Student Question
Where can you find foreshadowing in "Passing"?
Quick answer:
Foreshadowing in Nella Larsen's "Passing" occurs when Irene wishes Clare would disappear or face a tragedy, reflecting her frustration with Clare's persistent presence and her discomfort around Clare's racist husband. This wish foreshadows the novel's conclusion, where Clare falls to her death from an apartment window, fulfilling Irene's earlier thoughts. This element of foreshadowing highlights the tension and underlying desires in the narrative.
In Nella Larsen's novel Passing, the character Irene is so bothered by Clare that she wishes she would disappear or that something tragic would happen to distract Clare. Irene had become frustrated with Clare, a light skinned African American woman who was living in society as a white woman. Clare's husband was a white racist, and Irene hated being around him. Though Irene tried to avoid her, Clare continued to pursue Irene, wanting to be her friend. Irene's wishes were a foreshadowing of the conclusion of the novel in which Clare falls out of an apartment building window to her death.
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