The House Behind the Cedars (Masterplots II: African American Literature Series)
At a glance:
- Author: Charles Waddell Chesnutt
- First Published: 1900
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Social realism
- Time of Work: The Reconstruction era
- Setting: North Carolina and South Carolina
- Principal Characters: Rowena (Rena) Walden, John (Walden) Warrick, George Tryon, Molly Walden, Frank Fowler, Jeff Wain
- Genres: Long fiction, Social realism
- Subjects: African Americans, Racism, Love or romance, Race, South or Southerners, Nineteenth century, Guilt
- Locales: South (U.S.), Carolinas, North Carolina, South Carolina
The Novel
The House Behind the Cedars is a story about the efforts of two mulattoes to pass for white in the post-Civil War South. Through John and Rena Walden, Charles Chesnutt depicts both a successful and an unsuccessful attempt at “passing.”
John’s adventure into the white world is successful. As a child, the light-skinned John decides that he is more white than black and, therefore, has the right to enjoy all of the privileges of a white man. After serving as an apprentice lawyer in Judge Straight’s office and after reviewing the laws regarding...
[The entire page is 3009 words long]
Join eNotes
Over 3,500 study guides, question and answer forums, literature criticism, reference content, and much more!
Navigate
See Also
