The Rhinelander Case or “Rhinelander v. Rhinelander”

Clare and Jack in Passing compared to the Rhinelander Case.

The influence in Passing’s two characters, Clare and Jack fall under a famous trial in 1925 known as the “Rhinelander case.” A wealthy white man who had married a bi-racial woman who “passed” for a white woman, sued his wife under allegations that she did not let him know of her true color and origins. The case went as far the woman, namely Alice, being asked by the judges to strip off of her clothes to prove her skin color a.k.a “blackness.” Alice said that she never denied the fact that she had a mixed background and had never lied about it either, but to no avail she still suffered the public shame in front of the all-white and all-male room/jury to prove that she had never lied. At the time, this case was very important, and Nella Larsen references it at the end of the book, assuming her readers would understand due to the popularity of the case.

Irene constantly wonders about Jack and Clare’s marriage and what would happen if it were revealed to Jack that Clare is of “colored blood.” She references the case saying:

“What if Bellew should divorce Clare? Could he? There was the Rhinelander case.”

Page 105

Although only referenced once, the Rhinelander case is echoed all throughout the book with themes of racial identity, sexuality, and the notion of “passing.” The Rhinelander case and Passing both illustrate the means of white Americans in the 1920’s and their reactions to mixed-race/colored people.

Thaggert, Miriam. “Racial Etiquette: Nella Larsen’s ‘Passing and the Rhinelander Case.’” Meridians, vol. 5, no. 2, 2005, pp. 1–29. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40338664. Accessed 1 Mar. 2020.