NELLA LARSEN
Nella Larsen was an American novelist and short story writer famously associated
with the Harlem Renaissance era, which one writer has called "an era of
extraordinary acheivement in black American art and literature areas during the
1920's and 1930's." Nella Larsen's appearance was much like that of Homer Plessy,
a civil rights activist, who was seven eights white and one eights black. Plessy
believed that he should be entitled to all the rights and privileges of a white
citizen. As a result, Plessy took his case to the Supreme Court which ruled for
"separate but equal public facilities and institutions for non-white citizens."
Nella was a light skinned black women with limp hair and white facial features.
Nella Larsen was born on April 13,1891, in Chicago and died on March 30,1964.
Her mother was of Danish decent and her father was West Indian. She later in her
life married a physicist, Elmer S. Imes, on May 3, 1919, and fourteen years
later divorced him in 1933. She was an extremely educated woman. She attended
Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, from 1909 to 1910. She then continued
her education at the university of Copenhagen from 1910 to 1912. She also
studied nursing at Lincoln Hospital in New York City from 1912 until 1915. She
then began her career as an assistant superintendent of nurses from 1915 to 1916,
and became a nurse at Lincoln Hospital in New York City. Larson was diagnosed
with a sickness in 1925 which led her a few years later to pursue her career as
a writer.
Although Nella Larsen was considered legally black she wanted to be able to
identify herself with both races black and white. Nella relates some of her own
personal experiences, ideas, thoughts and beliefs into her novels, including
Quicksand which was her first novel and appeared in 1928, and Passing, her
second novel which appeared in 1929. Both novels depict bits and pieces of
Larsen's life; they involve semiautobiographical accounts of women whose racial
and sexual confusion contribute to their unfulfilled quest for an identity.
Larson was a modern woman; because of that she addressed different women's
related issues such as women's sexuality and power. Larsen wrote about how males
expect women's sexuality to be confined to their desires, in addition to
addressing the issues of race. Larson expresses these thoughts in her first
novel Quicksand through the main character Helga Crane, who is trapped by the
occurences of her own reproductivity. Helga finds herself not being able to
escape; she's trapped within the confinds of motherhood. At the same time Larson
addresses the issue of race also through the character of Helga, who is an
illegitimate, half-white and half-African-American female who is at the same
time experiencing the post Civil War era. Helga's problems were not only race
and class; unfortunately Helga's life revolved around the lack of socialism and
extreme fantasy with is an issue that most women had in the early 1900s.
Nella Larsen's second novel Passing on the other hand concentrates on the issue
of skin color. As we can see from our own experiences, everyone is not the same
shade. Many people of color were affected by this both dark- and light-skinned
especially during Nella Larsen's era. While the light-skinned black people were
dominating the black establishments, the dark-skinned black people were feeling
rejection from their own kind. Passing addresses this issue through the
character of Clare Kendry who was also an atrractive light skin fine haired
women who manages to escape poverty by passing for being a white women. She
marries a wealthy white man who also believes that she is white as well. Her
journey across the color line is completely sucessful until she reunites with
her old friend Irene. Irene Redfield is married to an attractive and sucessful
black physician who Clare finds herself attracted to and he to her, so Clare
decides to pursue him. Irene was aware of Clare's threat to her marriage and
arranges for Clare's disappearence. Clare falls to her death from an open window
just before her husband is about to confront her with his discovery of her black
roots. Passing can be related more to Nella Larsen's actual life; she was also a
light-skinned women who dominated the black intellectual etablishments and
because of her color could have and may have at some points in her life passed
for a white woman. I don't think Nella Larsen wanted to cease being black and
become white, but she wanted to have equality in part because she was partially
white, and in part because she wanted blacks and whites to have equal rights.
Nella Larsen's work contains an overall view of a black world which once existed,
but only in a female's perspective. Nella Larsen seems like she was not
satisfied with just being a member of the black elite; she wanted more. She in
fact seemed trapped by her narrowness, and because of her black experiences
yearned to live in a whole world. Nella expressed these feelings and awarenesses
through her writings. Nella Larsen was a great writer. Unfortunately her
literary career was too brief for her to express all of her talent. She had the
potential to create even greater work.
Nella Larsen was an American novelist and short story writer famously associated
with the Harlem Renaissance era, which one writer has called "an era of
extraordinary acheivement in black American art and literature areas during the
1920's and 1930's." Nella Larsen's appearance was much like that of Homer Plessy,
a civil rights activist, who was seven eights white and one eights black. Plessy
believed that he should be entitled to all the rights and privileges of a white
citizen. As a result, Plessy took his case to the Supreme Court which ruled for
"separate but equal public facilities and institutions for non-white citizens."
Nella was a light skinned black women with limp hair and white facial features.
Nella Larsen was born on April 13,1891, in Chicago and died on March 30,1964.
Her mother was of Danish decent and her father was West Indian. She later in her
life married a physicist, Elmer S. Imes, on May 3, 1919, and fourteen years
later divorced him in 1933. She was an extremely educated woman. She attended
Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, from 1909 to 1910. She then continued
her education at the university of Copenhagen from 1910 to 1912. She also
studied nursing at Lincoln Hospital in New York City from 1912 until 1915. She
then began her career as an assistant superintendent of nurses from 1915 to 1916,
and became a nurse at Lincoln Hospital in New York City. Larson was diagnosed
with a sickness in 1925 which led her a few years later to pursue her career as
a writer.
Although Nella Larsen was considered legally black she wanted to be able to
identify herself with both races black and white. Nella relates some of her own
personal experiences, ideas, thoughts and beliefs into her novels, including
Quicksand which was her first novel and appeared in 1928, and Passing, her
second novel which appeared in 1929. Both novels depict bits and pieces of
Larsen's life; they involve semiautobiographical accounts of women whose racial
and sexual confusion contribute to their unfulfilled quest for an identity.
Larson was a modern woman; because of that she addressed different women's
related issues such as women's sexuality and power. Larsen wrote about how males
expect women's sexuality to be confined to their desires, in addition to
addressing the issues of race. Larson expresses these thoughts in her first
novel Quicksand through the main character Helga Crane, who is trapped by the
occurences of her own reproductivity. Helga finds herself not being able to
escape; she's trapped within the confinds of motherhood. At the same time Larson
addresses the issue of race also through the character of Helga, who is an
illegitimate, half-white and half-African-American female who is at the same
time experiencing the post Civil War era. Helga's problems were not only race
and class; unfortunately Helga's life revolved around the lack of socialism and
extreme fantasy with is an issue that most women had in the early 1900s.
Nella Larsen's second novel Passing on the other hand concentrates on the issue
of skin color. As we can see from our own experiences, everyone is not the same
shade. Many people of color were affected by this both dark- and light-skinned
especially during Nella Larsen's era. While the light-skinned black people were
dominating the black establishments, the dark-skinned black people were feeling
rejection from their own kind. Passing addresses this issue through the
character of Clare Kendry who was also an atrractive light skin fine haired
women who manages to escape poverty by passing for being a white women. She
marries a wealthy white man who also believes that she is white as well. Her
journey across the color line is completely sucessful until she reunites with
her old friend Irene. Irene Redfield is married to an attractive and sucessful
black physician who Clare finds herself attracted to and he to her, so Clare
decides to pursue him. Irene was aware of Clare's threat to her marriage and
arranges for Clare's disappearence. Clare falls to her death from an open window
just before her husband is about to confront her with his discovery of her black
roots. Passing can be related more to Nella Larsen's actual life; she was also a
light-skinned women who dominated the black intellectual etablishments and
because of her color could have and may have at some points in her life passed
for a white woman. I don't think Nella Larsen wanted to cease being black and
become white, but she wanted to have equality in part because she was partially
white, and in part because she wanted blacks and whites to have equal rights.
Nella Larsen's work contains an overall view of a black world which once existed,
but only in a female's perspective. Nella Larsen seems like she was not
satisfied with just being a member of the black elite; she wanted more. She in
fact seemed trapped by her narrowness, and because of her black experiences
yearned to live in a whole world. Nella expressed these feelings and awarenesses
through her writings. Nella Larsen was a great writer. Unfortunately her
literary career was too brief for her to express all of her talent. She had the
potential to create even greater work.