Nella Larsen's Passing (Did she? or Didn't she?)

Now that you've finished reading Passing...

Do you think that Clare ended her own life?

What some of our members thought:

"I think she did. Her public image as a white woman was so important to her, she couldn’t stand to lose it." -A

"I think she may have, but I do not feel certain about it. She could just have been backing away from her husband's approach and fell out of the window. Except that, I don't think she yelled, did she? The author purposely left it in doubt. Also, there is the possibility that Irene helped her fall. That, too, is left unclear." -G

"I do not think she ended her own life; I think this because she was so used to being able to manipulate her way into and out of situations that she would never have dreamed that she couldn’t do the same in this instance - she was that sure of herself, her beauty and her charm. But I also do not think she was murdered. I think that things just got so dramatic and emotional, and as her husband is screaming at her, I can see him crowding closer and others are already close and I believe that with the crowd jostling around she either lost her balance or someone next to her accidentally knocked into her and she lost her balance and fell to her death." -L

"I think she did. I think the stress of Passing and being found out, especially by her husband, affected her mentally. No screams as she “fell.” I don’t think Irene pushed her, or her husband. I, too, think it had a little to do with the jostling, but that just helped her with her plan." -C