Abstract
This paper examines how the stories "Quicksand" and "Passing" illustrate the profound pressures felt by Nella Larsen as a female writer in the male dominated Harlem Renaissance. It looks at how Larsen grapples with the conflicting demands of her racial and sexual identities and the contradictory nature of a black and feminine aesthetic. It attempts to show that while Larsen's literature appears to project feminist concessions to the dominant ideology of romance, marriage and motherhood, it can equally be interpreted as a radical and original critique of female sexual experience, repressed in both literary terms and in Larsen's own contemporary society.

From the Paper
"The theme of racial identity is central to the exploration of black womanhood in both 'Quicksand' and 'Passing.' The main protagonist of 'Quciksand,' Helga Crane is portrayed by Larsen to suffer from a dual consciousness arising from her mixed parentage. Helga appears indifferent or even accommodating towards white racism as she accepts her uncle's new wife's racist attitudes, believing that she was 'an obscene sore in all their lives, at all costs to be hidden. She understood while she resented.' Helga is also ambivalent regarding Anne's ongoing racism towards whites in the form of sociological critique, and the condemnation of miscegenation."

Tags:mulatto, tragic, naxos

Abstract
The two main characters in Nella Larsen's "Quicksand" and "Passing" have fundamental similarities in being mulatto women from Renaissance Harlem in the early 20th century. The paper shows how both Helga Crane and Irene Redfield were well-educated women whose identities were more black than white, a product of their social environment.

From the Paper
"Irene, on the other hand, had little conflict about being of mixed race. She married a "dark" man, had his children and lived proudly as a black woman. While often curious about what it might be like to "pass" as white (as her friend Clare Kendry did), she never seriously considered it an acceptable lifestyle. Being black was not painful for Irene as it was for Helga. Irene did, however, seem to take vicarious pleasure in the notion of "passing" through Clare, pondering about the inherent difficulties of living such a life."

Tags:Clare, Kendry, Negro, Dr., Anderson, social, stigma

Abstract
This paper depicts the representation of race in the novel "Passing" by Nella Larsen and describes the role it plays in the lives of the characters involved.

Abstract
The paper offers a discussion of the aspects of motherhood that inhibit artistry, as exemplified in the Nella Larsen novel "Quicksand," particularly in the conclusion. The paper notes the prevalence of the theme throughout literature.

From the Paper
"The struggle between motherhood and artistry can be traced throughout much of literature. The image of motherhood as a smothering and suffocating force can be seen in Chopin's "Awakening," in Ibsen's" A Doll's House," in Edith Summers "Kelley's Weeds" and in most of the poetry of both Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton. This is of course only a small sampling of evidence of the prevalence of this theme."

Tags:Nella Larsen, Quicksand, artist, procreation, motherhood

Abstract
Nineteenth and 20th century American women have, through the years, evolved from being simple mothers, wives, and daughters to being women of true substance; that is, women who gained autonomy despite the stereotypes and stigmas given them by their society. This paper discusses how the novels, "Quicksand" by Nella Larsen, "The Awakening" by Kate Chopin, and "My Antonia" by Willa Cather, explore the issue on how womanhood and motherhood are confronted by the lead female characters and how their chosen lives led either to their downfall or success in life. The analysis of women characters in the novels show how Larsen, Chopin, and Cather have differing perspectives in confronting issues about women during their time. Larsen equates freedom among women with freedom from the responsibilities of motherhood, while Cather presents a contradicting view, asserting happiness within the individual as the true measure of a woman's freedom in the 20th century American society.

From the Paper
"While advocating for women empowerment and freedom, Cather takes into account the value and importance of family and social interaction of women with society. Choosing the life of a mother, wife, and pioneer woman, Antonia embodies the woman of her period in a more realistic setting and situation, where contentment is achieved not through detachment from the family and society, but by integrating oneself and attaining harmonious relationships among people."

Tags:Edna, Pontellier, Helga, Crane, Shimerda

Abstract
The paper examines Nella Larsen's novel as a complex response to U.S. racial and class segregation in the 1920s. It discusses black feminist criticism's concept of social marginalization and the politics of sex and race.

From the Paper
"Nella Larsen's Passing is a complex response to and critique of the patterns of racial and class segregation that characterized the US in the 1920s. However, the critique has resonance for the modern period because, despite the demise of legalized ..."

Abstract
This paper examines how Larsen's novels "Quicksand" and "Passing", focus much of their attention toward the enigmatic, frustrating confines of race in early 20th century American culture. It looks at how racial identification and awareness becomes complicated and ultimately causes life-changing conditions for the three main characters in Larsen's novels, Helga Crane, Irene Redfield and Clare Kendry.

From the Paper
"Born to a Danish mother and Caribbean father, Helga Crane's mulatto complexion, which allows her access to both white, upper-class European society and the upwardly mobile confines of black culture during Harlem's Renaissance, ultimately leads her to motherhood in the deep South, embroiled in the same inner-racial conflict and unhappiness that has plagued her entire existence. In each of Quicksand's various settings, from an all-black schoolhouse in Alabama to Copenhagen's patronizing social scene, Helga finds that "if you couldn't prove your ancestry and connections, you were tolerated, but you didn't "belong"" (Larsen 12). While she is undoubtedly met with cautious acceptance in each of her various habitats, it is Helga's own misgivings surrounding her background, however, which are most important in determining her constant, self-imposed alienation. "

Tags:helga, crane, irene, redfield, clare, kendry

Abstract
This paper provides an analysis of the book "The Passing", written in 1929. It shows how, in this period, people were still mainly classified by their skin color. The book deals with the issue of how African-Americans themselves were divided, with the lighter-skinned people being accepted by the "white" society and the darker-skinned people being rejected even by their own.

From the Paper
"Passing refers to the practice of light skinned black people trying to "pass" in white society. If a black person passed, they were thought of as rejecting their own history and heritage. If they could not or chose not to pass, then they were giving up a whole host of privileges and rights that came from being white. These were the Days before the Supreme Court overturned Plessy v. Ferguson, everything was separate, but not any where near equal. If everything was equal, it is hard to imagine a black person who would want to "pass." There was this tug of war then, between heritage and rights that played on the people. Indeed, at the beginning of the novel, Irene runs into her childhood friend Clare, while they are both passing at a fancy Chicago hotel, Clare as a matter of course, and Irene, to avoid the summer heat of Chicago."

Tags:passage, light, skin, dark, acceptance, white, racism, negro, irene, clare

Abstract
This paper explores the similarities and differences in "AC/DC Blues" and Larsen's "Passing", and their relation to the representation of female sexuality in African American culture. The author feels that the blue music in the "AC/DC Blues" recording and Nella Larsen's "Passing" are both the products of the "Harlem Renaissance".

From the Paper
" The Harlem Renaissance is the most important period in African-Americans' history. During this period, there were many different and significant social issues and cultures playing crucial roles in history. Many new forms of music, arts and literature are presented. For example, female homosexuality was considered a subculture in the Harlem Renaissance. This phenomenon appeared in both blue music and fiction stories. In this essay, I would like to explore the similarities and differences in "AC/DC Blues" and Larsen's Passing."

Tags:harlem, homosexuality, larsen, lesbian, renaissance

Abstract
This paper explores how characters from both novels become obsessed with people who can live the life they secretly want. They identify with these people and want to be like them, but end up hating themselves for their secret desires. Winterson's novel deals with sex and religion, whereas Larsen's novel deals with racial issues. Characters in both novels are trying to be something they're not so they can fit in.

From the Paper
"In Larsen's Passing, Irene is an African-American woman who, because of her light skin, has the ability to "pass" herself off as a white woman. Irene was also a self-proclaimed race woman who was involved in activism on behalf of her race. She tells Clare, "I'm on the ticket committee, or, rather, I am the committee (Larsen, 197)" of the Negro Welfare League. Irene doesn't actively engage in passing, that is, she doesn't make a conscious effort to convince others she is white, but she does take advantage of the fact that she can pass as white."

Tags:fake, fitting, identity, obsession, passing, racism, religion, sex, superficiality, reality, feelings, confusion, dilemma, community, black, separation, religion, church, school, symbols