FLEEING, LOSING, AND LONGING: THE PASSING PARADOX IN LARSEN’S PASSING AND BENNETT’S THE VANISHING HALF

Authors

  • Kodjo François Adaha Faculty of Letters and Humanities, GRAD Laboratory University of Abomey-Calavi, Abomey-Calavi, Benin
  • Sènakpon A. Fortuné Azon Faculty of Letters and Humanities, GRAD Laboratory University of Abomey-Calavi, Abomey-Calavi, Benin

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.46827/ejls.v6i2.650

Keywords:

Nella Larsen, Brit Bennett, passing, racism, USA

Abstract

The complex phenomenon of racial passing as portrayed in Nella Larsen’s Passing (1929) and Brit Bennett’s The Vanishing Half (2020) is the main focus of this paper. It explores how passing characters in literature navigate the fluid boundaries of racial identity, often oscillating between self-preservation and self-erasure. Using Critical Race Theory (CRT) as the analytical framework, this study demonstrates that passing works both as a strategy of access to privilege and a site of profound psychological conflict. Through a close examination of the psychological, social, and emotional dimensions of racial passing, the essay identifies skin complexion as both a gateway to privilege and a source of internal conflict. By situating the narratives within historical and sociopolitical contexts, the analysis highlights how racial passing is not merely an act of (self-)deception but a response to a deeply entrenched social complex of exclusion and inequality. Ultimately, the paper exposes the personal costs and social implications of the negotiation of identity along the color continuum. It also discusses Larsen and Bennett’s esthetics of the passing paradox: it enables temporary mobility while reinforcing the systemic hierarchies that make such passing necessary and, more importantly, shows that what passers flee from is what they eventually long for.

 

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Author Biographies

  • Kodjo François Adaha, Faculty of Letters and Humanities, GRAD Laboratory University of Abomey-Calavi, Abomey-Calavi, Benin

    François Kodjo Adaha is a doctoral student specializing in American literature and civilization at the University of Abomey-Calavi. His research interests are multiracial and multicultural identities and issues related to race relations and racism in the USA. His doctoral research work centers on the issue of passing in African American communities.

  • Sènakpon A. Fortuné Azon, Faculty of Letters and Humanities, GRAD Laboratory University of Abomey-Calavi, Abomey-Calavi, Benin

    Sènakpon Fortuné Azon is an Associate Professor of American Studies at the University of Abomey-Calavi, Benin, affiliated with the Department of English and the GRAD Laboratory. His research interests focus on American literature and culture, particularly African American identity, racial dynamics, and multiracial identity development. He analyzes themes such as black identity, religion, multiculturalism, and racial politics in American literature.

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Published

2025-10-06

Issue

Vol. 6 No. 2 (2025)

Section

Articles

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