# Arline Strange — The Blacker the Berry character guide

> Arline Strange in The Blacker the Berry by Wallace Thurman.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Strange, Arline

**First appearance:** 0005-part-iii-alva

## Snapshot

A fair-skinned socialite whose ease and desirability make her the standard Emma Lou can never quite meet, especially in Alva's eyes.

## Who they are

Arline Strange glides through Harlem's lighter-skinned circles with the confidence of someone who has never had to argue for her place, and her name alone signals the world Emma Lou is barred from. She is a rival for Alva's attention, but more than that, she is living proof that the color line runs straight through Black love and Black friendship alike. Her presence sharpens Emma Lou's ache: the sense that no matter how she dresses, speaks, or strives, she is competing against a hierarchy she was born outside of.

## Relationships

### [Emma Lou Morgan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_blacker_the_berry_se/characters/emma_lou_morgan)

_rivalry_

Arline is a light-skinned rival who taunts and belittles Emma Lou for her dark skin color.

### [Emma Lou Morgan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_blacker_the_berry_se/characters/emma_lou_morgan)

_rivalry_

Arline is a light-skinned rival who taunts and belittles Emma Lou for her dark skin color.

### [Emma Lou Morgan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_blacker_the_berry_se/characters/emma_lou_morgan)

_rivalry_

Arline is a light-skinned rival who taunts and belittles Emma Lou for her dark skin color.

## In the story

### [Part III: Alva](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_blacker_the_berry_se/chapters/part-iii-alva)

Emma Lou's employer, a white actress playing a mulatto Carmen; invites Emma Lou to Small's Paradise.

### [Part IV: Rent Party](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_blacker_the_berry_se/chapters/part-iv-rent-party)

Emma Lou's employer; allows her time to prepare for the party, showing some consideration.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_blacker_the_berry_se/characters/arline_strange
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_blacker_the_berry_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_blacker_the_berry_se/characters