The Wife of His Youth

Stick With Your Love One

In Charles Chestnutt's "The Wife of His Youth," Liza Jane is a woman who is determined to find her long lost husband, Sam Taylor. When he ran away from slavery and escaped up north, he left his wife behind. He changed his name to Mr. Ryder, to forget his past with slavery. Soon he became involved with a group called the Blue Veins, which were a group of people who believed in the preservation of light skinned blacks. In this group he was known as the dean. The Blue Vein society thought that dark skinned blacks were dirt and ignorant. Many years went by and Liza still felt that Sam was in love with her and that they would be back together.

Liza was determined to find Sam. She searched for twenty-five years first going to many southern cities. Everywhere she went she could not find Sam. She then furthered her search by moving northward still looking for Sam Taylor. Groveland, Washington D.C was the first place she went. There she met Mr. Ryder. He was well known in the city for his wealth, intelligence, and leadership. Liza thought Mr. Ryder could help her find her husband because of his popularity, she told him her story.

It was very clear through Liza's story that she loved Sam. When they were slaves, Liza told him that he was going to be sold and took a beating for him. Before he

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was sold Sam ran away and moved up north. Since they could not find him, the slave owners sold Liza instead.

When the Civil War ended, Liza was freed she set out to look for her husband. Liza believed that one day she and Sam were going to find each other and be together. Mr. Ryder listened to her story and asked her questions. How did she survive? What if Sam has forgotten her? What if he has married a different woman? She continued to tell him how she cooked for different families and moved from place to place. She also told him that she did not think he would ever marry again until he found her.

There were three dreams that Liza had that showed her finding Sam. This guided her to believe that he was still alive. Liza's dreams proved to be true. Liza found her long lost husband and had a conversation with him. Not knowing or recognizing that Mr. Ryder was her husband, she showed him an old picture of himself as Sam Taylor. He knew the