In the Wife of His Youth by Charles Chesnutt, the story discusses themes of colorism and the desire of some to pass as white. By definition, colorism is prejudice or discrimination, especially within a racial or ethnic group, favoring people with lighter skin over those with darker skin. The author, Charles Waddell Chesnutt, was most interested in subject matter such as this. Born on June 20, 1858 in Cleveland, Ohio, Chesnutt was an avid writer with works such as The Conjure Woman and The Marrow of Tradition. Through exploring this story, one can see why someone might desire to pass as white and how discarding themselves from others with darker skin could increase their social standing. In the story of “The Wife of His Youth”, Chesnutt introduces Mr. Ryder, the protagonist. Mr. Ryder is an older man and is known as the dean of The Blue Vein Society, which is a group of people who have light enough skin to where they can see their “Blue …show more content…
Ryder is trying to court a young white woman, known as Mrs. Dixon. In this effort, Mr. Ryder decides to throw a ball in honor of Mrs. Dixon. The day of the ball, an older woman of darker complexion named Liza Jane comes to Mr. Ryder’s doorstep asking if he has seen her long-lost lover. She explains she's been looking for him for twenty years since they separated. As she tells Mr. Ryder about this man whom she loves, Mr. Ryder is questioning her loyalty to finding this man. After a while, she leaves and later on, the ball begins. Mr. Ryder describes what had happened to him earlier that day and exclaims about the devotion and loyalty of women and if the guests were in the position of the man that Liza was looking for, would they stay or would they leave her behind. It's revealed that Liza was looking for Mr. Ryder all along. Throughout the story, I was interested in how everything was tied together. I especially liked the ending because Liza Jane found her husband after so many years and Mr. Ryder accepted
In Charles Chesnutt’s story “The Wife of His Youth,” it illustrates the reality of what individuals of mixed races had to go through in order to fit in with society. From the beginning readers are presented with troubles African American’s had to face through racial division and inequality, along with a correlation between race and color. The main character in this story, Mr. Ryder, is a great representation of how a society can influence one’s beliefs and morals. In order to become apart of the
In The Wife of His Youth by Charles Chesnutt, he shows many predicaments of post-emancipation life. One of these predicaments is that the social status of freedmen compared to white men left little room for improvement and made it hard for them to survive. The freedmen were illiterate and not used to being out on their own, because as a slave all they had to do was work in the fields. They were still viewed as inferior, but had little to no jobs to provide money for the necessities in life. Another
Charles Chesnutt was an African American author who was born on June 20, 1850. Chesnutt was well known for his short stories about the issues of social and racial identity in post- reconstruction south. Chesnutt’s well-known example of his collection of short stories “The Wife of his Youth: And other Stories of the Color Line” examines issues of discrimination that permeate within the African American community. His most anthologized short story “The Wife of his Youth” explores the issue racial passing
culture has been shown many times in African American literature. In “The Wife of His Youth,” by Charles Chesnutt, and Invisible Man, by Ralph Ellison, the authors use their writing to show this disconnection; both Chesnutt and Ellison are able to capture the struggle and help their characters to overcome it by embracing their pasts, which can be a very difficult ideal in African American heritage. In “The Wife of His Youth,” the main character, Mr. Ryder, is a man that has left slavery behind and
of freedom. Charles W. Chesnutt, an Afro-American writer, who lived during the American Civil War, was the first black American to publish fiction stories. Through many of his literary work, such as, his journal or The Wife of His Youth, Chesnutt left his mark on the modern society who still discusses his writing. Charles W. Chesnutt’ use of characters and themes and mainly trough the use of rhetorical devices such as examples and comparisons in his fictional stories or in his journals address the
Charles W. Chesnutt, an American author, wrote The Wife of His Youth, a short story first published in July 1898. Chesnutt was born in Cleveland to free parents. Also, he is known for realism, local color, and folk tales. Chesnutt writes African American characters that challenged racial stereotypes and enjoys exploring race, specifically, the troubles of mixed-race people and social tensions in the South. The Wife of His Youth is about a bi-racial man named Mr. Ryder, who was born before civil
Introduction In this essay, I will illustrate Charles Waddell Chesnutt’s work “The Wife of His Youth” acts in American literary realism movement, and his attempt of describing his desire of getting rid of racial segregations. There are some points supporting that this story is involved in realism. Firstly, I will focus on slavery, and the transition before the slavery and after. Secondly, I will check Chesnutt’s depiction of black people. Finally, I will clarify the differences between Mr. Ryder
Charles W. Chesnutt, in “The Wife of His Youth”, addresses the challenges biracial people face as their lives transitions “from slavery to freedom and freedom to slavery”. In the story, complexities arise when Mr. Ryder, a well-respected biracial man, tries to find his own true identity. Like other biracial in the community, he finds himself deciding whether to acknowledge his past or gain higher status in society by refusing to accept the past. After gaining freedom, Mr. Ryder worked hard to improve
Naturalism in “A Matter of Principle” and The House Behind the Cedar’s Charles W. Chesnutt, a well-educated mulatto man, lived his life on ‘the color line.’ Chesnutt’s skin was very light and was sometimes mistaken for a white man. Chesnutt chose to identify himself as a black man, but in his works, his characters move back and forth across the color line and struggle with the world they exist in. The Wife of His Youth and Other Stories of the Color Line was published one year before The House Behind
loved one. In the story “The Wife of His Youth” written by Charles W. Chesnutt, the main character, Mr. Ryder, meets Liza, a woman from his past, whose loyalty and fidelity cause a change of character. At the beginning, Mr. Ryder is portrayed as a more shallow man who has more or less selfish reasons for marrying another woman named Molly Dixon. However, throughout the duration of an exchange he has with Liza, a part of his
characters that are often racist, religious fanatic, egotistical or self-righteous” (Kullmer). This description of Southern Gothic literature also fits other genres of post Civil War American literature. Works by authors such as Mark Twain, Charles Chesnutt, Sui Sin Far, Henry James, Kate Chopin, Zora Neale Hurston and Earnest Hemingway also contain characters, situation, and places revealing similar social controversies displaying racism, sexism, and egotistical behavior. In The Adventures of Huckleberry
In “The Wife of His Youth”, Mr. Ryder is the dean of the Blue Veins Society, a society that consisted of people who were more white than black. Some of the outsiders stated, “that no one was eligible for membership who was not white enough to show blue veins” (Chesnutt 624). Thus, this created society has established their ideal physical appearance, rejecting those African Americans who
was seen as a major factor in one’s social position. Charles W. Chesnutt displays this in his short story, “The Wife of His Youth.” It is shown through a character named Mrs. Dixon who is in a black society but is half-white, making her in a higher social position than others in the society. This allows her to have a great influence on others, especially the main character, Mr. Ryder. Mrs. Dixon’s character impacts Mr. Ryder and his understanding of true love, ending in Mrs. Dixon’s approval and