Understanding Reconstruction Through the Eyes of Charles Chesnutt's "The Wife of His Youth"

Charles Chesnutt

The notable Reconstruction era, occurring after the American Civil War, is depicted in many ways. Some see it as the bridge between the antebellum, oppressive United States, to a more prosperous, equal time, and others may see it as an overglorified time period that did nothing but lay the groundwork for the decades of Black struggle to come. The commonality between many of the ways Reconstruction was and is understood is the strong feeling of then vs. now. We had slavery then; now we don’t. African-Americans couldn’t be citizens then; now they could. African-American men couldn’t vote then; now they can. This sentiment of separation between the two eras suggests that the issues that arose from slavery can be dropped, that something new can immediately spring from the rubble. This belief is an overreaching one because (for one) Jim Crow still rampaged in the South for decades after the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments were passed, and in the North, there were still all kinds of redlining and stigmatisms that continued to treat African-Americans as second-class human beings. And this is what I think Charles Chesnutt is trying to get at in his short story “The Wife of His Youth.” The Blue Vein Society was what I believe to be an allegory for the desperate desire of many African Americans in the time period to quickly “move on” from the past of slavery. It was a means to quickly integrate into White high society, with their colorist ideology and extravagant Western-style balls. It was an erasure of a past culture that should have defined the future, but was instead shoved under the rug. Chesnutt shows us a group of African Americans who form a new society completely created amidst Reconstruction, but disacknowladge the ugly part of their history that was slavery. It is made very clear that to be fairer in skin was a sign of a higher class or superiority. Everyone in the Blue Vein Society was mixed, but it was clear that they leaned into their European heritage much more than their African heritage. The reason for this preference can be seen in a quote from Mr. Ryder, a member of the Blue Vein Society and main character of the story, “[...] we people of mixed blood are the ground between the upper and the nether millstone. 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.” Mr. Ryder is making it very clear that the assimilation of the White American lifestyle is a move of self-preservation, and that they will do everything in their power to continue to lean toward their European heritage.     As the story progresses, we see Mr. Ryder’s world rocked after meeting Liza Jane, who is the wife of his youth. He sees someone who holds on dearly to the past due to losing someone she loved dearly, while Mr. Ryder was so focused on marrying Molly Dixon, who perfectly fit the fair-skin beauty standards. He saw someone who didn’t care for assimilation, but instead found healing through a remnant of the past, a person with whom she suffered, who understood her better than anyone else. Charles Chesnutt’s narrative speaks through Liza Jane’s determination. Reconstruction isn’t about forgetting the past and fitting in as quickly as possible, but about processing the trauma that was inflicted on an entire race. I think that through this short story, Chesnutt argues that the wounds from slavery should not be shoved under the rug, but should be used as a way to keep African American society together in a world where they are forced to adapt quickly to the non-slave world.     Chesnutt's story shows that the remembrance of suffering under slavery holds more value than trying to assimilate into White society. The Blue Vein Society was formed to create an "artificial" community, but the real community could be found at the roots of all of the Blue Vein Society members. Chesnutt perfectly agrees that slavery was a horrible time for African Americans, but he calls out the wrongness of simply dropping everything and starting over. I think this idea that there are more important things to accomplish than the erasure of a unique culture and assimilation into what's deemed as "normal," "civilized," or “better” is shown through Liza Jane's love for Sam Taylor, who is later revealed to be Mr. Ryder. Liza's love transcends the pressure to fit in, as shown when Mr. Ryder keeps questioning Liza's determination to find Sam. I think Chesnutt is saying that Black people should all have that kind of love that Liza displayed for Sam, the love for togetherness, because no one really understood the struggle and fight that it took to get where the African-American community was then and is now. There is no escaping the past of slavery, and it's pointless to reduce its importance to be accepted by others.