Clare seems like the most important character in the story. She's the one who's "passing," whose actions propel the narrative, and yet she's the one who, in a way, interested me the least. She just kind of seemed like a visitor to the real story, which, for me, was the dynamic between Irene and Brian. I had definite feelings about those two and about Mr. Bellew. But when it came to Clare, I just felt rather indifferent. I mean, I felt able to observe her with a clinical interest, but without much emotion. What did you think? Is she someone we were supposed to mostly like, or not like, or were we to have something akin to Irene's ambiguous feelings toward her?
Did you want Clare to get "caught"?
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I really disliked Clare after the Chicago incident. The fact that she invited those women to her home and then deliberately invited her husband to rant about his hatred of black people, was beyond the pale. I couldn't really feel anything positive toward her after that, even though I did sort of sympathize with her predicament.
ReplyDeleteWhy did she do that, expose her friends to her husband like that? Was she kind of trying to show off, as if to say, "Look how convincingly I pass. Not only did I snag a rich white guy, but a rich white guy who's a terrible bigot. Whom can't I fool?"
ReplyDeleteIt seemed like a contemptuous act targeted simultaneously at her friends and at her husband.
I know what you mean by sympathizing with her predicament, though. She didn't really fit in any world where the construct of race held center stage.
That's the way I took it, that she was showing off to her friends how convincingly she could pass. Never mind how humiliating or scary or offensive it would be to her friends.
ReplyDeleteShe seemed like a terribly shallow person, but I suppose she didn't have much of an upbringing.
Good point that Clare's childhood and upbringing probably played a large role in the adult she became.
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