The Changing Representation of Gender and Racial Identity in Frances E. W. Harper’s Iola Leroy and Nella Larsen’s Passing

This paper aims to make a comparison between Frances E. W. Harper’s Iola Leroy (1892) and Nella Larsen’s Passing (1929) by investigating the characters’ traumatic experiences based on their racial identities. As a work that dates back to the Reconstruction Era, Harper’s Iola Leroy handles the issues of gender and racial discrimination, focusing mostly on the main character Iola. Iola has a complex racial background because of the one-drop rule. On the other hand, Larsen’s Passing introduces the experiences of two separate characters, Irene and Clare, both of whom face challenges in life because of their racial origin. While Harper focuses on the decisiveness and strength of Iola despite the traumatic experiences she had, Larsen focuses on the issue of racial passing and its traumatic consequences through the portrayals of Clare and Irene. The time shift between these two novels emphasizes the changing patterns of race relations as well as the trauma caused by segregation within the society. In light of this time shift between these two novels, this paper will first focus on the historical background of each novel to clarify the perception of racial and gender identities. Then, the traumatic experience of the characters will be examined and finally, it will be analysed how the time shift affects the perception of racial and gender identities.