The Wife Of His Youth

Reading Check

1. Poetry (Part 1)

2. “[T]he upward process of absorption” (Part 1)

3. 25 years (Part 2)

4. His reflection in the mirror (Part 2)

Short Answer

1. The “Blue Vein Society” is a social club in the North for light-skinned Black Americans, as its name derives from having skin so white that blue veins can be seen. With the exception of a few members, only those with “character and culture” as well as “free birth” are able to join. (Part 1)

2. Mrs. Dixon, a newcomer to Groveland, is a young widow who has light skin and a large life insurance left from her late husband. Mr. Ryder is taken with her and decides to host a ball where he will ask her to marry him. (Part 1)

3. Liza, formerly enslaved, is searching for her husband, who escaped from being sold by their enslaver before the end of the war. She spent the last 25 years searching for him. Mr. Ryder offers many possible solutions as to why she has not found him, for example, he died or found another wife, but Liza is resolute that he is still alive and looking for her. (Part 2)

4. At the ball, Mr. Ryder shares Liza’s story, followed by another story of a man who, after learning his wife was sold into slavery, moved to the North where he embraced a new life and slowly forgot about the past—until he saw his wife 25 years later.