This article explains the connections between Passing and the Rhinelander case that occurred in New York during the 1920s. A case made famous after a white man divorced his wife, claiming he did not know his she was black. Thaggert’s main thesis comes from Nella Larsen’s actual reference to the acclaimed court case. Irene obsesses over revealing Clare’s true racial identity and contemplates the possible divorce of Bellew and Clare when she says “What if Bellew should divorce Clare? Could he? There was the Rhinelander case” (Larsen 101). Thaggert is diving into the acclaimed court case mainly as a comparison of the two women Clare Kendry and Alice Jones Rhinelander. Alice never denied her black heritage and fought to maintain her white privilege.