Charles Stuart was a white man living in Boston who, in 1989, violently murdered his pregnant wife. Then, he shot himself in the stomach and claimed that an armed Black assailant had attacked them both. While Stuart’s brother—an accomplice in the crime—eventually confessed to Stuart’s involvement, Stuart’s decision to scapegoat the Black community illustrated the profound effects of caste. As a white man, Stuart belonged to the U.S.’s dominant caste—and Wilkerson uses his story to illustrate that a member of the dominant caste will always be believed over a member of the subordinate one.
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Charles Stuart Character Timeline in Caste
The timeline below shows where the character Charles Stuart appears in Caste. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter Twelve: A Scapegoat to Bear the Sins of the World
Wilkerson tells the story of a Boston couple, Charles Stuart and Carol DiMaiti Stuart , who were expecting their first child in the fall of 1989. While driving home...
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