The House Behind the Cedars (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters)
At a glance:
- Author: Charles Waddell Chesnutt
- First Published: 1900
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Social realism
- Time of Work: The late 1860’s
- Setting: North and South Carolina
- 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
Characters Discussed
Rowena (Rena) Walden, the beautiful, young heroine of mixed race, whose skin is sufficiently light for her to pass as white. Reared as a black child in the small town of Patesville, Rena resigns herself to the limitations of her existence until the unexpected reappearance of her brother John. At his invitation, Rena joins him in South Carolina, where she passes for white, attends a white finishing school, is accepted into Charleston society, and falls in love with George Tryon, a chivalrous young white man. Idealistic and intelligent, Rena enjoys the...
[The entire page is 1105 words long]
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