The One About Colorism, Classism, and Passing

Passing by Nella Larsen explores Black womanhood, its responsibilities, and its complexities during the Harlem Renaissance. It reimagines the tragic mulatto as a selfish, self-centered, complex woman whose undoing is brought about by her own actions. Larsen decenters men as she explores the relationship between Irene and Clare; Brian Redfield and John Bellew are used as representations of patriarchy and racism, respectively, but they sit in the periphery of the story as pressure-inducing pain points. The women’s battles with themselves and each other remain the focus. When comparing Nella Larsen's novella, Passing, with its film adaptation, the film more effectively highlights classism among Black women. While the novella explores this theme rather passively, the film adaptation provides a more definitive and nuanced portrayal of the relationships and interactions between “passing” Black women and those of different shades and socioeconomic backgrounds, through interactions with Zulena. 

Patricia Hill Collins says, “the controlling images of Black women… are so pervasive that even though the images themselves change in the popular imagination, Black women’s portrayal as the Other persists,” (88). In Passing, Black women reinforce this othering amongst themselves by leaning into the respectability politics of the current world. Zulena and Felise, further in the periphery than Brian and John, are accessories to this othering and represent classism and colorism simultaneously. In the novella, Larsen introduces Zulena as “a small mahogany-coloured creature” who brings Irene her morning grapefruit (54). Throughout, the novella Zulena is mentioned briefly and always in service to Irene’s needs, be it as a messenger or as a gatekeeper. When Zulena’s mahogany skin is mentioned, it is mentioned in conjunction with the word “creature,” which dehumanizes her and makes her an object of Irene’s. Larsen’s decision to subtly highlight Zulena’s presence exemplifies Collin’s case for the use of objectification when discussing oppositional differences; she says, “one element is objectified as the Other, and is viewed as an object to be manipulated and controlled,” (70). In this instance, Irene, the middle-class Black woman, is in opposition to Zulena, her servant. Larsen’s subtlety alludes to the unspoken classism that affluent Black women, more specifically passable Black women, inflict upon darker-skinned, lower-class Black women. The film adaptation heightens this awareness beautifully. 

In the film, Zulena is seen, often in shadow, and always in juxtaposition to Irene. When we first meet Zulena in the film, roughly twenty-three minutes into the film, she is dressing the boys for school while Irene watches from above. Irene is an overseer of the duties but an inactive participant because it is literally beneath her. In the minute that follows, Zulena is seen, in silhouette and featureless, bringing Irene grapefruit; she’s seen again sweeping the foyer while Irene rushes to and fro in search of her hat. Zulena interrupts Irene to remind her of the letter from Clare. In this minute of the film, the stark contrast created by lighting choices and black-and-white color grading help emphasize the oppositional roles between Zulena and Irene. Zulena, the actual caretaker of Irene’s children and home, is overshadowed by Irene who receives full credit for Zulena’s efforts; these roles are parallel to the roles that Black women held when in servitude to white women. As the film progresses, Irene’s classist beliefs are more clearly revealed. When Zulena is first seen cooking in the kitchen, her head is cropped out of the scene while she prepares the Redfields’ dinner. Her back is to the camera as Irene enters with recently purchased groceries. This angle represents the loss of autonomy that Zulena experiences, at the hands of Irene, as she is not allowed to have a mind of her own in the Redfield household. Irene pesters Zulena about the cleanliness of the boys’ rooms with complete disregard to Zulena’s current work at hand; Zulena’s frustration is only made apparent by the subtle placement of a food can onto the counter and the tone of her voice. In the novella, Irene’s classism is brought into focus when she complains about Clare’s interactions with Zulena and Sadie: “she would descend to the kitchen and, with--to Irene-- an exasperating childlike lack of perception, spend her visit in talk and merriment with Zulena and Sadie,” (79).  The film builds upon this idea when Irene again returns home with groceries to find Zulena and Clare relaxing together in the garden. Irene’s immediate response is to question Clare’s behavior while ignoring Zulena’s presence altogether. Zulena also ignores Irene and continues her conversation with Clare about their “Indian summer;” this instance shows the disconnect between employer and employee, middle-class and lower-class Black women, and light-skinned and dark-skinned Black women. The scene also reinforces the choice in behavior; Clare treats Zulena as a peer while Irene reminds Zulena of her place. 

Nella Larsen’s Passing is an intriguing novella that asks the reader to see Black women as they were--human. She does not create Black women who are perfect characters or tragic ones. She instead tells the truth about the complexities of the world through the eyes of the purposely misunderstood and marginalized. She centers her characters' desires in a world not built for their happiness but for their degradation. Though the classism in the novella was passive, it was always present in the periphery like racism and sexism. Passing, the film, elevated, and made more apparent, the truth of classism amongst Black women themselves through the clever use of shadows and light. 

Works Cited

Collins, Patricia Hill. Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness, and the Politics of Empowerment. 2nd ed., Routledge, 2000.

Hall, Rebecca. Passing. Netflix, 2021.

Larsen, Nella. Passing. Penguin Classics, 2003.