The novel, Passing by Nella Larsen, has many themes and dynamics that occur between its flawed characters. Although they are married, Irene and Brian don’t exactly operate with a sense of partnership. Who is Brian to Irene? What are their dynamics? The novel reveals Irene’s thoughts and perceptions of her husband through their dialogue. The novel exhibits free indirect discourse that caters to Irene’s conscious and subconscious. Throughout the novel, Irene’s thoughts don’t suggest any affectionate or romantic actions towards Brian.

This leads to more questions like: Who is Brian? What moments are happening with Brian that gives the reader insight to him as a person? What is like/ what does it mean to see Brian? A more important question to pose is why is Irene less concerned with her husband than she is about Clare? When Irene’s narration is focused on Clare, it’s very found and endearing. She looks at Clare’s eyes and perceives them as “luminous.” (Larsen 30) Irene views Clare as, “too good-looking,” and (Larsen 33) puts her on an obsessive pedestal. Irene choses to focus on the fault of her husband without any acknowledgement of an appreciation of him beyond his career. A line like, “Brian, again. Unhappy, restless, withdrawn,” (Larsen 155) alludes to a narrative that interprets Brian to be an irritable, unsatisfied husband and father It is intriguing to read the free indirect discourse narration when Irene is around Clare and how much she compliments Clare through verses her thoughts about her husband that aren’t affectionate at all.

Queer themes are present through Harlem Renaissance writings from Smoke, Lilies, and Jade to Fire!! This essay, “Insolent Racing, Rough Narrative: The Harlem Renaissance’s Impolite Queers” by Michael L. Cobb, brings attention to the difficulties for the Renaissance writers to intersect two movements that are often looked down on: sexuality and race. “Still, explorations about queer sexuality and African American literary production suffer from an inability to queer, substantially, the cultural expressions of race, especially once race becomes the organizing rubric under which a culture articulates a literary tradition.” (Cobb, 328)