The Wife of His Youth by Charles Waddell Chesnutt
"The Wife of His Youth" by Charles Waddell Chesnutt is a poignant short story that explores themes of identity, social status, and racial dynamics within the African American community during the post-Civil War era. The narrative centers around Mr. Ryder, a respected member of the Blue Vein Society, a social club for light-skinned African Americans in Groveland, Ohio. As Ryder prepares to propose to a young widow, he is confronted by the unexpected arrival of Liza Jane, an elderly woman who identifies herself as his long-lost wife from his youth.
The story delves into the complexities of race and societal expectations, illustrating Ryder's internal struggle between his ambition for social acceptance and his past. He grapples with the notion of loyalty and the societal pressures to 'lighten' the race through marriage. During a crucial moment at a ball meant to celebrate his engagement, Ryder reflects on his own history and ultimately surprises his elite guests by acknowledging Liza Jane as his true wife. This powerful act poses profound questions about belonging, heritage, and the moral responsibilities that accompany one's social ascent, making the story a significant commentary on the African American experience during a transformative period in U.S. history.
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The Wife of His Youth by Charles Waddell Chesnutt
First published: 1898
Type of plot: Social realism
Time of work: The 1880's
Locale: Groveland, Ohio
Principal Characters:
Mr. Ryder , the protagonist, a light-skinned, socially prominent African AmericanMrs. Molly Dixon , an educated, light-skinned African American from Washington, D.C.Liza Jane , an older, uneducated, dark-skinned African American from the South
The Story
The story begins with a description of the Blue Vein Society, a social club of mixed-blood African Americans living in the North after the Civil War. While membership criteria were ostensibly based on a person's social standing, everyone in Groveland, Ohio, knows that only those persons whose skin is light enough to show blue veins are asked to join. Mr. Ryder, a single, light-skinned man who has achieved a respected position in the railroad company over twenty-five years, is called "the dean of the Blue Veins." Possessing impeccable manners, a passion for British poetry, and a tastefully furnished and comfortable house, Ryder has arrived at the height of social standing and is ready to ask the beautiful, educated, and accomplished widow, Mrs. Molly Dixon from Washington, D.C., to marry him.
Not only is Ryder attracted to this young woman, but he also sees such a marriage as his social responsibility to "lighten" the race—the only means available for mixed-race people to assimilate into the larger white society. He explains that he is not prejudiced toward those of darker complexion, but that he regards mixed-blood people as unique: "Our fate lies between absorption by the white race and extinction in the black. The one doesn't want us yet, but may take us in time. The other would welcome us, but it would be for us a backward step." The joining of two such respected and accomplished mulattoes as Ryder and Molly Dixon is, for Ryder, a serious social and political obligation.
To honor Dixon, Ryder decides to give a ball in her honor; this will give him an opportunity to propose to her and also allow him to host an event that will mark a new epoch in the social history of Groveland. Only the best people—those with the best standing, manners, and complexion—will be invited. Critical of the growing laxity in social matters among even members of his own set, he wants to demonstrate to the community the standards that he considers proper to maintain.
On the day of Ryder's great ball, he relaxes on his porch as he debates which passage of Alfred, Lord Tennyson's love poetry about fair damsels would most honor Dixon. An old black woman wearing a blue calico dress and a red shawl, who looks like a bit of old plantation life, approaches Ryder and identifies herself as Liza Jane, a former slave from Missouri. Before the Civil War she was married to a free-born mulatto named Sam Taylor, who was indentured to her master and nearing the end of his commitment. Her unprincipled master was so desperate for money that he planned to sell Taylor, although he did not legally own him. When the woman discovered her master's plan, she urged her husband to flee to freedom. Taylor promised to return for his wife, but her angry master sold her down the river and she never saw Taylor again. For twenty-five years, however, she has been looking for him: first all over the South—from New Orleans to Atlanta to Charleston—and now in the North. Liza Jane asks for Ryder's help in locating her long-lost husband.
After listening patiently and patronizingly to the old woman while examining her old daguerreotype portrait of her missing husband, Ryder tells her that he cannot help her. He promises to look into the matter, then goes upstairs to his bedroom and stands for a long time, gazing thoughtfully at his own reflection in a mirror.
That evening, Ryder's home is filled with the most prestigious of Groveland's African American citizens—teachers, doctors, lawyers, editors, and army officers. Although they are considered "colored," most of them would not attract even a casual glance because of any marked difference from white people. When Ryder finally stands to deliver his toast to Dixon, he does not quote Tennyson. Instead, he recounts his afternoon visit with the old black woman. Then, to the surprise of his guests, he poses a hypothetical question: What would any of them do if they were the young man for whom Liza Jane was looking? What if this young mulatto man had made his way in the world from his humble beginnings, had educated himself, had established himself in his community, had achieved a high social position, and had become a different person than he had been when he married as a young man? Discovering that his wife—who is older than he, uneducated, dark-skinned, and lowly—what would any of them have done? Would they have claimed their spouse?
After an uncomfortable silence, Dixon states, "He should have acknowledged her." It is then that Ryder, turning to his afternoon visitor, who is now neatly dressed in gray, and wearing the white cap of an elderly woman, announces to the elite Blue Vein Society, "Ladies and gentlemen, this is the woman, and I am the man, whose story I have told you. Permit me to introduce to you the wife of my youth."
Bibliography
Duncan, Charles. The Absent Man: The Narrative Craft of Charles W. Chesnutt. Athens: Ohio University Press, 1998.
Kulii, Elon A. "Poetic License and Chesnutt's Use of Folklore." CLA Journal 38 (December, 1994): 247-253.
Lehman, Cynthia L. "The Social and Political View of Charles Chesnutt: Reflections on His Major Writings." Journal of Black Studies 26 (January, 1996).
McElrath, Joseph R., Jr., ed. Critical Essays on Charles W. Chesnutt. New York: G. K. Hall, 1999.
McFatter, Susan. "From Revenge to Resolution: The (R)evolution of Female Characters in Chesnutt's Fiction." CLA Journal 42 (December, 1998): 194-211.
McWilliams, Dean. Charles W. Chesnutt and the Fictions of Race. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 2002.
Pickens, Ernestine Williams. Charles W. Chesnutt and the Progressive Movement. New York: Pace University Press, 1994.
Render, Sylvia Lyons. Charles W. Chesnutt. Boston: Twayne, 1980.
Wilson, Matthew. Whiteness in the Novels of Charles W. Chesnutt. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2004.
Wonham, Henry B. Charles W. Chesnutt: A Study of the Short Fiction. New York: Twayne, 1998.