Date

5-13-2025

Document Type

Thesis

Abstract

Charles W. Chesnutt believed The Marrow of Tradition (1901) would be his magnum opus. In a letter to Booker T. Washington, he described it as “by far the best thing I have done” and in another, described how he sent it to Theodore Roosevelt, hoping it might help the president understand the race problem (McElrath 159; 169). The novel details the events of and leading up to a race riot in the fictional Wellington, North Carolina. Inspired by the 1898 coup d’etat and massacre in Wilmington, North Carolina, Chesnutt wrote The Marrow of Tradition with “the hope that it might create sympathy for the colored people of the South in the very difficult position they occupy” (McElrath 234). Much to Chesnutt’s shock and disappointment, the novel did not sell well and was not well-received by critics. Yet, in the twenty-first century, scholars are returning to the book with an increased appreciation for the succinct image of Reconstruction-era Southern society that he created to address his concerns for the future.

Department

English

Thesis Committee

Dr. Emily D. Field, Thesis Advisor
Dr. Kimberly Chabot Davis, Committee Member
Dr. Ann M. Brunjes, Committee Member

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