Rude Rejections vs Rose-tinted Reminiscence: Ramifications of the Reconstruction Period
In class, we approached two different sets of readings approaching the Reconstruction era. In turn, the settings and attitudes of the characters featured in the readings initially approach the “opportunity” of Reconstruction differently. In Chestnutt’s “The Wife of His Youth”, we see a very clear pattern in Mr. Ryder’s (and the Blue Veins Society’s) ideology; a sect of racism which modern readers currently name as colorism. This discrimination causes Mr. Ryder and other mixed Black people to internally reject their Black identity and heritage in favor of trying desperately to gain white validation. Of course, in “The Wife of His Youth” these characters are fictional, but the story intends on being a realistic portrayal or parallel to real life circumstances. In this sense, recovery from slavery is no more than a rejection of the past; of the previous collective Black identity as chattel . The Blue Veins Socie...