How the Cult of Domesticity Affects How Authors Write (A Letter to the Author)

Throughout the book, Passing, Larsen presents two principal characters with personalities that are arguably typical during the 20th century, for both characters, Irene and Clare, have an internal struggle with themselves due to their race and identity. Although the former embraces her race and identity, she struggles with the notion of someone who refuses to do so. Similarly, Clare is portrayed as a woman who is deemed as “...satisfied enough” (Pg. 175), in fear that her racist husband may discover her actual identity. Unfortunately, Clare’s hidden struggle eventually leads her to her death. As this novel represents the problem with a passing, the way the author portrayed the women at the end is similar to another novel in that era, called The Awakening. The main character, Edna Pontellier, also struggles with her inner self and decides to break away from the Cult of Domesticity (COD), a system of oppression that women faced in the 19th and 20th century. Like Clare, Edna Pontellier was close to living a liberated life, but she decided to commit suicide when she realized she would never be unleashed from the sexual discrimination of society. In my opinion, I believe that both authors should not have portrayed the characters in both novels as frail, weak human beings, unable to face a challenge. I also think that their deaths shouldn’t be related to a dominant male figure. Such progression of plot only accentuates the problems of that era; it would be more intriguing to read about how women were able to overcome these problems instead. Hence, I believe the author's message could have been more convincing and powerful if Irene and Clare were not portrayed as frail and weak victims of societal oppression. Instead, it would have been interesting to read about how these women unleashed themselves and courageously searched for their truth inner selves without conforming to the COD.