In Charles W. Chesnutt’s story “The Wife of His Youth” Mr. Ryder poses a hypothetical question to his Blue Veins guests after unfolding a story so touching and revealing about his past identity. The question he poses is what shall he do? After hiding for so long and trying to be immersed into the white race and not adhered to the black race it is his past that catches up with him. It is Liza Jane’s presentence that compels him to accept his true self as a black man. Mr. Ryders void of slavery, abuse and a society that does not recognize them that in truth it is he is the one who will need to acknowledge his shameful abandonment of his past and to reconcile that accepting his true identity and that it is his hard work and success is a significant achievement for the black community.
In Charles W. Chesnutt’s literature works, cultural identity was a source of strife and complication of the mind as a result of the tone of your skin color. He more than likely wanted to create a message for his people of the dangers of losing one's identity in the quest for appropriation. As he listened to Liza Jane depictions of her love “ He looked long and intently at the portrait. It was faded with time, but the features were still distinct, and it was easy to see what manner of man it represented”(16). Even though Mr Ryder worked hard to erase his past the picture told a story that he himself almost abandoned. How the right way to feel about one’s own ancestry can be overwhelming if ashamed or frightened of others reactions. Charles W. Chestnutt depicts how intelligent Mr. Ryder is as it is privy to tell that they knew from the start who he was referring to and what the outcome should justly be.
Fitting in with the white class seemed like the safest option for a passing black person in the late 1800s. The Blue Veins are a group of individuals with the means and the birthright to take advantage of society’s lack of familiarity with genetics and racial structure to operate under the guise of passing in public. Anyone can grab a gun and start a revolution especially in the 19th century so the fear that turmoil would start again stemming from the South’s hardy ideals was a very real fear for the black people living in the Northern states. The Blue Veins take it upon themselves to celebrate their passing and even are slightly open about their origins to delegate some acceptance from white society but the dangers of political tension keep them on their toes at all times.
The depiction of the “Blue Veins” is a depiction of the part of black culture that was confused about how racial tensions would continue in the United States. It spells out a paranoid and self-conscious group of people who do not want society to regress in it’s opinion of the black population so they must strive to fit in with the whites and to be unseen. To be a part of this privileged group there were some guidelines“the society consisted of individuals who were, generally speaking, more white than black. Some envious outsider made the suggestion that no one was eligible for membership who was not white enough to show blue veins”(1). The question that gets posed halfway through the story is one that says “have these people lost their way?” or more specifically “have these people lost their culture, their integrity, and themselves in the path to assimilation?” We do find the answer to this question in the final scene; it is the thought provoked that is the basis for the story itself. Do we deny our past and become an elitist because we have had the opportunity to do so or do we lift our community and for Mr. Ryder has beaten the odds.
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By 1965, only five percent of the black population lived in the Northern part of the United States and only making up one percent of the population. After the Civil War, many of the black population would become involved in involuntary labor as indentured servants rather than move to the North for a less hostile environment. The racial tensions were high post Civil War for the reason that many black people were afraid that the country was now even more unstable. The Blue Veins were a group of men and women who acclimated into society because of their light skin and mannerisms. They looked to secure their place in high society, wanting equal treatment by likening themselves to the white populace. The white race were given every privilege and do not expect otherwise, but it is Mr. Ryder who fought hard for his place hidden in disguise perhaps pondering that “The Negro race, like all races, is going to be saved by its exceptional men”(Du Bois). Never did Mr. Ryder believed this could be his destiny. The question at the beginning of Chestnutt’s story begs for those to remember who they truly are and never forsaken your blessed ancestry just to fit in with the white race.
Throughout the story Charles W. Chestnutt makes it extremely palpable that racism existed within the race. If you examine the extent of how racism affected the black population just by the pigment of their skin, such as if they were very dark, they were oppressed more compared to the light skinned. Even the Blue Veins Society group was racist from within based on the standards to be a part of the elite group. Pritha Paul’s article on Internalized Racism: Can You Be Racist Against Your Own Race? Exemplifies that “Internalized racism is the personal conscious or subconscious acceptance of the dominant society’s racist views, stereotypes and biases of one ’s ethnic group. It gives rise to patterns of thinking, feeling and behaving that result in discriminating, minimizing, criticizing, finding fault, invalidating, and hating oneself while simultaneously valuing the dominant culture”(Pritha). Thus, those who had white skin running through their veins were highly respected, allowed to join, and to some extent within their world unapproachable.
As the story ripples it becomes clear that Mr. Ryder is entangled in a situation that he could easily get out of just by denying his past and true identity and continue to move forward and marry a highly respected, rich, educated, beautiful woman who is also a member of Blue Veins. Thus, the conundrum is that if he denies his true self and never admits that he too was a former slave and is married to Liza Jane, a very simple, dark black woman who has not aged well due to her harsh life is he abandoning his true self. Mr. Ryder struggles and continues to look for acceptance from within the group by asking the question should he acknowledge her and to his relief they tell him to accept her.
Inward racism is what C.W. Chestnutt slyly writes about in relation to the Blue Veins is that it is thinly held up and may have been only instigated by society’s white counterparts to them. As “The Blue Veins did not allow that any such requirement existed for admission to their circle, but, on the contrary, declared that character and culture were the only things considered and that if most of their members were light-colored, it was because such persons, as a rule, had had better opportunities to qualify themselves for membership”(2). This is an early onset hint from C. W. Chestnutt that these people have not left the path to righteousness. They are still self-aware of who they are and where they come from. The story leads the reader to believe that there could be a glitch in the mists of the group if Mr. Ryder’s dilemma is found out, but it was never a risk he had to calculate from the start.
The essence at the heart of this story lies in the power of a distinct culture of people to adapt but not be changed at their core.
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