Passing

Passing is what it is called when a black person pretends to be white in order to live in white society. In this novel, Clare is passing. Clare is light-skinned and her hair is nearly blond. Clare is married to a white man who is not aware that her grandmother was black. Clare thinks she will find happiness in the white world, but she has to give up having close friends and she lives in constant fear of her husband learning the truth.

Irene has also passed a few times, but not to the extreme that Clare has. Irene goes to businesses where most black people would not be served. This includes the Drayton Hotel, the place where she meets Clare again after more than a decade. Irene is offended by Clare's passing, but this seems ironic to the reader since Irene is, in a sense, passing as...