A Feminist Portrayal of Women

There are many myths about women such as, "women are kinder and gentler than men”, “women have better manners”, and “women are more mature than men”, but the theory of feminism states that males and females are equal both socially and politically. After the civil war, the belief of colorism created a rather unequal portrayal of men and women. Colorism was the belief of the mixing of races between white and black and was commonly seen between white slave holders and black slave women. The many different shades of white and black that were established made it hard to tell who was truly pure of one color, and this created a disparity among both men and women. Women were already seen as inferior to men, and this sudden mixing of races created an even greater biased view of the female race. Despite this inequality, Charles W. Chesnutt’s, The Wife of His Youth, is a feminist narrative because two women characters are portrayed as equal to men through their appearances, through their manners, and through the opinion of the Blue Vein Society.