Irene's offense at Clare possibly not valuing Irene's good judgement and tact show Irene's immaturity and insecurity. Also, it portrays more ignorance on her part, crafting the situation in her mind to revolve around herself, rather than realizing that perhaps Clare's decision was self-motivated.

As for the insecurity it reveals, the question can be asked: Why does Irene desire Clare specifically to recognize these qualities in her? I believe it to be a question of race on Irene's part. Though Clare is also black, Irene is valuing her as a white woman in her mind, and therefore feels a desire to represent her own race well to this stranger, as she calls Clare two paragraphs later.

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