Hidden Secrets

This is a story about different sections of two novels I read. Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen and Passing by Nella Larsen. I have analyzed the two books and studied how they talk to each othe

 

Hidden Secrets

 

 

Marianne Dashwood and Claire Kendry, two spicy characters, in two separate novels by two separate authors, who choose to abruptly end their novels and leave the readers to wonder what really happened.  Marianne Dashwood is a flirty young woman created by Jane Austen in Sense and Sensibility, and Claire Kendry an overly flirtatious woman in Nella Larsen’s Passing have their passion for social status, and their need for men in common. I’m going to examine the novels and some journal articles on the novels characters to show that there could actually be more than just a clean ending to these girls fate at the end of these authors’ novels.  In fact there are questions we must ask as to why the novels could have ended so abruptly.  Could it have been because of some mysterious misfortunate circumstances the girls got themselves into?  I want to first examine the characters in question, and then move on to what we could propose as a question of what may have happened.

Let’s examine first Marianne Dashwood as described by Austen in Sense and Sensibility (pg 8).  “Marianne’s abilities were, in many respects, quite equal to Elinor’s.  She was sensible and clever; but eager in every thing; her sorrows, her joys, could have no moderation.  She was generous, amiable, interesting: she was every thing but prudent.”

When Marianne meets Colonel Brandon, she is not interested in him as a suitor so there are no flirtatious actions going on in this relationship.  As stated “He was silent and grave.  His appearance however was not unpleasing, in spite of this being in the opinion of Marianne and Margaret an absolute old bachelor, for he was on the wrong side of five and thirty; but though his face was not handsome his countenance was sensible, and his address was particularly gentleman like.”  Marianne had no immediate feelings for Colonel Brandon.  However; when she meets Mr. Willoughby, there is an immediate attraction between the two leaving Colonel Brandon to only look upon the relationship with envy as he had romantic feelings for Marianne after meeting her. 

Upon meeting Mr. Willoughby Marianne although in pain from her fall, is impressed with Willoughby’s “manner so frank and so graceful, that person, which was uncommonly handsome, received additional charms from his voice and expression.”  After this meeting of Mr. Willoughby is when Marianne’s romantic and flirtatious mannerisms are recognized.  She spends most of her waking moments with Willoughby.  They attend a picnic given by Sir John where Colonel Brandon has to watch the two of them together, but is soon summoned by a letter into town for an unknown reason.

On one occasion after the picnic Marianne and Willoughby are alone on a stroll in the carriage.  Willoughby takes Marianne to see a house.  Elinor is flabbergasted to learn that Marianne would subject her social appearance by going to this place alone with Willoughby.  Being the prudent person she is, Marianne dismisses Elinor’s concern.

Now that we have seen a few of Austen’s characters in action let’s look at Nella Larsen’s characters in Passing.  Clare Kendry is described by her friend Irene as “catlike.”  Irene says “Certainly that was the word which best described Clare Kendry, if any single world could describe her.  Sometimes she was hard and apparently without feeling at all; sometimes she was affectionate and rashly impulsive.”  This seems to be the case in several incidences as you see when she introduces Irene and several friends to her African American hating husband and you soon find out that in fact he is a prejudice man who doesn’t even know that his own wife is a colored woman.  Irene and the other friends are astonished and find that what Clare did was very impulsive.  Clare was also a bold enough character to have spent time with Brian alone on several occasions.

Brian and Irene Redfield are a couple Clare Kendry likes to frequently hang out with.  Brian is a doctor which whom wanted to leave the United States to go to Brazil, but his wife Irene was comfortable where they lived with their two boys in their middle class life.  Their marriage seemed to be just one of convince as she is in a sexless marriage with Brian.  Both of the Redfield’s living together without happiness.  Brian knows of Clare through Irene’s rants but then Clare is introduced to Brian.  Brian is amused with Clare’s beauty and personality, and Irene becomes a bit jealous and asks Brian if he thinks Clare is beautiful. Although he denies what he is really thinking, it is shown later that Brian is so fascinated with Clare that he goes behind his wife’s back to ask Clare to join them to a party.

Now I’d like to examine the questions as to why both novels Passing and Sense and Sensibility end fairly abruptly, and ask a few questions of my own.  Marianne is married off to Colonel Brandon and Clare Kendry is pushed to her death by Irene Redfield.  It makes one wonder what would possess the author to not carry on the storyline to a real happily ever after ending.   In the journal entry by Geoff K. Chapman �" Colonel Brandon: an Officer and a Gentleman in Sense and Sensibility, Chapman expresses what a gentleman Colonel Brandon is portrayed to be.  He states that Colonel Brandon should have been married off to Elinor rather than Marianne.  Is Chapman not thinking of all the situations possible?  What if it possible that he was not married to Elinor because there was a hint of Marianne being pregnant by Willoughby?  With Marianne’s flirtatious attitude and her boldness of being alone with him we can imagine that it may have been a possibility. His actions are concurrent to that of when he was seeing Eliza, we find this out in the section where Colonel Brandon tells Elinor what Willoughby’s history with women is.  It is then we find out he has previously gotten Eliza pregnant and abandoned her.  Marianne is soon sick, which could be pregnancy related and her distress with Willoughby’s sudden disappearance.  This could certainly constitute a need for a sudden marriage to a person she had not considered to be a partner before.  She had even told her mother early in the book that she could not be happy with a man whose taste did not in every point coincide with her own.  Colonel Brandon being the gentleman he is, and a man who was also willing to marry Eliza and take her baby as his own.  He would certainly rise to this position without a fuss.

I want to then look at the journal Nella Larsen’s Passing and the fading subject by Nell Sullivan.  Sullivan says “As Irene realizes that she cannot “master” Clare, the identification between the two women becomes problematic.  The beautiful idealized white image is denied Irene when she begins to suspect that Clare is trying to seduce her husband Brian and the two plan to betray and abandon her.”  I have to agree with Sullivan on this idea.  This brings up the question of whether it was trying to seduce Brian or she already seduced Brian, which leads me to another idea in which Claudia Tate brings up a good point.

In the article by Claudia Tate �" Nella Larsen’s Passing: A Problem of Interpretation, Tate suggests that the conclusion of the book defies a simple solution.   She states “I cannot resolve this problem by accepting a single explanation, since Larsen, on hand, deliberately withheld crucial information that would enable me to arrive at a definite conclusion, and on the other, she counter balanced each possible interpretation with another of equal credibility.”  Tate brings up a good point.  There might have been quite a shocking revelation that Larsen couldn’t bring herself to write.  Could it possibility be that Claire was impregnated by Irene’s husband Brian?  Irene was so upset by this possibility that she pushes Clare down the steps to her death.  In this way Irene was saving both her secure marriage and Clare’s marriage to Mr. Bellew.  If Claire were to have a baby that has been fathered by Brian, there was no telling as stated in the book if the child would have been able to pass.  I would assume since Brian was not white and Clare was only half, the child would not have been able to pass. In this case Mr. Bellew would have surely known and divorced or killed Claire, and made sure Clare would have never seen their child again.  This would have left Clair and Brian to decide if they truly wanted to be together, and Irene alone with only the boys.

            These two novels speak to each other in the sense of the security and social statues each woman wants.  Marianne has possibly married Colonel Brandon for the security and status he will provide her.  If she were to be pregnant there would certainly be no place in society for her.   Irene is married to Brian for the security and status he provides her, and Irene pushes Clare down the stairs to secure her position in Brian’s life.  Clare would have had no place in her social status should she have been pregnant either.  Surely she would have been cast out.  Marianne as mentioned before in this essay never had any intention on giving Colonel Brandon a second thought on the courting or marriage position until the end where they magically end up being married.  It seems that to abruptly throw the two together would have to mean something significant.   The same goes for Clare Kendry’s death.  The novel doesn’t go much further past the murdering incident.  You are left to ponder the motives of Irene’s actions.  All I’m asking is could there have been more.  Could there have been other motives with these two authors’ novels?  Read these novels again and see for yourself that there has to be something other than happy endings.  What really did happen?