"The Wife of His Youth" is a short story by Charles W. Chesnutt, first published in 1898. It is a poignant tale of love, race, and the difficulties faced by African Americans in the late 19th century.
The story follows the life of a man named Mr. Ryder, a wealthy and successful African American businessman who has lived his entire life in the North. Despite his success, Mr. Ryder has always felt a sense of longing and regret for the woman he left behind in the South when he fled the dangers of racial violence and segregation.
This woman is Liza Jane, the titular "wife of his youth" who Mr. Ryder married when he was just a young man. Despite the passage of time, Mr. Ryder has never forgotten Liza Jane and the love they shared. However, he has always been too ashamed to contact her, fearing that she would reject him due to the social stigma associated with interracial relationships.
As the years pass, Mr. Ryder becomes increasingly lonely and begins to realize the true cost of his decision to leave Liza Jane behind. He decides to take a trip to the South to see if he can find Liza Jane and perhaps reconnect with her after all these years.
Upon arriving in the South, Mr. Ryder discovers that Liza Jane is still alive and living in a small, impoverished town. Despite the many hardships she has faced, Liza Jane is still a kind and loving woman, and she is overjoyed to see Mr. Ryder again.
As Mr. Ryder and Liza Jane spend time together, they rediscover their love for each other and decide to get married again. However, their happiness is short-lived, as the harsh realities of racism and segregation in the South soon threaten to tear them apart once again.
Despite the many obstacles they face, Mr. Ryder and Liza Jane refuse to let their love be defeated by the forces of hatred and bigotry. In the end, they stand together, united in their love and determination to overcome the challenges of the world around them.
"The Wife of His Youth" is a powerful and moving tale of love and perseverance in the face of adversity. It serves as a reminder that, even in the darkest of times, love and hope can always triumph over hatred and bigotry.
The wife of his youth, and other stories of the color line : Chesnutt, Charles W. (Charles Waddell), 1858
It would do you no good to have it known that you were shot while attempting to escape. When she had turned the corner, he went upstairs to his bedroom, and stood for a long time before the mirror of his dressing-case, gazing thoughtfully at the reflection of his own face. The war had scattered the people so that I could find no one who knew about a lost child saved from a river wreck. His views were not popular, and he sold out his lands a year before the war, with the intention of moving to Europe. 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. He closed the case, and with a slow movement handed it back to her. There was in her nature a childish strain that craved sympathy and comforting.
The wife of his youth, and other stories of the color line; : Chesnutt, Charles Waddell, 1858
He made a brief introductory speech, complimenting host and guests, and then presented in their order the toasts of the evening. She was visiting friends in Groveland, and, finding the town and the people to her liking, had prolonged her stay indefinitely. Your slave marriage would not have prevented him, for you never lived with him after the war, and without that your marriage does n't count. John, my family is as good as yours. His residence was handsomely furnished, containing among other things a good library, especially rich in poetry, a piano, and some choice engravings. There are many who would have searched a year, some who would have waited five years, a few who might have hoped ten years; but for twenty-five years this woman has retained her affection for and her faith in a man she has not seen or heard of in all that time. Hohlfelder had been fond of her in a placid way, and had given her every comfort and luxury her means permitted.
The Wife of His Youth
He shaped its social policy, was active in providing for its entertainment, and when the interest fell off, as it sometimes did, he fanned the embers until they burst again into a cheerful flame. I could dance; we had this hall, and it was not rented all the time, so I opened a dancing-school. He began by speaking of woman as the gift of Heaven to man, and after some general observations on the relations of the sexes he said: "But perhaps the quality which most distinguishes woman is her fidelity and devotion to those she loves. There are very few now. She wore a blue calico gown of ancient cut, a little red shawl fastened around her shoulders with an old-fashioned brass brooch, and a large bonnet profusely ornamented with faded red and yellow artificial flowers. But the wife did not recognize him. There are many who would have searched a year, some who would have waited five years, a few who might have hoped ten years; but for twenty-five years this woman has retained her affection for and her faith in a man she has not seen or heard of in all that time.
The Wife of His Youth and Other Stories of the Color Line : Charles Waddell Chesnutt : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
Suppose, even, that he had qualified himself, by industry, by thrift, and by study, to win the friendship and be considered worthy the society of such people as these I see around me to-night, gracing my board and filling my heart with gladness; for I am old enough to remember the day when such a gathering would not have been possible in this land. For the story had awakened a responsive thrill in many hearts. He told it in the same soft dialect, which came readily to his lips, while the company listened attentively and sympathetically. Though he had not been among the founders of the society, but had come in some years later, his genius for social leadership was such that he had speedily become its recognized adviser and head, the custodian of its standards, and the preserver of its traditions. Ryder had at first been attracted by her charms of person, for she was very good looking and not over twenty-five; then by her refined manners and the vivacity of her wit. When I found the door open, I knew something was wrong, and when I heard voices I crept upstairs, and reached the top just in time to hear him say he would kill you. The existence of the Blue Veins society….
