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“Makin a way Outta no way:” The dangerous business of racial masquerade in Nella Larsen's Passing

Early in Nella Larsen's Passing (1929), Clare Kendry Bellew and Irene Westover Redfield (the light-skinned and middleclass black female protagonists) are both passing for white in Chicago at an elite and segregated restaurant atop the Drayton Hotel during the horrid heat of August. Here, in this coincidental meeting of two childhood friends, Irene and Clare have a conversation about the possibility of permanently assuming a white identity. Irene, who only passes sometimes, superciliously relates her reason for not permanently passing herself off as white: '"You see Clare, I've everything I want. Except, perhaps, a little more money'" (1929,190). In contrast, Clare responds: '"Of course...that's what everybody wants, just a little more money, even the people who have it. And I must say I don't blame them. Money's awful nice to have. In fact, all things considered, I think, 'Rene, that it's even worth the price'" (1929, 190). Larsen reveals that economic security is a critical concern in the lives of these middle-class black women. Despite the vulnerabilities of revelation, Clare adamantly believes that the monetary and social advantages of passing for white surpass the disadvantages. Class, as inflected by gender within the nexus of race, con-