of the American government and by racism and
white supremacy. Julius’s tales not only condemn
slavery but also criticize the system that continued
to disenfranchise and displace African Americans
in Chesnutt’s day.
John fails to see the true purpose of Julius’s
stories. As a northern opportunist, he under-
stands only the financial importance of the land
and its people to his own prosperity. His blindness
signifies the country’s inability to see the damage
done by past oppression and prejudice. Neverthe-
less, Julius’s tales should affect the reader more
in the manner that they do Annie. The storytell-
ing is sometimes meant to ease Annie’s suffering,
as does “Sis Becky’s Pickanniny,” a tale about a
slave mother (Sis Becky) and son (little Mose)
who are reunited through the conjuring skills of
Aun’ Peggy, a “conjuh ‘oman.” As such, “conjure”
stories offer magic remedies and ways for those
living in the present to heal from the diseases of
slavery and racism.
The nine short stories that make up The Wife
of His Youth and Other Stories of the Color Line are
more varied in their tone and style. In the titular
piece, Chesnutt examines attitudes toward light-
skinned blacks living in Groveland (Cleveland),
Ohio. The lighter, middle-class African Ameri-
cans form “Blue Vein Societies” as an exclusive
act against their darker brethren. In doing so,
some members have turned their backs on their
past and their identities. Though not a true “pass-
ing” story, the work criticizes anyone who forgets
the prices paid for African-American freedom
by men and women of all hues. “The Sheriff ’s
Children” considers the moral problems of mis-
cegenation in the post-Reconstructionist South.
Having fathered two children—one by a white
woman, one by a black—the sheriff epitomizes
the historical implications of mixed-race couples
and their children. Symbolically, the South is the
father of both children, accountable to both fu-
tures. Its inability to care for and nurture all of
its children results in the tragedy at the end of
the story. Believing she is protecting her father,
the sheriff ’s innocent, white daughter shoots and
kills the darker, half brother she never knew. The
racial violence exacts a ritual reenactment of race
relationships in the South as well as the inevitable
violence that results from the failure to accept the
responsibilities of the past. Another story, “The
Passing of Grandison,” written in the vein of some
of the “conjure” tales, uses satirical humor to il-
lustrate the tricksterism and intelligence of slaves.
Grandison outwits nearly every white man in the
story to bring his entire family North to freedom,
all the while pretending to be the “happy darky”
embodied by a figure like Uncle Remus.
Chesnutt’s first novel, The House behind the
Cedars, presents a story of “passing” but stops
short of being a typical “tragic mullato/a” tale.
Another work set in Groveland, the novel follows
the lives of a brother and sister, John and Rena
Walden. John has been passing for some time
and returns home to convince his sister to do the
same. After all, John seems happy and content
in his decision. Chesnutt points out that such a
decision is not without its consequences. When
Rena finds love, she is unable to share the truth
of her identity. Some part of her will always be
hidden. After she is revealed to her love, George
Tyron, he dismisses her. Heartbroken, she tries to
rebuild her life. For a while she finds peace, but
she ultimately succumbs to illness. Tyron realizes
his mistake too late, and before he can ask for
forgiveness and confess his love, Rena has died.
Chesnutt uses the love affair to suggest that pass-
ing and miscegenation do not just affect African
Americans. The moral problem of the culture
leads to suffering for whites and blacks alike. Love
cannot overcome racism or the lie of passing.
The Marrow of Tradition remains one of Ches-
nutt’s finest achievements and a powerful social /
protest novel of African-American literature. Like
The House behind the Cedars, it considers the is-
sues of passing and miscegenation, but operating
at its center is the Wilmington massacre of 1898
(Wilmington, North Carolina, is recast here as
Wellington). The massacre was the result of po-
litical maneuvering that used lynching as a ter-
rorist tactic to determine an important election.
The work also engages Twain’s Pudd’nhead Wilson
and questions the accident of birth and the fate of
race in determining a person’s worth in American
society. Though the work never successfully “edu-100 Chesnutt, Charles W.