Bob Kendry Character Analysis in Passing

Bob Kendry is Clare’s deceased father. Bob is referenced throughout the book, though he never appears in the flesh, having died before the plot takes place. Bob was an alcoholic and a janitor in Irene and Clare’s neighborhood in Chicago. Bob went to college with many of the men in the area, but some unknown disgrace caused him to take a job below his education status. When Bob died, leaving Clare an orphan, she went to go live with Bob’s white aunts.

Bob Kendry Character Timeline in Passing

The timeline below shows where the character Bob Kendry appears in Passing. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Motherhood, Security, and Freedom Theme Icon

...she was a child, calmly and defiantly sewing a dress while her violently drunk father, Bob Kendry, threatened her. Irene remembers that Clare took her wages from her dressmaking job and,... (full context)

Irene then remembers the day Bob died in a saloon fight, when Clare was fifteen years old. She thinks of Clare... (full context)

Passing, Black Identity, and Race Theme Icon

...thinks, but does not say, that this is true. Irene recalls the mysterious circumstances surrounding Bob Kendry, who went to college with some of the men in the neighborhood, but ended... (full context)

...passing, and Clare corrects Irene, telling her they were in fact white. Irene remembers that Bob Kendry’s father was white, and figures that the aunts must be his father’s sisters. (full context)