Helga epitomizes the individual and societal damage caused by historical racial prejudice in America. As the product of a black father and white mother, Helga experiences a lifetime of never feeling fully accepted by either group. On the one hand, she wishes for the emotional intimacy that close relationships would produce. Conversely, while she feels an almost theoretical kinship with other people of color, she comes to feel irritated by their presence. Initially intrigued by the openness and vivaciousness of the emotionally uninhibited Harlem residents she meets on the streets, Helga comes to feel irritated by their presence. The more intellectual, educated black Americans whom she meets strike her as hypocritical and shallow. 

Helga realizes that not all of her problems have been caused by racism. She is intrinsically aware of an inherent flaw within her own personality that causes her to flee relationships when they become intimate of complex. Her innate sense of superiority is evident to all. Additionally, while she hopes to embrace certain elements of her Negro heritage by wearing bright clothing, she is most comfortable in wealthy homes such as Anne Gray’s. The racial ambivalence here is evident. Helga wishes to identify with the black population and conduct hypothetical fights for racial equality; however, her greatest comfort zone is in environments most closely associated with a less colorful, more inhibited white culture.