Half, and in the other we talked more about Passing and the Netflix adaptation): https://thenovelteapod.substack.com/p/podcast
Alright, I might have more to say as I read everyone else’s comments but I’ll end here for now!!
This is so amazing Shruti! I love your analysis of Irene's state of mind and the question of whether or not she pushed Clare. What I am loving the most is the way that, no matter which way you stack the evidence, it's really difficult to know the true ending — to me, that signals just how profoundly smart Nella Larsen really is, as a writer. She leaves it possible to so many interpretations, while also giving us so many rich insights into passing, race, and fidelity. So, whether we "know" the truth about Irene or not, we still get so much value from reading the story. This feels particularly modernist to me!
And I'm so excited to share the deep dive — and thank you for sharing the links to your own deeper dives on the novel! I'm excited to dig into your episode about the last line!
I did not see that coming. In retrospect I should have noted that Irene’s increasing suspicions, rage, and unravelling, culminating in her crashing the teacup at the earlier party all pointed to a dramatic finale. Those last few pages of the novel were so very cinematic, everything happens so fast, and the mood is so palpable. I got to the end and needed to start over from the beginning. We’ve seen everything from Irene’s perspective. She starts out uncomfortable, aloof, and irritated by little things. Meeting Clare just brings that all into fuller focus, and then escalates. What is Clare’s side of things? What is Brian’s? Was all that menace, malice, and scheming that Irene attributes to Clare real? Was there ever really anything happening between Clare and Brian? Is this whole telling of events by Irene just the version she has created to keep herself from facing what she “never afterwards allowed herself to remember”? I'm still not sure and wonder where do these characters go from here. I expected the propulsion of the plot to be the racial implication of passing. It is there, but overshadowed I think by the taut psychological study of Irene. We learn more of Irene’s “passing” than of Clare’s. Irene is passing as settled, safe, secure, even happy when she has built an illusion of all that by repressing anything she truly feels. Lots more ideas are percolating in my thoughts, and I’m looking forward to other’s comments to help me find structure for them.
So good, huh? The first time I read it, the last 3 pages blew my mind. I didn’t see it coming at all! I love your questions about how limited we are to Irene. What about Clare? What about Brian? How does being so close to Irene cloud our understanding of what happens?
Brilliant guide, Haley! In particular, I love what you’ve brought up about: physical spaces, the ‘economy of passing,’ and the etymology and meanings behind the word ‘encounter’
For those who are going to read my entire comment, I apologize, it’s very long but I have so many thoughts —
Because I knew how the book ended going into this reading, for a lot of the time while I was reading, I was looking for clues to the ending. I found so many; but I still don’t know if I have an answer as to what happens at the end.
In last week’s comments, I mentioned that I was paying attention to emotions, and in particular, Irene’s emotions — this, along with paying attention to the theme of power, unlocked a whole new reading for me.
Irene thinks herself the orchestra director. She wants to control everything around her, whether that is convincing her husband to stay in New York, sheltering her children from the world, or even coordinating a simple afternoon tea. But she can’t manage to control the most important thing: herself. She quickly loses control of her emotions and unravels at the slightest trigger throughout the book.
Though she tries to coordinate everything around her, oddly (and probably because of the strange hold that Clare has over her), whenever she plans to do something, she seems to back out at the last minute. She is either unable to do it, or she ends up doing the exact opposite (eg, trying to resist Clare’s invitations; or when she convinces herself to let slip Clare’s identity to Bellew but then doesn’t do it when she has the perfect opportunity to).
But on the other hand, she has no control over her emotions, and is quick to fly into a rage (picking a fight with Brian, ripping up Clare’s letters, breaking the teacup at that party towards the end). There seems to be a disconnect between the ‘logical’ and ‘emotional’ parts of her mind when it comes to her actions, and the emotional side usually wins.
So for most of the book, knowing the ending, I grew convinced that Irene pushed Clare out the window. She was so angry, so wont to act on irrational, sudden impulses, that she MUST have done it in a fit of anger.
But… as we get closer to the end, Irene starts to meditate on the idea of getting rid of Clare; first vaguely, then explicitly imagining her dead. And so seeds of doubt sprung up in my mind. If Irene were to stay true to character, then she would, at the last minute, do the exact OPPOSITE of what she had been planning - which, in this case, would mean that she didn’t push Clare out the window. So which is it?
When Irene plans a thing, at the last minute she often does the opposite. And when she is inspired by a sudden surge of emotion, she acts without thinking. So whether you think Irene killed Clare depends on whether you think she planned it, or acted in the spur of the moment - which is it?
There are so many instances of foreshadowing of the final scene — for example, part one begins with the arrival of a letter, and ends with Irene destroying it (the letter represents Clare’s arrival in Irene’s life, and so if you sub ‘Clare’ for ‘letter’ then this represents the beginning and end of the book: the arrival of Clare and her ultimate destruction). There is also a line in the last part about Irene watching a spark fly out the window from her cigarette and get snuffed out — this is most definitely referencing the end. And, that line about Irene not knowing how to get rid of the teacup until five minutes ago — either she is already subconsciously thinking of Clare, or this incident is what puts the idea into her head.
In this reading I also found myself paying more attention to Brian and Irene’s marriage, and as I did so, I started to notice, with more clarity, the cracks in their relationship. The last time I read the book, I thought the imagined relationship between Brian and Clare was all in Irene’s head, a result of her paranoia. But on this reading, I was convinced that they were actually having an affair.
A lot of the symbols I was using to annotate started to dwindle as the book went on - there simply weren’t as many discussions of society, desire, or appearances anymore, and so towards the end of the book I think the central conflict of the novel comes into sharper focus, as if zooming in to the two women.
I also found myself thinking of the idea of doubles, and Irene and Clare as versions of each other. This called me back to Rebecca - when I have more time, I want to think more on this idea, and the connections between different books that use doubles.
I also have SO many thoughts on the last line of the book, but I have already rambled on for long enough, so for those interested I’ll share two podcast episodes on The Novel Tea from last year about Passing, in which we talk about the last line, among other things (in one episode we compared Passing with The Vanishing Half, and in the other we talked more about Passing and the Netflix adaptation): https://thenovelteapod.substack.com/p/podcast
Alright, I might have more to say as I read everyone else’s comments but I’ll end here for now!!
Can’t wait for the deep dive!
This is so amazing Shruti! I love your analysis of Irene's state of mind and the question of whether or not she pushed Clare. What I am loving the most is the way that, no matter which way you stack the evidence, it's really difficult to know the true ending — to me, that signals just how profoundly smart Nella Larsen really is, as a writer. She leaves it possible to so many interpretations, while also giving us so many rich insights into passing, race, and fidelity. So, whether we "know" the truth about Irene or not, we still get so much value from reading the story. This feels particularly modernist to me!
And I'm so excited to share the deep dive — and thank you for sharing the links to your own deeper dives on the novel! I'm excited to dig into your episode about the last line!
I did not see that coming. In retrospect I should have noted that Irene’s increasing suspicions, rage, and unravelling, culminating in her crashing the teacup at the earlier party all pointed to a dramatic finale. Those last few pages of the novel were so very cinematic, everything happens so fast, and the mood is so palpable. I got to the end and needed to start over from the beginning. We’ve seen everything from Irene’s perspective. She starts out uncomfortable, aloof, and irritated by little things. Meeting Clare just brings that all into fuller focus, and then escalates. What is Clare’s side of things? What is Brian’s? Was all that menace, malice, and scheming that Irene attributes to Clare real? Was there ever really anything happening between Clare and Brian? Is this whole telling of events by Irene just the version she has created to keep herself from facing what she “never afterwards allowed herself to remember”? I'm still not sure and wonder where do these characters go from here. I expected the propulsion of the plot to be the racial implication of passing. It is there, but overshadowed I think by the taut psychological study of Irene. We learn more of Irene’s “passing” than of Clare’s. Irene is passing as settled, safe, secure, even happy when she has built an illusion of all that by repressing anything she truly feels. Lots more ideas are percolating in my thoughts, and I’m looking forward to other’s comments to help me find structure for them.
So good, huh? The first time I read it, the last 3 pages blew my mind. I didn’t see it coming at all! I love your questions about how limited we are to Irene. What about Clare? What about Brian? How does being so close to Irene cloud our understanding of what happens?