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About him there was a deceiving air of candour that was, Irene knew, like his father’s show of reasonable acquiescence. If, for the time being, and with a charming appearance of artlessness, he submitted to the force of superior strength, or some other immovable condition or circumstance, it was because of his intense dislike of scenes and unpleasant argument.
Irene sees a lot of similarities in the personalities of her son Ted and her husband Brian. In this passage in Part Two, Chapter Two, she characterizes Brian as someone who fakes agreement or pretends at contentedness while actually harboring secret dissent or even hostility. Brian dislikes confrontations and thus does not voice hidden concerns. For example, Brian attempts to hide his resentful feelings toward Irene for forcing a medical career on him and blocking his move to Brazil. He does not do this out of love for her, but because he does not want to cause a scene. Thus, Irene is often lulled into a false sense of security, thinking Brian has forgotten his displeasure, when, in reality, he has simply been pretending to be happy.
And he fell for such pish-posh! And all because Clare had a trick of sliding down ivory lids over astonishing black eyes and then lifting them suddenly and turning on a caressing smile. Men like Dave Freeland fell for it. And Brian.
There are several moments in Passing, such as this quote from Part Three, Chapter One, where Irene questions whether Brian’s judgment and character are as excellent as she had previously assumed. Initially, Brian told Irene that he did not find Clare especially beautiful, because he preferred dark-skinned Black women. But despite his own protestations – and his own better judgment, since he is aware of Clare’s past risky and inappropriate behavior – Brian cannot resist Clare’s beauty and seductive techniques. The ease with which Clare directs the behavior of men like Dave and Brian calls their intelligence, reason, and morality into question.
If, as you’re so determined, they’ve got to live in this damned country, they’d better find out what sort of thing they’re up against as soon as possible. The earlier they learn it, the better prepared they’ll be.
While Irene wants to keep her sons sheltered from racism and violence, Brian vehemently disagrees. He believes that the boys should understand the magnitude and danger of racism in the United States, as knowledge will ultimately make them more equipped to survive it. Irene’s light skin and ability to pass as white has protected her from more severe forms of racism; Brian, who cannot pass, likely experiences far more bigotry daily, which may explain his insistence on leaving the country in this quote in Part Three, Chapter Four. While Irene prefers to ignore or downplay issues of race, Brian does not have this privilege.
