Cutter says of Clare's statements here: "Clare's statements emphasize a refusal to blind herself by the same scruples as does Irene, scruples about what is or is not proper conduct...Clare represents such a menace because she refuses to play by the rules that Irene and others believe in so firmly. And a player who refuses to play by the rules calls those rules into question, suggesting that they are not permanent, fixed, and closed but changeable, unstable, and open."

Thus is the purpose of Clare's character. She is an opener to the firmly established and stable world of Irene Redfield. She stirs up Irene's notions of race (and 'passing'), sexuality (through her constant flirtation, relationship with Brian, and cross-gender appeal), and humanity (by challenging Irene's concepts of social rules and common decencey). Cutter mentions that "Clare's name itself may be emblematic of her status in the text as a whole: Clare is a variant of Clara, the Latin root of which means 'clear' or 'clear light'; Clare is also an anagram of clear" (94). Clare's name is an ironic choice on Larsen's part, for the character herself does not clarify much at all, but instead de-stabilizes and muddles. However, it is through the confusion that Irene's character breaks out of ignorance in the final chapter of this novel, and it is a direct result of the impact of the character of Clare Kendry.

1. Cutter, Martha J.. "Sliding Significations: Passing as a Narrative and Textual Strategy in Nella Larsen's Fiction". Passing and the Fictions of Identity. Durham and London: Duke University, 1996.

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