Analysis Of Octavia E. Butler's Kindred '

In the speculative historical novel Kindred, author Octavia E. Butler writes a story of an African American woman named Dana, who is married to a white man named Kevin, during the 1970s and their time traveling journey back to the 1800s. The novel is written in first person narrative through Dana, but involves a large variety of supporting characters each with a pivotal and emotional role in the story which is a direct representation of the title itself. The plot is developed as Dana is called back to the past to save the life of a white man named Rufus Weylin who is revealed to be Dana’s ancestor and shockingly a future slave holder. Due to this circumstance, dependency is a theme ironically weaved throughout the novel as she attempts to conform to a time in society when race, gender inequality, and lack of education ultimately cause tribulation.

The dependent relationship between Rufus and Dana can be labeled ironic because Rufus’s survival relies on Dana’s ability to save him, yet she may only live if he survives long enough to reproduce, and she explains this when she says, “If I was to live, if others were to live, he must live.

I didn’t dare test the paradox” (15). Not only is Rufus depending on Dana to save his life, but eventually he depends on her to improve his reading, to repair his relationship with Alice, and to care for his mother. Following, Dana depends on Rufus and their undeniable connection to ensure her a temporary home on the plantation, occasional special treatment. Though as time begins to pass, the situations become more unpredictable and her safety is endangered often times by Rufus himself. Ironically, her fear for life is the force that is able to send her back to 1976, and Kevin explains this when he says, “Your coming home has never had anything to do with him. You come home when your life is in danger”

(276).
As the dependency between Rufus and Dana builds throughout the novel other examples between varying characters are evident. In example, Kevin and Dana naturally depend upon one other due to their marriage, but during their time of the plantation Dana needed Kevin to act as her owner while Kevin needed Dana to return to their time. Subtle forms of dependency include Dana reliance on characters like Aunt Sarah, Nigel, and Carrie to assist her in learning the cultural norms for the time so she is better acclimated and act as though she belongs there. This presents a new form of irony as well, because these individuals are unable to read or write, but are essentially teaching her information more useful than literacy. It is Dana’s education that alienates her from the others, and usually in a negative light. She is whipped for teaching Nigel to read, scolded for using elevated vocabulary, and ultimately fails attempting to escape even though she knew the rivers, roads, and overall route.
Dana openly admits her defeats in the novel, and openly questions her purpose when she says, “I was the worst possible guardian for him— a black to watch over him in a society that considered blacks subhuman, a woman to watch over him in a society that considered women perennial children” (59). Her skin tone, gender, and education all present challenges that are necessary for building both dependency, and irony on the plantation. Though some characteristics caused her to attract negative light, family like relationships bloomed as a result and because of this irony evolved. Overall, the novel pairs the two as themes to strengthen the relationships between the characters as a reflection of the novel’s title Kindred.