How Does Octavia Butler Use Feminism In Kindred

“I thought I would die on the ground there with a mouth full of dirt and blood and a white man cursing and lecturing as he beat me. By then, I almost wanted to die,”– or so Dana physically and socially identifies the skewed dynamics existing within the South that greatly impact her overall character (107). In Kindred, a novel that collides science-fiction with historical fiction, Octavia Butler tells the story of an African American women who is forced to reconcile with oppression of the past as she is sent through time from 20th century California to 19th century Maryland, where she must protect the slave-master’s son: Rufus. Her experiences in the South greatly challenge and inform her sense of morality, or principles that influence the measures

After the death of Alice, Rufus lets his loneliness consume him, and tries to fill the void created by her death with Dana’s presence. This shift in personality causes Dana to reflect on his inconsistency: “And Rufus was Rufus– erratic, alternatively generous and vicious. I could accept him as my ancestor, my younger brother, my friend, but not as my master, and not as my lover. He had understood that once” (260). Here, Dana picks and pulls at the many labels that define the essence of Rufus as a whole. The phrase “younger brother” might remind the reader of when Dana jumped into the freezing river to save Rufus, an action that an older sibling might do to save the younger one, even though it puts them in immediate danger. Dana also refers to him as a “friend”, a title that could of come from Rufus’s trust in her; this could be especially noted when he doesn’t tell his father that a slave had beaten him up, simply because Dana requested he didn’t. Despite the words aforementioned with friendlier connotations, Dana also uses words such as “master” and “lover” to describe Rufus, words that could’ve potentially existed as a part of his identity if given time to further develop. He may of earned the label of “master” when he forced Dana to work in the fields even though it broke their trusting relationship, or perhaps the label “lover” when Alice died and Dana feared that she would have to fill that void left in Rufus. She is reflecting on Rufus as he represents the entirety of the Antebellum South’s environment, which later goes on to affect her actions since the core of his identity lies in these skewed, violent ideals embedded within it. Once realizing the reasons why she cannot stay with Rufus along with the aspects of the South’s society that have taken their toll, Dana