The Wife of His Youth

One thing I was trying to get from the story, "The Wife of His Youth," was whats the point?  Chesnutt always had a point to make in his work, and for a while it eluded me.  But I think I cracked it, and I think that it is a statement about how you cant hide from your past.  Even though Mr. Ryder had done everything in his power to shed away his past, it ended up right at his door step.  But the way that he dealt with it was how any reasonable and civilized person would, even thought it took a while, by addressing it head on.  I think this is a statement about how the past, no matter how different it maybe, needs to be embraced and remembered.  It does not mean it should drag you down, but any attempt to forget it or bleach it from your memory is futile and you would be lying to yourself in the process.  Thoughts?