Ever since the beginning of the 20th century, the topic of “passing” has been quite notable in literature and in the film scene. Perhaps, “passing” may have been a topic in life even before that, but literature and the world of films became interested in it much later. There have been many stories an films about class and race “passing,” and Douglas Sirk’s “Imitation of Life” and Nella Larsen’s novella “Passing” are probably two of the most notable examples.
Douglas Sirk’s “Imitation of Life,” the second adaptation of Fannie Hurst’s novel raises the issue of “passing” through the portrayal of the intricate relationship between Annie, a Black American mother, and Sarah Jane, her fair skin daughter. The entire story revolves around the central theme of appearance. Sarah Jane is able to “pass” as white because she has fair skin. However, when people realize that Sarah’s mother is a Black woman their attitude and behavior towards Sarah Jane change. Sarah’s boyfriend, who is white, becomes aggressive and savagely beats her up after discovering that she is actually Black.
Sarah Jane is both a hero and victim in the film. She does not accept the fate and status the society dictates for her, rather she challenges the status quo and dares to pursue an entirely new world for herself. She does not want to get married to a “colored chauffeur” so she gets a white boyfriend. She wants to enjoy the same opportunities that the whites in mainstream society do, so she breaks away from her beloved mother so she can live on her own. However, ultimately, Sarah Jane tearfully returns to her mother’s funeral, and she feels sincerely remorseful and regrets her actions. Thus, Sarah Jane is certain a cinematic mulatto, she is a big screen example of how people used to believe that their “mixed blood” would bring them sorrow.
On the other hand, while the “tragic mulatto” criteria are fulfilled by the character of Clare, to some extent, in Nella Larsen’s novella “Passing,” but along with perpetuating this stereotype, she also deconstructs it at the same time. Thus, Clare Kendry somewhat deviates from the stereotype and is in no way like Sarah Jane. She is not a “tragic” mulatto, rather she can be considered as a selfish mulatto. In fact, her predictable death is the only aspect that fulfills the “tragic mulatto” criteria; the rest about her does not. Unlike Sarah Jane, obtaining social worth and wealth is her sole motive to “pass,” and she achieves this by getting married to a racist but wealthy John Bellew. While Clare feels like an outsider to her race, but never feels sorrowful about abandoning her identity.
Even when she apparently professes a yearning for her “own people,” it is nothing but vague (Larsen 88). Rather than being tragic, Clare Kendry is a selfish and unfathomable character, which becomes evident when she says, “Why, to get the things I want badly enough, I’d do anything, hurt anybody, throw anything away. Really ‘Rene, I’m not safe’” (Larsen 149). Somewhat similar to the other women in Larsen’s novella but in a more dramatized manner, Clare depends on her husband for social worth, years for identity, material possession, and security. Ultimately, she is not able to keep up appearance and meets her untimely death, which has often been criticized and is a representation of how to issue of the tragic mulatto is twisted by Larsen.
Thus, while Douglas Sirk follows in the footsteps of the first big screen adaptation of Fannie Hurst’s novel by keeping the character of Sarah Jone true to the tragic mulatto stereotype, Nella Larsen expresses this stereotype as dangerous rather than tragic, and flouts that it is not futile but fatal to abandon one’s identity.
Work Cited
Larsen, Nella. Passing. Rockville, Maryland: Wildside Press LLC, 2010. Print.
Sirk, Douglas, dir. Imitation of Life. Writ. Griffin Eleanore. Universal International Pictures, 1959. Film. 30 Oct 2013.
