Point of View

Both Quicksand and Passing are written in third person narrative from an omniscient point of view. Although Passing is written primarily from the view point of Irene Redfield, Larsen is still an omniscient narrator who reveals the story and, bit by bit, gives us the true picture of her characters.

Nella Larsen is not a subtle writer, since she often tells us what her characters are thinking, and even describes their traits, rather than revealing them. For example, Larsen tells us that, "The tragic cruelties of the years had left her a little pathetic, a little hard, and a little unapproachable." We learn this about Helga throughout Quicksand, but Larsen makes it a point to tell us these details as well.

Where Larsen is more subtle is in her descriptions of the sexual lives and urges of her characters. Since she lived in a time when...