All Security and No Emotion:
Children's Guide to Control
Passion, dominance, and sexuality are all things that connect man to his primal, and animalistic tendencies. Charles Darwin proved in his theory of evolution that the fittest survive; it is up to society to determine what is the fittest. Humans evolve based on their environments, and they are built to survive. Some do not have to fight hard to live, while some struggle to survive.
(http://gohighbrow.com/darwins-theory-of-evolution/)
So, can we justify murder, manipulation, and deceit with our own survival in mind? If it depended on your life, would you kill? Kill them with kindness; death does not always correlate with physical death. Clare Kendry from Nella Larsen's Passing, a snake charmer of humans, uses her sexual appeal to get what she wants. Clare seduces those all around her, including her best friend Irene. We never really know if Irene is sexually attracted to Clare, but we do know that Clare's beauty and "husky voice carry[ing] a dubious note," seduces Irene into doing things she does not want to do. These skills are not things people are born with, but they are adapted. Her seduction is a tool for survival.
Sexual assault and ridicule numbed Clare emotionally. The nightmare she called her childhood, and adolescence resulted in her manipulative, invasive, and domineering tendencies. She learned not to love from never experiencing love. After her abusive father's demise, her white family made her feel like a charity case, rather than a family member. Clare ,"cursed" with "negro" blood, was viewed as subhuman to her family(Larsen, 115). She escaped the emotional abuse, and as a result realized that in order to survive in the world, she must play the world. Knowing she "wasn't bad-looking," Clare used her sexual appeal to thrive(Larsen,116). Clare does something that anyone would do, she uses her most powerful tool to her advantage. After years of physical abuse from her father, and then emotional abuse from family who treated her like a slave , Clare liberates herself. This time she would be the person causing the pain.
(http://www.clker.com/clipart-women-silhouette.html)
When I was a child, and I was upset, I automatically shut everyone off to stop the pain...it's pretty funny to see that I do it even today. It's understandable that after being abused by her drunken father,who threatened her physically, and being deemed as insubordinate by her white family, that Clare also shuts herself off. Without emotions, people are seemingly indestructible, as Clare is. No one, or anything is a barrier for her. The most human tendencies are shown by children and the vulnerable. Many of Clare's tactics are those of a child. Manipulation, invasiveness, and domination are all things most people did as children. When I was little, and did not get what I wanted, I used the pity card to make my parents feel bad and do what I wanted. When I wanted something, and my mother said no, I would continuously ask her and remain in her sight so she would say yes. To dominate, I would make sure my mother always prioritized my emotions to hers when she was dating; I always made her feel bad about abandoning me for another. Children are just really good actors, and just like actors they have objectives and tactics. Tactics are what the actor does to get their objective (what they want), so my tactic to get my mother to myself was pity. Clare uses these similar tactics to achieve her objective of total control. Clare not only has her "cake and want to eat it too, but she want[s] to nibble at the cakes of other folks as well;" she preys on the emotion of others and uses it to her advantage(Larsen, 156). Clare manipulates, invades, and dominates Irene's life.
Only when Clare is older, she learns that alongside her toolbox of manipulation devices, she can add in seduction to strengthen this hold. It makes perfect sense that Clare Kendry, the girl who did not have a childhood, would resort to childish tendencies in her regular life. She is a catlike, alluring, sensual being, with a voice of silver, and she knows it! Clare does not love anyone. Not her husband, not her best friend, and not even her daughter. Clare does not learn how to love, and she learns that not knowing love is what makes her strongest. Till the end of her life, Clare always got what she wants. Clare knew her effect on people, and she knew how people worked. She plays each and every person like a pawn on a chess board; Clare wants to die. She finds life to be one big game. As a child everything she did was gamble; she never knew when her father would entirely lash out and kill her, but she did it to live an adventurous life. Living in an all-white community, for a half black girl was a gamble. Marrying a white supremacist as a half black woman was just another part of her game.
After so much pain, a girl just needs to have some fun. That's exactly what Clare Kendry does as the puppeteer, snake charmer, and game player.
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