Although Clare looks white and is married to someone white, she is aware of her own biracial origin and duplicitous façade. This is in contrast to Irene who, although she too is white-passing, identifies as black, married a black doctor, and lives in a predominately black community. After running into Clare while passing, Irene feels threatened by Clare's ability to simultaneously emulate and condemn white society, which showcases the latter’s deeper sense of her dual-identity. While Clare laughs and fraternizes with the enemy, Irene repudiates Clare for wearing an “ivory mask” (157). She also accuses Clare of "mockery” of her own culture (154) since Clare was not just “passing” temporarily, but choosing to identify as white in order to seize white power to advance herself in society. I noticed that it was not outrage that plagued Irene, but the realization that Clare rose quickly to the top of the social ladder and surpassed her in wealth and class. It is at this point that I had an epiphany: Irene's relationship with Clare is not about rightful indignation about her passing or even sapphic longing, but instead a resentful sense of envy at her innate ability to risk, “[have her] way” (20), and enjoy it all without reservations. Irene’s envy comes as a result of choosing to remain faithful to one race and trading her joy, dreams, and desires for middle-class stability.
According to Irene’s values, joy is contingent on delayed gratification and self-sacrifice. Clare, on the other hand, lives in the moment and has "no proper morals or sense of duty" (81) and possesses an irrepressible force to sacrifice all to attain that which she yearns: “I'd do anything, hurt anybody, throw anything away" (81). Nevertheless, I suspect that Irene was most terrified of awakening her own destructive desires, letting go, and surrendering to an enjoyment that respects no limits and has no bounds.
My pencil and charcoal artwork is my artistic rendition of Clare and Irene, exploring their complex relationship and interactions. Two portraits make up my artwork—one framed in white and the other in black. To the right is Clare, with her “ivory face under that bright hair” and “arresting eyes” (190-191). To the left is Irene, whose “dark curls” (224) and lighter skin allow her to pass as “a Spaniard, a Mexican, or a Gypsy” (178). Both ladies are drawn in black and white, as no color can be found on the canvas. This was an intentional choice—in black and white, both ladies of African American descent can pass as white. This reveals, therefore, that accepting a passing identity is a choice. While Clare embraces her ability to pass and the benefits that it brings to her, Irene chooses not to. Clare’s choice intimidates Irene, and her once aesthetic attraction to Clare is now tainted by envy. The background choices were intentional as well. Although one might assume that matching the color of the background to their racial identity would be a logical choice, I chose to color their background according to the ancestry they renounced. Secretly, however, both yearn for what they gave up. Irene is in touch with her ancestry, community, and traditions but craves the status Clare holds as a white woman. Clare lives with the benefits of being a white woman but misses her African American roots, visiting Irene to reclaim a little piece of herself. Nevertheless, the choice they made binds them to their place in society, but the what-ifs will always be at the forefront of their minds.
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