Throughout much of The Death of Nella Larsen, Irene Redfield and Clare Kendry are portrayed as opposites. Although they both fill the role of a young African American mother living in the prosperous 1920s, they define that role in profoundly different ways. Clare is a lively, wild woman who rejects her "people" in favor of freedom and glamour, while her good childhood friend Irene is more submissive and tries to act proud of her racial background for the sake of her family. Their differences ultimately play out in their approaches to motherhood, and much of the novel revolves around the choices they make regarding racial transition and parenthood. Motherhood is central to both Irene and Clare's experiences of racial transition, because Larsen suggests that mothers are responsible for carrying on the honor of the race to which they belong. Clare's attitudes towards her racial disappearance and Irene's beliefs against it are each subsequently shaped and influenced by how they see themselves as mothers, and it is this friction that drives the narrative towards its inevitable tragic conclusion. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The importance of the mother figure is established early in the novel, starting with the free spirit Clare Kendry. Her origins are tense and dramatic, with her "drunk father, a tall, powerfully built man" often asserting his male dominance over her. The absence of Clare's mother – a black girl who, as "it is said, would have run away if she had not died" – would later prove detrimental to Clare's development. After her father's death leaves her orphaned and with no one to help her deal with her interracial heritage, Clare continues to evolve on an emotional roller coaster, something Irene remembers more clearly as she examines Clare's character: “A sometimes it was harsh and seemingly without feeling at all; she was at times affectionate and recklessly impulsive.” Without a mother to adequately nurture her feelings and sensitivity, Clare chooses to rebel against all expectations of her black race by passing as a white woman to compensate for her troubled childhood. In addition to not having a caring mother, Clare is left under the caring control of her father's sisters, considerably the biggest influence behind Clare's death. Her aunts serve as surrogate mother figures for Clare and essentially teach her to ignore her biological mother's ancestry. “For all their Bibles and their prayers and their talk of honesty, they didn't want anyone to know that their dear brother had seduced... a black girl. […] They forbade me to mention the niggers to the neighbors, or even to mention the south side. You can be sure I didn't,” Clare explains to Irene as she talks about her life with her aunts. These women essentially condition Clare to deny the existence of her Negro blood, and with no one else around to show her how to take pride in the African-American race, Clare rejects her heritage and promptly slips into the personality of a pure white woman. she becomes a mother herself, continues to pass herself off as white and this leads her to neglect her own child too. Throughout Larsen's novel, Irene points out to Clare that she must remember the well-being of her daughter Margery. Clare laments the prospect of leaving New York, and even when Irene reminds her of Margery, Clare is still disheartened that she can't stay and mingle with the rest of Harlem society. “Children are not everything… There are other things in the world, although I admit that some people don't seem to suspect it,” yesClare complains. Clare obviously admires the allure of her white appearance, and being reminded by her son that she still carries (and has passed down) Negro blood would make her go back. Coupled with her husband John Bellewon's adamant rule there are "no niggers in my family," Clare cannot be a good mother to her son without admitting her true nature. He understands that within the white race there is an expectation that pure white blood will continue into future generations. Rather than raise her daughter to atone for her mother's absence, Clare continues the cycle of making herself as unavailable to her daughter as possible. With Margery around, Clare can't be as lively and exuberant as she would like to be. In contrast to Clare's rejection of motherhood and family in favor of self-gratification and social status, Irene takes her role as a mother very seriously. “I'm focused on my kids and running my house. I can't help it. And really, I don't think there's anything to laugh about", replies Irene to Chiara. She believes it is her responsibility to instill proper values ​​in her two children and wants them to be able to grow up and freely embrace their African-American heritage. After young Ted asks why only black people were lynched, Irene and her husband Brian argue about how to best broach the topic of their children's race. Brian argues that if "[Ted and Junior] are going to live in this damn country, they better find out as soon as possible what kind of things they're up against." She wants their children to be equipped to handle racism, but Irene wants “their childhood to be happy and as free as possible from knowing these things.” Irene fears that if her children were more aware of the harsh bigotry and prejudice that awaits them in the real world, they would be ashamed of their African-American heritage and suffer as a result. If she fails to make her children's lives happy and "free from the knowledge" of racism before they are ready, then Irene will not only have failed her position as a mother, but she will also have failed her position as a mother of children. the black race. Unlike Clare, who doesn't want it to be discovered that she is secretly carrying the blood of slaves, Irene wants to see her race progress to a better social stratum. Irene's decision to stay within the confines of her race and not deny it publicly also refers to the fact that the rest of her family has a darker tone: “Irene... now said in a voice she was proud of: 'One of my boys is dark.'” She must be honored by her family's skin color for the sake of her children. Irene "proudly" describes her son as a dark man and sees it as her duty to foster this darkness and show the world how great the African American man can be. Unlike Clare – who, as a deserter, must “be afraid of the freaks of nature” – Irene must actively deny death and embrace her black heritage, and believes that by raising future generations to overcome racism and white prejudice, she will have done her part superbly as a mother of color. The differences that separate Clare and Irene as mothers ultimately lead to their final confrontation and the tragic circumstances surrounding them in the novel's conclusion. Clare wants to free herself from John Bellew, but Irene believes she is being selfish in neglecting Margery. “I think… being a mother is the cruelest thing in the world,” Clare declares. Clare believes her son is holding her back from happiness and independence, and Irene desperately tries to explain to her that she has a duty to Margery. “We mothers are all responsible for the safety and happiness of our children,” Irene claims to Chiara in response. As a parent, Irene wants to stop Clare from ruining her life.