Passing

The Root of Jealousy         In Nella Larsens Passing, Irene Redfield and Clare Kendry show us a great deal about race and grammatical gender in the 1920s. Both are extremely light-skinned women of Afro-American descent. However similar they appear to be, their views on race, a really contr everyplacesial issue at the time, differ significantly. Clare chooses to use her sensual appearance as an advantage in Americas racist and sexist society, leaving behind everything that connects her to her African-American identity. She presents herself as an object of sexual desire, flaunting herself to gain attention. Irene is practically the opposite, deciding that she wants to preserve with the label of being black. She is subtle with her sexuality, never attempting to use her beauty to gain advantages. Linking these two women is a strange relationship, in which Clare and Irene two view each other in a sexually desirable way. Nevertheless, pull down with that desire for Clare, Irene obviously holds some scorn for her through jealousy, to the extent of wishing that she were dead. This jealousy is also base on social status. Irene is jealous of Clares ability to succeed, even though she may not know it. The root of Irenes jealousy of Clare is in these three ideas of race, sexuality, and class, making Irene despise soulfulness who she obviously also loves.

Irenes desire for Clare is revealed throughout the book, oddly in the beginning when she is at the Drayton Hotel. She sees an attractive-looking young womanwith those dark, around black, eyes and that wide mouth like a red flower against the ivory of her skin. (p. 14) She is taken aback by Clares beauty, not liberaly understanding why she is so mistaken with the woman. Irene cant help but obsess over her beauty, the eyes that were magnificent! Dark, sometimes...

If you want to get a full essay, order it on our website: Orderessay



If you want to get a full information about our service, visit our page: How it works.