Who is Clare Kendry Bellew from Passing and what is their importance?

Claire is a young, woman of mixed race. She is fair skinned and passes for white. She even marries a white man, who is unaware of her African heritage. Over the course of the novel, we see the way on which Claire longs to embrace her heritage..... the things she's missed after immersing herself in white society. We also come to understand her greatest fear..... the fear of being found out.