Racism and Classism in Chesnutt S Wife of His Youth Essay

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Chesnutt and "The Wife of His Youth"

Chesnutt's conceptualization of skin color in "The Wife of His Youth" reflects the class dynamics of racial uplift at the turn of the twentieth century by showing her the "whiter" one is, the more likely one is to be accepted by mainstream society, to be successful in obtaining prosperity, and to be educated and able to move upward through the classes of society. However, at the same time, Chesnutt's story suggests that "heart" is deeper than skin color, as Mr. Ryder, who has set his eyes on the fair-skinned mulatto Miss Dixon, is confronted with the choice of accepting, instead, the dark-skinned wife of his youth, who has come out of his past to find him. Mr. Ryder wants to preserve his light-skinned environment (represented by the Blue Veins club) but at the same time, the way in which he frames his story to his friends at the ball is both an admission and a request for their approval (would he dare to accept the wife of his youth into his world had he not at first secured the permission of the Blue Veins or of Miss Dixon specifically?). And even though Mr. Ryder loves Miss Dixon, everyone in the room agrees that the higher good, the greater display of principle and integrity, is to accept the wife of his youth back into his heart.

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Is this a sentimental ending to a real-world problem of racial disparity and prejudice? Perhaps -- but the social dynamics of the time were a mix of race consciousness, pride, shame, and principle -- all of which Mr. Ryder embodies in Chesnutt's story.

Indeed, it could be said that, considering the nature of racial and class dynamics at this point in American history, Mr. Ryder almost has a moral responsibility to accept the wife of his youth, as to turn her away could be to risk moral depravity -- as she would be a black woman on her own, with no apparent patriarch to look over her. From the perspective of Hicks' "In Danger of Becoming Morally Depraved," this would be a real concern for the Blue Veins, and they would embody and promote the same kind of "moral law" that the New Yorkers showed towards young black females with the laws they passed that were designed to "protect" them from falling under some evil influence. (Thus parents….....

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