48 pages 1 hour read

Charles W. Chesnutt

The Wife Of His Youth

Fiction | Short Story | Adult | Published in 1898

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Introduction

“The Wife of His Youth”

  • Genre: Fiction; short story
  • Originally Published: 1898
  • Reading Level/Interest: College/Adult
  • Structure/Length: Approx. 16 pages
  • Protagonist and Central Conflict: Mr. Ryder, a biracial man born free before the Civil War, is head of the “Blue Vein Society” in his Northern town. He courts Molly Dixon, a light-skinned woman of Black and white ancestry, until Liza Jane shows up looking for her husband, whom she has not seen in 25 years.
  • Potential Sensitivity Issues: Racism; slavery; colorism      

Charles W. Chesnutt, Author

  • Bio: 1858-1932; Black American author, essayist, lawyer, and political activist; addressed the complexities of racial and social identity after the Civil War in both novels and short stories; born in Cleveland, Ohio, to parents who were both free persons of color; paternal grandfather was a white enslaver; could pass as white but never chose to; studied law and passed the bar; learned stenography and established a lucrative court reporting business
  • Other Works: The Conjure Woman (1899); The Wife of His Youth and Other Stories of the Color-Line (1899); The House Behind the Cedars (1900); The Marrow of Tradition (1901)

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Unit:

  • Post-Reconstruction in the American North
  • Slavery
  • Colorism

STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Unit, students will:

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