To What End?: A comparison of Irene to Clare

This close-reading is focused on Clare’s statement in part 2 that Irene is better than her in that Clare “would do anything and hurt anyone to get what she wants.” This follows Clare’s apology for teasing Irene regarding her view on motherhood. I find that Clare’s statement is false. Although their desires are different, both women are willing to do anything to attain them.

            We see throughout the story thus far that Clare desires the best of both the white and the black community. She does so through the relationships she forms.  confesses that her marriage to her husband provides her with luxuries like wealth, as he is white and she is passing. In other instances, we see Clare desperately trying to establish friendship with Irene, and are informed by her letter that her motive is to regain acceptance in the black community. It is obvious after the tea party with Irene and Gertrude, in which John voices his disdain for black people, that Clare’s marriage lacks to provide her with a sense of belonging, as she is equally as enraged as Irene and Gertrude about John’s racist comments. What she is lacking in her marriage, she pursues in the black community via Irene. Clare was willing to lie her way to luxury by hiding her race. She was willing to place Irene in harm’s way by continuing to spend time with Irene in Harlem after sensing that John would become violent if he discovered that either of them were black. We get a sense that Clare has not true desire to be Irene’s friend, but only to use her as a bridge to the community and to that sense of belonging. Clare wants the best of both world and is willing to do anything to achieve that.

            Irene, in contrast, desires stability in her life. This desire is void of any need to be happy, as happiness is not necessary for her to remain stable. This is similar to the dynamic of Clare’s marriage. Irene’s desire for stability is evident in her desperate attempts to prevent Brian from leaving, as she views him as the glue that holds her life together. It is made obvious to us that Irene’s marriage is bleak and only held together by her refusal to take part in confrontation with Brian. We see her hold back in arguments and devise ways to manipulate Brian into staying, like she had when attempting to convince him to travel to Europe with her son for private school. This would fulfill both her and Brian’s desire in her mind, as her refusal to let him travel to Africa alone seems to be out of fear that he will not return to her. She believes that with their son in tow, Brian would remain focused on the family unit and come back to her. We can speculate that she may even be bringing harm to her son, in that he is being used as a pawn to gain what she wants, although her concern about his behavior seems genuine. She also mentions that she convinced Brian to remain in medicine, and we can assume that this is because his position allots her the stability that she is fixated on keeping. Their unhappy marriage continues to unravel and we subsequently see Irene’s insecurity grow. She is willing to oppress Brian’s aspirations and bring harsh tension to their relationship so long as he will stay.