symbols

Question 1

where we find Irene passing for the only time and the place we first meet Clare

Answer 1

the drayton

Question 2

Irene breaks this during the party at her house represents Clare and her eventual fall

Answer 2

the teapot

Question 3

Irene tosses this from the window at the Freelands’ party is another symbol foreshadowing Clare’s fall. A contrast with her usual orderly self-control and a suggestion that perhaps she did push Clare

Answer 3

cigarettes

Question 4

embodies the lively, joyful possibilities of an all-Black space. It sits above a beautiful but cold garden, a representation of whiteness with its cover of snow.

Answer 4

the Freeland’s apartment

Question 5

physically represent the story’s attention to liminality (the idea of being in between two distinct spaces)

Answer 5

doorways, windows and thresholds

Question 6

complements the overall themes of passing throughout the book, as both this symbol and passing suggest alternative identities and hidden realities and is racialized in the book

Answer 6

masks