Regarding selfish characters..

Dear Nella Larsen,

After finishing both Quicksand and Passing I couldn't help thinking that the characters you portray are ultimately selfish. Maybe it's because you choose to portray them as being alone: in Passing, Irene feels isolated from her husband, as well as her friends, and mainly operates by herself, while Clare Kendry's passing has caused her to lose contact with many, as well as hide her identity from her husband; in Quicksand, Helga makes her own, often abrupt and spontaneous choices, without regard for outside constraints. Still, this phenomenon didn't seem out of place to me, since in the movie Pinky, the title character is similarly selfish, putting her own needs before those of her granny, Miss Em, or even her community. I wonder if these moves are in an attempt to reestablish agency in traditionally oppressed groups. At the end of Quicksand, Helga ultimately remains constrained by her society against her wishes to move away, while Clare Kendry meets a similarly tragic ending. Although I was unable to dissect the meaning of these portrayals clearly, I wonder what you meant to do by characterizing the characters as such.

Yours,
Dana

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