ABSTRACT
Early twentieth-century writers Nella Larsen, Jean Rhys, and Radclyffe Hall allow their characters to undertake what the author call "transdermal" excursions, voyages both through and beyond the skin, enabled by a reconceptualization of skin tone and racial body. In Larsen's Quicksand, Helga Crane has the opportunity in Europe and various areas of the United States to explore facets of her race and identity that she cannot locate at home. In travel, Miss Ogilvy seeks layers of herself that cannot manifest themselves at home. The tribesmen in "Miss Ogilvy Finds Herself" have black hair, black eyes, tattoos, and "smooth, brownish skin". In Passing, Larsen focuses on movement across the color line; travel between smaller, more regional spaces parallels a larger desire to move to another country where racial boundaries can be redrawn. Like Quicksand, Voyage in the Dark can be read as a fictional travel narrative inspired by real-life journeys, documenting a young woman's experiences in a new locale.
