Summary Of Charles Chesnutt's 'The Wife Of His Youth'

English 2202-014
Love Has No Color
After reading 19th century author Charles Chesnutt’s The Wife of His Youth, one may feel mislead. The story gives a sense of the struggle that many people, mainly colored, had to face. It represents the south in a way such as to exhibit the racial slander of African-Americans. The focal point is mainly on a tenuous gathering held to honor, recognize, and appreciate the character known as Molly Dixon. It may seem as though the main character, Mr. Ryder has intentions to commit, but he is truly embraced and interrupted by past relations.
Mr. Ryder was possibly considered as “the dean of the Blue Veins”. This means he symbolized a leader or should one say an idol of some sort. This group in which he was
Ryder as a man who had wants. “He generally shared his house with some young couple, who were company for him” (Chesnutt). This suggests that Mr. Ryder was quite lonely, and maybe hoped for some sort of companionship. Somehow he was a single man, although “he had been regarded as quite a catch, and ladies and their mothers had maneuvered with much ingenuity to capture him.” “Not, however, until Mrs. Molly Dixon visited Groveland had any woman ever made him wish to change his condition to that of a married man”(Chesnutt). There was something about Molly Dixon that obviously caught Mr. Ryder’s eye, for him to even consider changing his relationship status after appearing to be batching it for so long. “Mr. 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 by the vivacity of her wit.” He was drawn to Molly Dixon because of her way with words, her beauty and also her enthusiasm. “She had not seemed displeased at Mr. Ryder 's attentions, but on the contrary had given him every proper encouragement; indeed, a younger and less cautious man would long since have spoken”(Chesnutt). Mrs. Dixon was pleased by the recognition she was receiving from Mr. Ryder, considering his social standing and his character altogether. Chesnutt shows the intenseness of the feelings that Mr. Ryder may have for Molly Dixon by referring to the suggestion of
Ryder wanted the ball that he was throwing for Molly Dixon to be better than any ball that had ever been held in town. This is suggested by Chesnutt, “Mr. Ryder resolved that this ball should mark an epoch in the social history of Groveland. He knew, of course, -- no one could know better, -- the entertainments that had taken place in past years, and what must be done to surpass them. His ball must be worthy of the lady in whose honor it was to be given, and must, by the quality of its guests, set an example for the future” (Chesnutt). He was a man who took a liking to poetry, and planned on reading an excerpt at the ball, but he received a sort of disturbance which caused an entire change of plans. “She was a little woman, not five feet tall, and proportioned to her height. Although she stood erect, and looked around her with very bright and restless eyes, she seemed quite old; for her face was crossed and recrossed with a hundred wrinkles, and around the edges of her bonnet could be seen protruding here and there a tuft of short gray wool” (Chesnutt). Liza Jane was an old African-American woman, who played a very important part in Chesnutt’s story in which he was telling. She was very inquisitive and hopeful. Liza Jane came to Mr. Ryder in search of her husband whom she was married to back in slavery days; Chesnutt uses this situation to portray the seriousness of Liza Jane’s mission. Mr. Ryder seemed to be unaware and very doubtful that she would have any luck finding