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The story is written as a third person narrative from the perspective of Irene Redfield, a mixed-race woman who lives in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City but was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois where she became close childhood friends with Clare Kendry a girl her age also of mixed-race.

Part One of the book, titled "Encounter," opens with Irene receiving a letter from Clare Kendry, causing her to recall a chance encounter she had had with her, at the roof restaurant of the Drayton Hotel in Chicago, during a brief stay in the city. The women grew up together but lost touch when Clare's white father died and she was taken to live with her two paternal white aunts. Irene learns that Clare "passes" for white, living primarily in Europe with her unsuspecting, rich, white husband and their daughter. Although Irene tries to avoid further engagement with Clare, she never is able to fully exclude her from her life as she later visits Clare for tea along with another childhood friend, Gertrude Martin. Toward the end of the visit, Clare's white husband John (Jack) Bellew arrives. Unaware that all three women are black, Jack expresses some very racist views and makes the women uneasy. However, the women play along in an effort to maintain Clare's secret identity. Afterward, Irene and Gertrude decide that Clare's situation is too dangerous for them to continue associating with her and are uncomfortable around Clare and her husband. Irene receives a letter of apology from Clare but destroys it in her quest to try and forget about Clare and get her out of her life. Instead Irene wants to focus on her life with her husband, Brian, and her two sons, Theodore and Brain Jr.

Part Two of the book, "Re-encounter," returns to the present, with Irene having received the new letter from Clare. After Irene ignores Clare's letter, Clare visits in person so Irene reluctantly agrees to see her. When it is brought up that Irene serves on the committee for the "Negro Welfare League" (NWL) Clare invites herself to their upcoming dance despite Irene's advice against it for fear that Jack will find out. Clare attends the dance and enjoys herself without her husband finding out, which encourages her to continue spending time in Harlem. Irene and Clare resume their childhood companionship, and Clare frequently visits Irene's home.

The third and final part of the novel begins before Christmas, as Irene's relationship with her husband has become increasingly fraught. Aware of her friend's appeal, Irene becomes convinced that her husband is having an affair with Clare. During a shopping trip with her visibly black friend Felise Freeland, Irene encounters Jack, who becomes aware of her and, by extension, Clare's, racial status. Irene considers warning Clare about Jack's new-found knowledge but decides against it, worried that the pair's divorce might encourage her husband to leave her for Clare. Later, Clare accompanies Irene and Brian to a party hosted by Felise. The gathering is interrupted by Jack, who accuses Clare of being a "damned dirty nigger!" Irene rushes to Clare, who is standing by an open window. Suddenly, Clare falls out of the window from the top floor of the building to the ground below, where she is pronounced dead by the guests who eventually gather at the site. Whether she has fallen accidentally, was pushed by either Irene or Bellew, or committed suicide, is unclear. The book ends with Irene's fragmented anguish at Clare's death.

Interpretation

One thing that is unclear about the story is the ending. This article’s main focus is on the Irene’s psychological view as she tells the story. Claudia Tate describes how Irene’s view is all from an internal view of how she is and the way she acts, while Clare’s view is told through an external view by Irene. She goes on to talk about how this leaves Clare as a mystery but it is obvious Irene envies her beauty and has an emotional effect on her making her feel very mediocre and insecure. These reasons lead Tate to believe that “We do not know whether she [Irene] is simply glad that Clare is permanently out of her life by means of quirk fate, whether she does not regret killing her, or whether she has suffered monetary amnesia and therefore does not know her role in Clare’s death.” Larsen never clearly states how Clare died, instead Irene never allowed herself to remember which leaves the cause of death up in the air. Claudia Tate then continues on about how it would take away from Larsen’s “consummate skill in dramatizing psychological ambiguity.” to assume that Irene had pushed Clare to her death or that she had committed suicide. There are many valid reasons to why she might have committed suicide as well as why Irene might have pushed her out of the window. Tate cannot force herself to decide what actually happened because of the praise she has for Larsen’s ability to center the novel on a dramatic psychological interpretation instead of a tragic story of a light skinned who passed as white fatally dying. (add page number of Tate's criticism)

Jealousy

Scholars such as Claudia Tate suggest there is a theme of jealousy throughout the novel. Irene displays it here when deciding whether to expose Irene or not “She was caught between two allegiances, different, yet the same. Herself. Her race. Race! The thing that bound and suffocated her. Whatever steps she took, or if she took none at all, something would be crushed. A person or the race. Clare, herself, or the race. Or, it might be, all three. Nothing, she imagined, was ever more completely sardonic.” Larsen uses jealousy as the main source of conflict in the novel, and uses race solely as a vehicle for Irene to potentially rid herself of Clare.At this point in the story Irene realizes she can expose Clare’s true racial identity to remove Clare from her life, and regain that security she desires more than anything.