In the Netflix adaptation of passing, Irene seems to struggle with the world around her after meeting an old friend named Clare. And is suggested they had more than just a friendship in the past, Clare is almost the opposite of Irene in that she pretends to be white has pushed that part of her life away I order to be white passing. While Irene is happy to live in Harlem and embrace her negro pride. Irene is also more strict on herself then Clare from what the movie shows, at the end when Clare’s white husband finds her at a party in Harlem he pushes her out a window and kills her. Irene is emotionally distraught, but I can’t help but feel she felt kinda relieved over it. Clare was living a lie and a dangerous one, her husband openly hated negros and in his first encounter with Irene used the N-word twice. He believed she was a white woman and stated he’s never met a n-word before.