The Wife of His Youth

by Charles W. Chesnutt

A famous short story

Genres: Short Stories, Classics, School, Fiction, Read For School, African American, Literature

Unknown Binding

About the author

Charles Waddell Chesnutt was an author, essayist and political activist, best known for his novels and short stories exploring complex issues of racial and social identity.

Reviews

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of Mr. Ryder, a prominent African American and leading member of the Blue Veins society, at the helm of a project to build a robust and socially distinguished community of African American citizens. Like many members of the Blue Veins, Mr. Ryder is of mixed ancestry, part black, part white. He belongs neither to one or the other group entirely then. He reasons that “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 welcomes us, but it would be for us a step backward.” He falls in love with Molly Dixon, an educated African American even fairer-skinned than he and plans to throw a party for her, to which he plans to invite only the most distinguished members of the local African American society. Mr. Ryder is a man of exceptional culture, a poetry fanatic, and in one of the story’s most remarkable scenes, he reads over his favorite poet’s, Tennyson’s, verse in order to find something to read Molly at the toast he plans to give at his party. He spots some lines about a “sweet pale Margaret” but casts these aside. Here Chesnutt stages a moment of reading, in which the entire of tradition of English poetry, with its linking of beauty and fairness, alienate the black reader. A very black woman, resembling “a bit of old plantation life,” comes by his house asking him if he’s seen her husband, a man she married twenty-five years ago in the antebellum south. The woman is an avatar of the uncultivated servility Mr. Ryder has spent the greater part of his life differentiating himself from. He tells her he’ll call her if he happens to see the man in the phot she shows him. At the ball, when Mr. Ryder is making his toast, he introduces the woman to the august company and reveals that this is the wife if his youth, who had been loyally looking for him for twenty-five years. It is never discovered what happens after this moment, but by acknowledging his former wife, Mr. Ryder acknowledges an aspect of himself that he had spent his life trying to repress. Despite her lack of education, his wife’s unwavering loyalty to him ennobles her and makes her one of the most distinguished guests at Mr. Ryder’s party.

[The Nutmeg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awwww!

This was...so cute. It gave me the warm fuzzies. (It was a school assignment. And it was short. And it had sufficient emotional punch. I'm always disappointed when short stories don't, which is why I wasn't particularly keen on "Daisy Miller" or "The Limerick Gloves." But THIS one, I am keen on.)

[Dianna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This man really forgot his wife I can't.

[Casandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read for my African American Literature class at University.

4 stars

Generally surprised by how much I enjoyed this short story.

And yes, I count short stories towards my reading challenge. Its what us English majors do.

[Ashley Mlyniec · Rating 1 out of 5]

Annoyed I had to read the broken English. Like that was a bit much for the written word. Ending was cute ig

[Autumn Guild]

This short story is told in third-person about a main character, Mr. Ryder, who is having a ball and was arranged to get married to a light-skinned woman. He is getting ready for the ball when an old woman named Lisa Jane comes into his room and asks if he knows anyone named Sam. Mr. Ryder entertains her company and learns that the Lisa Jane is looking for her slave husband that she was married to before he was given his freedom. As Mr. Ryder responds, readers might start to catch drift that Mr. Ryder knows more about this Lisa's story than he is letting her know. The final scene, which I will not reveal, ties up loose ends but also leaves the readers wondering what exactly happened next. This short story displays perspective because there is a lot of discriminating microagressions and subtle details that speak to the culture of praising lighter-black colored skin over darker black. We get the perspective of one black women who "looked like a bit of the old plantation life" and a polar opposite perspective from the Blue Vein Group who, "most of their members were light-colored." The contrast of these groups of people challenge readers to see a world of perspectives, to see there are always multiple stories and not one single story to represent a group of people.

I think this would be good for Middle School Students because it is an appropriate read, it has a slow start but interest is heightened when readers begin to foreshadow about old Lisa Jane. The ending is particularly climatic and I think would lead middle schoolers naturally into discussion of wanting their questions answered. I also think that this an entertaining way to explain a story-line that doesn't get told often of the many marriages and families during slavery but were separated because of their master's trading them. As Mr. Ryder pointed out, "there used to be many such cases right after the war," which is a historical anecdote that would be an educational follow-up discussion.

Although there are elements of this story which would be interesting to extract and research, there isn't many. Also, this is a very informative text on its own. This is why I think a creative writing assignment, where students are to write what they think happens after the story ends. Because the ending leaves readers with a decent amount of possibilities and concerns, it would be so fun to see what students think should happen . Students could even be encouraged to break out of what they think "should happen" and go into their own creative writing of an ending with plot twists if they feel like it. Hopefully this will give students the chance to feel like the real writers they are and in hopes of keeping consistent details, perform a close reading of the text.

[Audrey Shuping · Rating 5 out of 5]

i could talk about the layers to this short story for ages.

[Katey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mr. Ryder is black and white. He is an older gentleman of fair skin living in the North and a prestigious member of the Blue Veins society. He feels the Blue Veins society allows mixed race individuals to absorb into a more white society and abandon their black roots. Never being married a young, African American Molly Dixon who is even whiter than Mr. Ryder catches his eye. In an effort to impress her and ask for her hand in marriage he orchestrated an elaborate ball and invites mixed race elites. Sitting on his porch before the ball, Mr. Ryder is working on a poem and speech to present to Molly when he asks her to be his wife. Suddenly, an older, black woman comes to his home asking about her husband Sam. Mr. Ryder allows her to take a seat and tell him the story of her life as a slave, meeting her husband and how their lives were ripped apart by both of them being sold. She has not given up her search for him, even after 25 years. Mr. Ryder promises to look into the matter and takes down her address. During the ball Mr. Ryder leaves a few times before his big speech that was to be dedicated to his sweetheart, Molly. Instead, Mr. Ryder tells the story of the woman and her husband Sam and gives the hypothetical situation of what if the man was him? What if he was Sam? Should he tell her and acknowledge her? The ending is beautiful, and I will leave you to find it out for yourself!

[Jonathan Maas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Listened to this through the History of Literature podcast. This is an O. Henry level tale that still holds up against the modern reader - ie no Dickens paid by the word feel.

Also it really remains impactful in terms of the issues of his day, which are still around in these times. I highly recommend it !

[channel alli · Rating 4 out of 5]

lots to say about the complexity of free life and the struggles of biracial identity post-emancipation

[☆sarah☆ · Rating 3 out of 5]

nouvelle anti-colorisme écrite en 1898 par un homme très white passing, je pense que certains hommes du 21ème devraient prendre des notes #jedisçacommeça

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting turn of events in this short story but I didn't like the ending. Had to read for school.

[K. Anna Kraft · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have arranged my thoughts on this short story into a haiku:

"Things that time buries
May shine more than what glitters
On the present stage."

[Kailah Peters · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful and moving. I read this for a class on black love and I love the message it holds.

[Aline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Os contos do Clube da Caixa Preta são sempre uma grata surpresa!! Esse em especial se tornou um dos meus favoritos até agora! Uma escrita envolvente, com um enredo curto, mas muito bom!!

[Anna ʚɞ (catching up on oh so many reviews 😭) · Rating 3 out of 5]

actually giving it a ★★★½ rating.

Cute story, but I found that it changed what it wanted to be so suddenly from how it began.

[Mrstaedium · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chesnutt traccia la storia dell’odio razziale sotto un altro punto di vista: quello dei mulatti, che sono imprigionati “con un’anima da bianco” ma sottoposti alla schiavitù e alle vessazioni che il colore della loro pelle comporta.

“Il mio aspetto fisico era tale che io conoscevo bene la psicologia delle persone di sangue misto, e la maggior parte dei miei scritti si muovono lungo la linea di colore” - Chesnutt

Ed è proprio della linea di colore che parla l’autore, sviluppando racconti brevi che descrivono l’America del XIX secolo come un posto in cui il nero era visto solo come servo e oggetto, senza una dignità, addetto solo alle piantagioni di grano.

“La sposa della giovinezza” fa un quadro generale delle guerre, focalizzandosi sulla sofferenza e la perdizioni che i neri hanno dovuto subire.

“I figli del colonnello” onestamente è il mio racconto preferito, in quanto mette in mostra come a quel tempo un figlio con un differente colore della pelle fosse destino ad vita senza dignità, al contrario di un figlio dalla pelle bianca.

“La scomparsa di Grandison” invece si focalizza sulla bigotta fedeltà di un servo nero nei confronti del suo padrone, egli fa di tutto pur di ritornare nella realtà feudale del sud, ma alla fine si accorge che la libertà è una condizione degna anche per un servo nero.

Ho adorato il quadro storico ed oggettivo di Chesnutt, che attraverso tre diverse storie ha saputo raccontare la condizione della sua gente, mettendo in luce come “la linea di colore”, paradossalmente, sia più importante della dignità di un’essere umano.

[Kristýna Marková]

Chesnutt decribes the caste system, classism within the black community. White passing blacks are more likely to succeed in life, more likely to be educated, etc etc. "While there were no such tests of eligibility, it is true that the Blue Veins had their notions on these subjects, and that not all of them were equally liberal in regard to the things they collectively disclaimed."
The character of Mr. Ryder is almost boring. Everything about him is almost perfect, which is suspicious and makes you think that he is hiding something, which indeed he is, and that something is his African herritage.
His personality is so troubled that he even denies knowing his wife and refers to her as the wife of his youth. He has a psychological problem with his identity and struggles to deal with it.

[Desda · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short story about successful black man referred to as a blue Vein because the skin is so light that you can see his blue veins. A number of blacks form of a community of like colored people. When his wife shows up from his days on the plantation, she has been searching for him for 25 years. He must make the decision whether to acknowledge her or ignore her for Mrs. Dixon home he is hoping to ask to marry him. He chooses The honorable route and acknowledges her. The big question is more about whether or not she recognizes him when she’s telling him her story. I think so. I think the undergirding story is more about her than him. When she says I would recognize him no matter what, I believe she is telling him that she does recognize him however does not want to compromise his life. Her love is deep and abiding. And she leaves it to him to choose.

[Vanessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting characters. Very touching story. Very realistic (to a degree). Definitely entertaining.

This is one of the stories' in which Chesnutt gets away from plantation fiction. This takes place post slavery and post civil war. Chesnutt must have been making a statement with this story and those alike, and he did so very well. The story is very well written. Job well done Chesnutt.

[Juergen John Roscher · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short-story with a surprise ending. It can be difficult to read since one main character is a former slave that speaks with an heavy accent. I caught myself hoping that the former slave would not speak because it was difficult to interrupt what she was saying. I'd have given this story a 5 star rating if the author would have hinted at the slave's speech characteristics.

[Susanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brilliant little short story set a few decades after the civil war in a society of mixed-race people. I loved the introduction of mystery and how I was still surprised at the conclusion.

I listened to the story being read on the History of Literature podcast along with Jacke Wilson’s delightful commentary.

[Deanna ✰ ☾ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I definitely enjoyed this short story!

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was some interesting discussion about this one

[CK · Rating 5 out of 5]

i’ve read this before and absolutely love it every time

[albs1001 · Rating 3 out of 5]

3'5

[Marvin Wurr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Given the lack of modern amenities such as facial recognition, ID cards, or even DNA tests in those days, I would not share Mr. Ryder's confidence regarding the return of his long lost ex-wife.

[Dean Oken · Rating 4 out of 5]

i love my wife!!!

[Dani Hayman]

Read for American Lit 1865-present

[Tyler-Tae · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a beautiful story