CHARLES W. CHESNUTT
Reading Guide: “The Wife of His Youth”
Charles W. Chesnutt (1858-1932)
1. Read the short biography of Charles W. Chesnutt in your text or on our Learning Web.
Apply biographical criticism. What events in his life may have informed “The Wife of
His Youth”?
2. In 1880, Chesnutt writing in his journal, stated his literary aim:
"The object of my writings would not be so much the elevation of the colored people as
the elevation of the whites—for I consider the unjust spirit of caste which is so insidious
as to pervade a whole nation, and so powerful as to subject a whole race and all
connected with it to scorn and social ostracism—I consider this a barrier to the moral
progress of the American people; and I would be one of the first to head a determined,
organized crusade against it. Not a fierce indiscriminate onslaught; not an appeal to force,
for this is something that force can but slightly affect; but a moral revolution which must
be brought about in a different manner."
“The Wife of His Youth” (1899)
1. In the exposition, the narrator introduces us to the “Blue Veins.” What is this
organization? Why was it created? What are the pre-requisites for membership?
2. What is the narrative point of view of this story?
3. Where is the setting in both time and place?
4. Chart the plot of this story: exposition, conflict, rising action, climax, denouement.
5. What is Mr. Ryder contemplating as he sits pleasantly on his front porch? How are his
thoughts ironic? What does Tennyson represent for him?
6. How is Mr. Ryder’s name ironic when considering his occupation?
7. Describe the mysterious woman who arrives on the scene. Who is she? Note the sentence
which describes her as the product of a magic wand.
8. How is ‘Liza Jane dressed?
9. How does she speak? Do you have any trouble understanding her? What does her
language tell us about her past? Has the title prepared you for her entry?
10. In what way has she been sacrificed? Sacrificed for what?
11. Where is the climax of the story?
12. Is Mr. Ryder a static or dynamic character?
13. What is a possible theme or meaning of this story?
CRITICAL THINKING
1. Is the organization called the Blue Veins” racist?
2. Discuss the theme subject of assimilation in this story. Are the members of this society
concerned with status? What is often lost through assimilation?