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Charles Waddell Chesnutt: Aspiration and Perception

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Charles Waddell Chesnutt: Aspiration and Perception INFORMATION TO USERS This material was produced from a microfilm copy of the original document. While the most advanced technological means to photograph and reproduce this document have been used, the quality is heavily dependent upon the quality of the original submitted. The following explanation of techniques is provided to help you understand markings or patterns which may appear on this reproduction. 1.The sign or "target" for pages apparently lacking from the document photographed is "Missing Page(s}". If it was possible to obtain the missing page(s) or section, they are spliced into the film along with adjacent pages. This may have necessitated cutting thru an image and duplicating adjacent pages to insure you complete continuity. 2. When an image on the film is obliterated with a large round black mark, it is an indication that the photographer suspected that the copy may have moved during exposure and thus cause a blurred image. You will find a good image of the page in the adjacent frame. 3. When a map, drawing or chart, etc., was part of the material being photographed the photographer followed a definite method in "sectioning" the material. It is customary to begin photoing at the upper left hand corner of a large sheet and to continue photoing from left to right in equal sections with a small overlap. If necessary, sectioning is continued again — beginning below the first row and continuing on until complete. 4. The majority of users indicate that the textual content is of greatest value, however, a somewhat higher quality reproduction could be made from "photographs" if essential to the understanding of the dissertation. Silver prints of "photographs" may be ordered at additional charge by writing the Order Department, giving the catalog number, title, author and specific pages you wish reproduced. 5. PLEASE NOTE: Some pages may have indistinct print. Filmed as received. University Microfilms International 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106 USA St. John’s Road, Tyler's Green High Wycombe, Bucks, England HP10 8HR 7819589 FERGUSON* SALLYANN HARRIS CHARLES WADDELL CHEsNUTTI ASPIRATION AND PERCEPTION. THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY* PH,D,* 1978 © 1978 SALLYANN HARRIS FERGUSON ALL RIGHTS RESERVED CHARLES WADDELL CHESNUTT: ASPIRATION AND PERCEPTION DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of the Ohio State University By SallyAnn Harris Ferguson, B.A., M.A. * A A A The Ohio State University 1978 Reading Committee: Approved By Professor Patrick Mullen Professor Carl Marshall Professor Thomas Cooley Adviser Department of English VITA August 27, 1942 ......... Born - Franklin, Virginia 1973 .................... B.A., Norfolk State College Norfolk, Virginia 1974...................... M.A., The Ohio State University Columbus, Ohio 1975-76 .................. Teaching Associate, Department 1977-78 of English, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio FIELDS OF STUDY Major Field: American Literature to 1900 Black Literature. Professor Patrick Mullen Twentieth Century British and American Literature. Professor John Muste Nineteenth-Century British Literature. Professor James Kincaid TABLE OF CONTENTS Page VITA ............................. ii INTRODUCTION ........................................... 1 Chapter I. ASPIRATION AND PERCEPTION .................. 9 II. R A C E .................................. 74 III. A R T .............................................. 110 IV. CONCLUSION ..................................... 138 BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................... 143 INTRODUCTION "The Dilemma in Chesnutt's The Marrow of Tradition," a recent article by John N. Reilly, proposes that the basic conflict in this novel is between aspiration and perception. An observer perceives the racism and cor­ ruption of the society of the novel but deliberately contradicts himself by aspiring to the ideal that Blacks and whites can live together in harmony. This kind of conflict is germane to nearly the whole spectrum of Chesnutt's fiction, the three published novels in particu­ lar. Colonel French, the protagonist of The Colonel's Dream (1905), sees but refuses to accept the deep-rooted racism of his beloved South. Therefore, he foolishly launches a futile campaign to revitalize the South through the use of the capitalistic values and techniques he found successful in the North. In a like manner, Rena of The House Behind the Cedars (1900) is given all kinds of indications that the i^hite man she loves would not accept her, if he knew she were Black. Yet, she becomes engaged to George Tryon and eventually has to accept the tragedy of his rejection as penalty for her false hope. Richard Bone explains that "Rena's social aspirations are played against the constraining effects of caste, in a manner to -1- 1 arouse the reader's indignation." The observer in The Marrow of Tradition, Colonel French, and Rena respectively aspire to brotherhood and love, only to have their aspirations thwarted again and again before the overwhelm­ ing reality of racism, which, oddly enough, they cannot help but see. The conflict between aspiration and perception in the fiction is most often mirrored in Chesnutt's themes, a collection of ideas mainly centered on economics, race and art. He was the product of the New England philan­ thropic spirit on the newly-freed Black of the late nineteenth-century. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1858, but raised in the South, Chesnutt was a man of industry, determined to make something of himself. A journal entry of April 23, 1878, shows his great enthusiasm for achieve­ ment : I will go to the Metropolis or to some other large city, and like Franklin, Greeley, and many others, there will stick. I will live somehow, but live I will, and work. I can get employ­ ment in some literary avocation, or something leading in that direction. I shall depend principally upon my knowledge of stenography, which I hope will enable me to secure a position on the staff of some good newspaper, and then--work, work, work! I will trust in God and work. This work I shall undertake not for myself alone, but for my children, for the people with whom I am connected, for humanity.2 Helen M. Chesnutt's rather eulogistic biography of her father, Charles Waddell Chesnutt: Pioneer of the Color Line (the only one as yet published), leaves the impression that economic success was the equivalent to manhood to Chesnutt. In this way, he was like many southern Blacks during the post-reconstruction era determined to disprove the racial myths that sustained American slavery. They had to make good. J. Noel Heermance in Charles W. Chesnutt: America's First Great Black Novelist explains that this zeal for economic success was a symptom of the times, and adds that "Chesnutt was very much exposed to this way of thinking . and it is clear that he was very much influenced by it."^ Therefore, one can see why Chesnutt worked so diligently to teach himself and perfect the stenographic skills that proved his economic mainstay during his lifetime. In the journal entry cited above, his main concern is not cultivating his art, but providing himself with food and shelter. Nevertheless, Chesnutt loved literature and needed to be a writer, a profession that never paid him as well as the stenography business he later set up in Cleveland, Ohio. Helen's biography tells how he reread the Pickwick Papers and Uncle Tom's Cabin for relaxation. Many early journal entries excerpted in the biography show his genuine love for literature and learning. "I've been reading Byron and Cowper today. Cowper's 'Task' is splendid."^ His daughter also tells that Chesnutt studied Latin and history, and memorized songs and poems he never forgot. That he was a voracious reader is common knowledge to those familiar with him. When Chesnutt decided to become a writer, he did so as one destined: I think I must write a book. It has been a cherished dream and I feel an influence that I cannot resist calling me to the task. A fair knowledge of the classics, speaking acquaintance with the modern languages, an intimate friendship with literature, etc., and a habit of studying character, have I think, left me not entirely unprepared to write even a book.5 Often, though, Chesnutt's desire for success (particu­ larly economic gains accompanied by social and political status) creates some interesting problems. For instance, he quit the stenography business around 1900 to devote himself entirely to writing, but returned to it in 1905 partly because his books did not sell well. He discovered that he could better support his family as a businessman than as an artist. (They were used to expensive clothes, a housekeeper, a new house in a good section of Cleveland, summer vacations in the mountains, trips to Europe, college educations for the children--the two oldest girls attended Smith concurrently and the son, Harvard, and so on.) In addition, before returning to the stenography business, Chesnutt tried to improve the sales of his books by pro­ claiming that his characters were stereotypes, like those of the plantation school. In an article published for "The Publisher’s Page" of The Cleveland World, October 30, 1901, Chesnutt wrote about Marrow: "Among the characters are a typical old 'mammy,' a faithful servant who is willing to die for his master, and an ideal old aristocrat who practically sacrifices his life to save that of his servant.One cannot assume that Chesnutt is being ironic here, since these characters are not developed beyond their stereotypes, like an Uncle Julius of the conjure tales. While portraying the ignorant, superstitious ex-slave, he reveals the horror of the slave system under which he suffered. Instead, these characters remain flat throughout the novel and indeed, live up (or down) to what Chesnutt says they are. Chesnutt's aspirations for art appear to lessen once the comforts of his family are threatened.
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