Charles Waddell Chesnutt

The Conjure Woman Charles Waddell Chesnutt

Charles Chesnutt was an African American writer. Chesnutt was an early pioneer is writing about African American folklore and racial identity. He wrote about lynchings, segregation and the hypocrisy of American values in the post Civil War South. The stories in The Conjure Woman are written in a frame narrative. The outer frame is told by John a white northerner who bought a vineyard in North Carolina after the Civil War. John and his wife listen to stories told by Julius a former slave who works for them. The stories told by Julius are filled with hauntings, transfiguration, and conjurings. Chesnutt's stories gave 19th century white readers a critical glimps at slavery. Chesnutt and his publishers did not tell the reader that Chesnutt was African American for fear of the acceptance of the book.