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Jan 2018 BOTM: Passing
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This book/story is based on her real life and her marriage to
a white man failed when he found out she was "passing". I also thought t..."
Hi, could you try and hide spoilers when you post an answer that gives away the ending? Sometimes folks come to the discussion thread before they've finished the book so I'm trying to get us all in the habit of covering possible spoilers so that people can join the discussion but at various points throughout their reading Thanks!
If you look at Leni's message a few earlier, she explains how to do this but let me know if you need help figuring it out.
Jen wrote: "MaryAnn (EmilyD1037) wrote: "I believe that she wanted it open for the reader's discretion.This book/story is based on her real life and her marriage to
a white man failed when he found out she wa...">
I apologize for my mistake. Since I came into "spoiler" I thought it would also be in "spoiler". I am still getting used to using the boards for discussion..
If I didn't do the spoiler right, please let me know.
Mod
This book/story is based on her real life and her marriage to
a white man failed when he foun..."
I've also accidentally posted spoilers so we are all learning together. Not quite right above. Figure out where you want to start the spoiler then you write the word "spoiler" inside of these two types of brackets "< >" Then when you want to end your spoiler you type "/spoiler" (without the quotes) inside those same types of brackets. Looks like you put a spoiler in correctly but not in the right place.
So in the example above you would start your spoiler before "My personal opinion was that she.... Then you would put the end point after ....he didn't have Clare to punish.
Does that make sense?
Jen wrote: "MaryAnn (EmilyD1037) wrote: "Jen wrote: "MaryAnn (EmilyD1037) wrote: "I believe that she wanted it open for the reader's discretion.This book/story is based on her real life and her marriage to
a ..."
Yes, perfect sense, thank you !
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yes, absolutely. Which do you think is the most plausible ending or how would you have ended the book?
I think an ambiguous ending means people think more about the book and that could have been the authors aim instead of tying everything up nicely leave the reader wondering and wanting more...
MaryAnn (EmilyD1037) wrote: . . . I read this comment about her passing and then being found out in a review, but I have not found information to verify it in the biographical articles I've read. Could you point me to where you found it?
In what I read, it sounds like possibly there were members of her family that passed, but she married an African American physicist and lived in Harlem. Her novels were published and she was recognized as a part of the Harlem Renaissance. However, she did not publish any more after the release of a short story called "Sanctuary" led to false accusations of plagiarism. (http://blackhistorynow.com/nella-larsen/)
As for the ending, I think because of her own experiences she was conflicted and could see both sides of the choice to pass. She understood both the difficulties and benefits, and leaving an ambiguous ending forces a bit more of that confusion and questioning aspect onto the reader.
Jen wrote: "Kelly wrote: "[spoilers removed]"yes and no. I agree that all sorts of people commit suicide - there is no one type and it doesn't signify weakness or strength. However (speaking with my suicide..."
(view spoiler)
I finished the book yesterday. I will try to answer all of the questions:Q1: What are your expectations for this book? Have you read her other book? I had no expectations going in to this book - I hadn't even heard of it before it was chosen as BOTM and I tend to jump in without researching. I have not read her other book.
Q2: Have you heard of the term "passing" and if so, in what context. I had heard of the term passing in the main context from the book (one race/gender passing as another).
Q3: This book is set in 1920s Harlem. What do you know about Harlem of the 1920? What sort of expectations do you have from knowing this is the setting (what will the book be about, etc)? I didn't know a lot about 1920s Harlem and had no expectations.
1. Passing functions as a metaphor with several layers of meaning. What are they? How do they relate to each other? Several people have already mentioned one meaning. what are the others? I believe this has been covered thoroughly by others already!
2. Whose story is this? Clare’s or Irene’s? From whose perspective if the story narrated and how does this strategy affect the story? Irene is our (unreliable) narrator, so it's Clare's story. Her feelings about and jealousy of Clare are the story, though.
3. Who is performing and for whom? I thought almost everyone was performing to some degree. Definitely Clare (for everyone), but Irene and Gertrude put on performances as well. The only character who doesn't seem to be acting is Clare's nasty husband.
4. Notice the relationship between Irene and Clare. What is it based on? They had a childhood friendship that I think both want to go back to, but as the novella progresses it seems their relationship in more based on jealousy from both sides.
5. What are the female characters’ perspectives on motherhood? Irene seems more involved and overprotective as a mother. Clare seems to not think much of her daughter, but of course it's hard to tell since we are inside Irene's head, not Clare's.
6. What are Irene’s attitudes in terms of race? Are they any different from John Bellew’s? Irene is proud of her race, and I don't think she approves of Clare's 'passing' life, but I also don't think her attitude toward other races is as caustic and racist as Clare's husband's attitude toward black people.
7. As a character, is Clare Kendry meant to be admired or criticized within the broader context of the narrative? I don't get the feeling we are supposed to admire Clare, but I don't feel that she's really being criticized either. Personally, I was scared for her and even pitied her.
With regard to the ending, (view spoiler)
Overall, I really enjoyed this one. I gave it 4 stars.
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Yes, I had heard of passing. I read at least two books last year that also covered “passing”. It was not a new term to me, in this context.
1. Passing functions as a metaphor with several layers of meaning. What are they? How do they relate to each other? Several people have already mentioned one meaning. what are the others?
I agree with what has previously been said and according to Wikipedia. People used to pretend to be Native American. I even know some who still try to do this. But it was common as a way to try to get acting parts. So Passing is a term of being able to be seen as something you are not. I agree that Irene was not really who she was passing to be either and she would use her ability to pass when it was convenient, yet she was judgmental of her friend who chose it as a means to escape an intolerable condition. Irene was also "acting" as wife and perhaps even as mother. I agree that Irene is not a reliable narrator. She doesn't even understand herself.
2. Whose story is this? Clare’s or Irene’s? From whose perspective if the story narrated and how does this strategy affect the story? It is the story of both girls/women. Mostly it is from Irene's perspective and she is not reliable and she is telling Clare's story.
3: In what ways is the notion of performance part of the book's content and structure? Who is performing and for whom? Harlem Renaissance is about art. Writing, performing, art. It is also about migration.
Here is my review. Great book, quick read. Passing is the story of two women who are black (biracial) and grew up as childhood friends in Chicago. It was published in 1929 and is set in Harlem Renaissance period, a period covering from 1918 to 1930 and is a time period of black culture/art. It did not just occur in Harlem New York but that might be the largest setting. This is a story of race and choices. One girl chose to escape her culture and married a white man and did not tell him. The other girl, Irene, married within her race and it is her story as well. There is a third choice but that girl only has a small part in the book. She married white but he knew she was black. That is just one layer of this great book.
Passing is not the first book to be written about Passing; not the first book to examine Passing, The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man,The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson, The Father of Désirée's Baby, The Garies and Their Friends but this book does offer a inventive approach and fresh ideas to the topic, showing how even though one married black and lived as black she was still creating her own fiction.
The story is great with an interesting conclusion. I guess I didn't see that coming but when it was done, I also was not surprised. And the ending remains ambiguous, IMO. The characters are great. It is highly readable.
Achievement: 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die (2006/2008/2010/2012 Edition), Guardian 1000 (State of the nation), 500 Great Books by Women (Choices), David Bowie's Top 100 (1929).
The book is told from Irene's POV and some is her stream of conscious and some her interactions.
(view spoiler).
Mod
Q1: What are your expectations for this book? Have you read her other book? I’ve heard of Larsen a fair amount, so I expected to enjoy it. Though I borrowed a copy of her complete works, my library loan was close to expiring, so I just read Passing and put a hold on it again, so hopefully I’ll find time to read Quicksand and the stories soon.
Q2: Have you heard of the term "passing" and if so, in what context.
I’ve heard passing used frequently, in all sorts of different ways. For example, I’ve dated women and men, but as a woman married to a man, I can and often do pass as a straight person. But I’ve heard it used of people regarding just about every possible facet of identity.
Q3: This book is set in 1920s Harlem. What do you know about Harlem of the 1920? What sort of expectations do you have from knowing this is the setting (what will the book be about, etc)?
As a Canadian who didn’t take any American history or lit classes, my knowledge of Harlem is fairly surface. I’m aware of the Harlem Renaissance, but I’ve read almost none of the books from that era. I know the basics of the flourishing of culture at the time, but nothing of any depth. Most recently, it was sort of discussed in Luke Cage.
1. Passing functions as a metaphor with several layers of meaning. What are they? How do they relate to each other? Several people have already mentioned one meaning. what are the others?To me, passing is looked at in quite a few ways. There’s passing on purpose and to deceive, there’s passing for convenience as Irene does to have her ice tea at a hotel that would throw her out if they knew her race, there’s passing simply by accident when someone fails to “read” your identity correctly. The novel talks a lot about the dangers in passing and being discovered, though it only hints at the other side of the equation, the dangers of being black in America, when Brian tries to talk to his sons about lynchings. Passing as being dangerous primarily seems to be Irene’s take, but it seems obvious to me that passing often provides safety - say a Jew able to pass as a Christian during the Holocaust or being able to pass as cisgendered or straight.
2. Whose story is this? Clare’s or Irene’s? From whose perspective if the story narrated and how does this strategy affect the story? I’d say it’s solidly Irene’s. At one point it’s made clear that she’s looking back and telling some parts of the story - definitely the part where she first bumps into Clare in Chicago and meets Jack. I’d like to go back one day and reread to see if the whole story is being recounted by Irene after the fact because I think that would put a bigger emphasis on how well Clare is actually portrayed by Irene and how much is Irene justifying what comes later. Also, the way passing is made out as the only difficult choice - that the lynching or racially motivated violence is so glancingly touched on seemed very much to make it Irene’s perspective. Which makes it even more layered because Irene has the safety of passing in some situations, like at the hotel, that probably protects her from some racially instigated violence/disrespect etc but doesn’t run the risk or trying to pass in a long term way.
3: In what ways is the notion of performance part of the book's content and structure? Who is performing and for whom? On the surface, Clare may seem to be performing more than everyone else, but I think that the more explored performance is the one found in Brian and Irene’s marriage. She’s performing for him, definitely adjusting her outer expressions to achieve a desired effect with him. And he’s presumably performing contentment with the situation, when he didn’t want to stay in America. Then, (view spoiler). There’s also the aspect of performance that comes from having the white guy - he was a writer? - there and observing and the whole notion that white people visiting Harlem were performing in many ways and perhaps that observation by white people would make the behaviour of people also change, a sense of performing under the gaze of white people.
I just sped through the last few posts to avoid spoilers as I still have the last third to read tonight. But reading this earlier today I found the scene with John (Clare's husband) so intense and disturbing, I've been thinking about it all day. What a crazy situation to be in, for all of them. It really hit home for me how bizarre and horrible this particular racism was to strip people of their identities and plague them with guilt. It's impossible for me to judge Clare for her choices, I'm just grateful that I don't have to make them.Looking forward to finishing and discussing the ending.
To further add to passing, I’ve always heard it used to refer to any case where you are “read” as being one thing but you are not that thing. Usually it is in the way of being believed to be part of a more privileged group. For example, someone who changes their accent and learns the manners of rich people could be passing on purpose as a person from a higher class. Or, I found when I lived in Scotland but didn’t have a British accent, I could pass for someone of almost any economic class because as a North American I couldn’t be placed.
Or, I’m an atheist but it’s clear from the behaviour of many around me that I pass as a Christian for them - and since this state has some fairly strict Christians, that could be to my advantage in some situations.
And I can pass as a native born American, though I’m in fact an immigrant, and that has resulted in more than a few uncomfortable situations when people make anti-immigrant statements in front of me and then I question them further on it. Like, a nurse who was doing my blood work for my physical for immigration seemed so confused as to how I needed that done, as if a white woman with a North American accent and an immigrant didn’t compute for her, in spite of the fact that there a decent chunk of Canadians who work and potentially immigrate permanently to the US.
It’s possible I’m so familiar with the use of passing and privilege in a large part because I’m not straight but have also almost never been visibly ID’d by strangers as gay, so for me it’s been a common part of my life, though for me the passing is involuntary and often unwelcome. I’d far rather have people stop assuming I’m straight - it certainly didn’t make dating any easier, for one, but also I don’t have any interest in being perceived as straight, though certainly I hugely benefit from the privileges that come from being seen as sh (safety, easy access to marriage if wanted most of my life when I’ve been dating men, fewer issues with healthcare etc)
4. Notice the relationship between Irene and Clare. What is it based on?I’m not sure what to think about their relationship. Where they friends and then jealousy rewrites the past? Was there an element of sexual attraction between them? As she portrays Clare, Irene definitely gets to feel better about herself as the good girl/wife/mom, but I don’t trust what we’re told of Clare.
5. What are the female characters’ perspectives on motherhood?
I feel like they both feel many similar things for motherhood - that line that being a mother is the hardest grief (can’t recall it exactly) struck me as very apt. They are both clearly loving and concerned and feel that they can be hurt by negative things happening to their children.
I feel like out of context, Clare could come off as cold and uncaring as a mother because her daughter is away all the time, but I feel like context may matter hugely here. For a white rich family, especially of the time but even today, sending a child to boarding school wasn’t necessarily one that showed a lack of love, it was the done thing. And preparing your child for their future is a loving act, so if that’s the way your child, considering their race and class, was to be prepared, it shouldn’t be read as unloving either. And Clare certainly seemed friendly with the boys, so I assume she didn’t hate kids.
But there is certainly a racial component to mothering in America too and my understanding is that for a middle or upper class black woman to stay at home and raise her children has a different context, since that was something that wasn’t always a choice for black women, especially since it was common for black women to instead be mothering white children.
I think that Irene could be read as super overprotective and controlling of her children - but again, race comes into play there. Black boys and men were and are more at risk for behaviours that are cracked down on by police and white men in a way that white children are not. She had a lot to protect her boys from. Though, Brian’s attempt to protect them through knowledge is also understandable and while it seems to me that his method makes more sense in the long run, I feel like many parents try to protect their children from having the burden of being introduced to certain topics before they are ready.
6. What are Irene’s attitudes in terms of race? Are they any different from John Bellow’s?
John is a racist and a trash human being, IMO. Sure I’m supposed to take him in context as well, man of his times blah blah blah, but he’s horrible. The text certainly allows for the idea that perhaps under different circumstances he could have been a better man.
So, the way the second part of the question is posed seems increadibly offensive to me because nothing Irene says or does suggests that she’s a horrible racist at all. She hangs around in a mixed crowd, seems to get on well wth a white friend, clearly feels pride in her own race.
7. As a character, is Clare Kendry meant to be admired or criticized within the broader context of the narrative?
I don’t really know. That ambiguous ending makes me think that perhaps we are meant to think that while the narrator Irene wants us to criticize Clare, that we ourselves should be wary of jumping to that conclusion. It’s almost like trusting that the narrator of Lolita is telling you the truth about her actions. Probably shouldn’t.
It has been suggested that Passing uses race more as a device to sustain suspense than as a compelling social issue. Do you agree? Why or why not? I have to say, I think you have to be a white person to think that the issue of race in 1920’s America could ever be a device to sustain suspense rather than a compelling social issue. When race can get you killed, when lynching is a thing, when racism of the kind that Jack exhibits is a socially acceptable norm, how could race ever be dismissed as just a literary device?
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I also agree that Irene is not racist. She is very much friends with both white and black people. She seems proud of her own people and that’s okay.
I don’t even know that I think Clare as racist. She just had to get out of the situation she was in and she found a way out by Passing and I think she paid a big price for having done so. I see Clare as also liking blacks and white.
Irene’s husband had more negative feelings towards whites but not sure that he is racist but a realist.
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From the reader stand point. I think the author used what she knew including racism to write her stories. How can an author not be influenced by their context.
Jen wrote: "I don’t think the question (which I took from a university website) was referring to the reader or whether we think it’s a real issue but rather whether the author was writing in a way to invite re..."Couldn't it be both? If you have a pressing issue and you're writing a novel rather than an essay, you'll want a plot to advance. Whoever made this "suggestion" seem to imply that plot devices are inherently not worthy of social debate or somehow invalidates the issue. Or that the author is not genuine in their expression and is simply profiting on the issue as a handy plot device. I hope whoever it was who accused Larsen of this got some serious smack-down in the student essays!
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So, as a literary device, I don’t know that I think race was used to up the tension. I mean, I guess (view spoiler)
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"Larsen's narratives stop abruptly, present no viable solutions, and remain dominated by dissatisfaction: they reflect an accurate and honest perception of the subject matter, but despite an adept framing of character and incident, they do not finally penetrate the meaning of that subject."
"the problem with Passing lies in the vagueness of the desirable black spirit portrayed. The novel is disconcertingly vague on what should be joyously embraced."
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"Literary critic Claudia Tate points out that Nella Larsen's Passing is not a standard tragic mulatto narrative and instead centers on themes of psychological ambiguity and intrigue. Tate furthers her argument by contending that the racial themes of Larsen's novel are simply a device rather than commentary on the culture of the time."
Apparently the critique by Claudia Tata was published in "Black American Literature Forum Journal in 1980. I don't have access to the article from home but will see if I can pull it up at work tomorrow.
Interesting. My copy of the Complete Larson expires today, but I’m now more interested in reading Quicksand and the short stories. Perhaps reading more of her would clarify if she goes in depth on race or if it’s just a literary device.
Sorry I'm still getting used to the organization here - where do our book reviews for Passing go? I looked in the 1001 book reviews folder and didn't see it listed in the index of reviewed books. Are we meant to post reviews here? thank you!
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I disagree with the critiques but I too would like to read her other work
Jen wrote: "It has been suggested that Passing uses race more as a device to sustain suspense than as a compelling social issue. Do you agree? Why or why not? "Yes and no. She could have written the same basic story using some other shared secret, rather than racial heritage. However, using race and the social issues surrounding race, is what makes this book interesting and a classic.
Jen - Just to be clear, I absolutely assumed you got the questions from somewhere rather than made them yourself, so I wasn’t offended at you, or anything.
Mod
Oh, I know. No offense taken/given/intended, etc. I just meant to clarify that I couldn’t address or necessarily answer your point because I wasn’t the person who wrote the question. I think it's an interesting question for discussion. I disagree with the critiques (the author of the question didn't make those critiques but was asking students to respond to them) but I think it's pretty interesting to see that the book was critiqued by others and to think about whether or not that was a legitimate or fair critique.
Mod
You can post them here or in the 1001 book review folder. Or even better, in both places. If you can't find the book there (in the other 1001 book reviews), it means you're the first to post there and I'll create a link for the book once you've posted it.
As much as I'm trying not to re-read too many books (I re-read 11 1001 books last year), I had to re-read this one after all of this discussion. I liked it a lot the first time around and gave the book 4 stars, but this time I picked up some things I missed the first time around and think it is absolutely brilliant and deserving of 5 stars. Here are my responses to the questions:1. Passing functions as a metaphor with several layers of meaning. What are they? How do they relate to each other? Several people have already mentioned one meaning. what are the others?
Working in an academic setting, grades are always the first thing that comes to mind when I hear the word passing. Also, passing, as in dying, or "passing on" is a term I have heard used frequently, especially among older people. I learned about the term used in the context of this book the first time I read it. I had not heard it used in this context prior to reading. I think in this case the title refers to passing for white as well as passing on.
(view spoiler)
2. Whose story is this? Clare’s or Irene’s? From whose perspective if the story narrated and how does this strategy affect the story?
I consider it to be more Irene's story than Clare's. The book is also told from Irene's perspective, so we observe her thoughts and feelings, and not those of the other characters.
3: In what ways is the notion of performance part of the book's content and structure? Who is performing and for whom?
Clare is performing in pretending to be someone she is not and living a lie. She also performs to attract people (women and men) to her, probably since she is a very lonely person due to her earlier choices, and wants people to like her. Irene is performing by going along with that lie. Irene later performs by pretending not to recognize Clare's husband on the street. Irene is performing in her own life in her relationship with her husband. She performs to hide her feelings of resentment, jealousy, and anger. I didn't get the impression that the men were performing. They seemed more straight forward.
4. Notice the relationship between Irene and Clare. What is it based on?
For Clare, I think she needed that connection "to her people" that she has been missing since her marriage. She perceived Irene as safe due to her light skin. I also think to a certain extent she was using Irene to meet more people. That was understandable since she had been living an isolated existence and craved interaction with others. For Irene, I wonder if she was trying to live vicariously through Clare. Initially, she fought against developing a relationship, yet she seemed to keep getting drawn in as if she was obsessed. I agree that Clare did possess a somewhat magnetic attraction.
5. What are the female characters’ perspectives on motherhood?
I saw Irene as a more dedicated mother than Clare, but perhaps this was part of the performance alluded to in question 3. Clare didn't strike me as being that devoted to her daughter, especially as the book progresses. I remember Clare once made a negative comment regarding motherhood (I can't remember the exact quote) and I remember being surprised when Irene agreed with the comment. It made me wonder if Larsen herself was a parent.
6. What are Irene’s attitudes in terms of race? Are they any different from John Bellew’s?
Irene seems to embrace her culture and feel proud of her heritage. I felt she was cautious around white people (as was probably the case with most African-American's during that time), but I didn't feel that she harbored any racist attitudes or resentment. She did feel resentment from Bellew's statements (understandably so), but did not act on her hostilities, even though she would have well been within her right to do so. Bellew was openly racist. He did not care to get to know any African-Americans and believed in the stereotypes and prejudices of the dominant culture. Basically, he was ignorant and did not care to change that ignorance or his preconceived notions.
7. As a character, is Clare Kendry meant to be admired or criticized within the broader context of the narrative?
I think criticized, due to the fact that she was rejecting her heritage and living a lie. I think she possessed enough charm to be an admirable character had circumstances been different.
8. It has been suggested that Passing uses race more as a device to sustain suspense than as a compelling social issue. Do you agree? Why or why not?
I don't agree, especially after having read her other book, Quicksand. I think Larsen's books raised awareness of social issues for Blacks, particularly those of mixed heritage.
As for the ending...
I read the last half of this book in the car while my son was in a boy scout meeting (naturally, he arrived back to the car when I was in the middle of the suspenseful scene, go figure). Like I said before, I feel I picked up more in hindsight from re-reading the book. When I first read the book I though (view spoiler)
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As we near the end of the month feel free to add any additional questions or comments for this book.
Chinook's review Jan 21, 2018bookshelves: 1001, america
I did not see that ending coming.
This is a great book - the way the fear of Clare being caught passing mirrors the fear of Irene’s that her husband might leave and take off for Brazil and perhaps even the fear of Brian’s that he’ll be caught having an affair or Irene’s that there is an affair... I really loved how that is all set up. Jack was such a horrible character and it was interesting to see the issue of passing examined from someone who could pass and did, just not socially as she says. It’s not an issue I’ve seen come up often in literature before. I look forward to reading more of Larsen.
Kristel wrote: "I agree with Chinook. John is the biggest racist in this book and he is horrible. And he is just horrible as a man and husband. Calling his wife names. I don’t think there is any excuse for his beh..."Your thoughts are much more inline with mine. I don't think attempting to pass is racist... I think it comes from societal pressures to be light skinned. Better jobs. Better overall treatment from other humans. Better everything.
Diane wrote: "I remember Clare once made a negative comment regarding motherhood (I can't remember the exact quote) and I remember being surprised when Irene agreed with the comment. It made me wonder if Larsen herself was a parent."I'm pretty sure I know what comment you mean, but I interpreted it completely differently! Irene points out to Clare that the risk is not just to her, but to her daughter. Clare says that motherhood is the most terrible thing (or something like that). I didn't see that as Clare and Irene agreeing that being a mother is bad because it impacts and limits your activities. I read it as a case of existential insight and angst. Becoming a mother (and, in many cases, a father) is to enter into perpetual worry and anxiety. Not only that of course, but the worry is always there. Knowing that your actions might endanger not only yourself but your child is terrible!
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I think the discussion on having children for the “passing” person who feared having a darker child that would “out” them was interesting. I seem to recall something like that happening during my youth but cannot recall who or when that happened. Oh well.
I also agree that having and raising children is not all fun that there is also anxiety, worry and feelings of failure. So the comment that Clare and Irene made about parenting was a time when they were being honest and maybe not “performing”.
I also read that comment as being similar to the “having a child is like having a piece of your heart on the outside where it can be broken” sort of idea. I also thought it might be a slight reference to the pain of having racism directed at your child.
Jen wrote: "I just want to say that this has been a great discussion so far! Thank you to all of you for contributing to a lively and interesting conversation.
As we near the end of the month feel free to add..."
I agree.
Will be interesting if we do an end of year poll again I think this could win best discussion but then again it is only January LOL
As we near the end of the month feel free to add..."
I agree.
Will be interesting if we do an end of year poll again I think this could win best discussion but then again it is only January LOL
Leni wrote: "Diane wrote: "I remember Clare once made a negative comment regarding motherhood (I can't remember the exact quote) and I remember being surprised when Irene agreed with the comment. It made me won..."I also think that while motherhood is the most wonderful thing, it is also, truly, the most horrible thing. Nothing else can tear you apart so much as your own child. Nothing else will make you stay awake until 5am with worry.
Leni wrote: "Diane wrote: "I'm pretty sure I know what comment you mean, but I interpreted it completely differently! "That makes perfect sense. I was very tired when I was reading it and apparently misread it or read to much into it.
Mod
I enjoyed The Human Stain and I remember the theme of “passing”. Did you like it?
Jen wrote: "Jen wrote: "Sorry I'm still getting used to the organization here - where do our book reviews for Passing go? I looked in the 1001 book reviews folder and didn't see it listed in the ..."thanks for clarifying Jen
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I believe that she wanted it open for the reader's discretion.
This book/story is based on her real life and her marriage to
a white man failed when he found out she was "passing". I also thought that she didn't want to make a commitment to a certain
ending.
My personal opinion was that she committed suicide. She knew the marriage would be over and she was "outed" to anyone else.
I would imagine that with the husband's attitude toward race that he would punish/disinherit the daughter and make her
suffer even more because he didn't have Clare to punish.
(view spoiler)[ (hide spoiler)] (hide spoiler)]