Kindred is the story of a strong woman from a comfortable but not ideal 1976, who travels back in time to XIX on the estate of slave owner Tom Whalen. Her experience is full of terrifying things, which the country used to consider as usual. The novel shows the reader the horrors of the past, which still threaten people in modern days. Butler masterfully denounces discrimination based on race and gender, and through a metaphor of time traveling, shows how modern women can be subjected to injustice, oppression, and violence in modern times.
Dana is the novel’s main character; she is a strong woman who fights for her dream, love, and profession. The story begins on June 9, 1976, the day of Dana’s twenty-sixth birthday, when she and her husband Kevin move into a new house. On this day, Dana feels dizzy and finds herself traveling in the past for the first time, where she saves her ancestor Rufus’s life. Her desire to save his life was heartfelt, as was her love for Kevin, but she faces undeserved insults from the men’s relatives in both cases.
In the next chapter, Butler takes readers even further into a world where some people behave with impunity and others are subjected to unfair violence. One can see that any black woman of that time could have been sexually assaulted, and if she tried to defend herself, she would be severely beaten. By depriving a woman of her human rights, reducing her to the state of an object, the slaveholders themselves lose the human image. The author shows people who use their position to satisfy their base desires at the expense of unprotected individuals. Such abuse of power and privilege is still taking place all over the world at present.
It was mentioned earlier that Dana and her husband Kevin’s relationship is built on mutual sympathy, which grew out of common interests and similar life experiences. However, society does not care about these people’s spiritual closeness; society’s primary concern is the color of their skin. The reader can see that Dana and Kevin were forced to keep their relationship a secret and act strictly following the roles imposed on them by society. Dana was beaten up just for reading a book because it was not allowed for anyone, but white slaveowners. The author shows how under society’s pressure, some of its members, even without having a natural tendency to violence, turn into monsters.
In the chapter “The Fight,” the author further reveals the horrors of slavery on the part of women. It is excruciating to retell and analyze this part’s events. Alice is subjected to such outrageous abuse that her death from her perspective seems to be the only favorable outcome. Today, millions of women worldwide are forced to live with men they do not love because they have no protection, education, and social elevators are not available to them. The author rightly denounces society’s hypocrisy with the phrase, “It was so easy to advise other people to live with their pain” (Butler, 2004). This phrase also refers readers to the understanding of the behavior of other slaves, who, knowing the consequences, do not dare to speak out against injustice and oppression. It was such a painful and colorful illustration when Dana persuades Alice to sleep with Rufus because submitting is the only way to avoid further torment.
In the following chapters, Butler writes more about these strong women facing challenges but retaining their humanity, faith, loyalty, and love. For them, the most ordinary life is an unattainable dream, for which they have to pay both physically and spiritually. Dana loses her arm to escape from her ancestor. The scariest part is that it does not seem to be the highest possible price for freedom. Butler created a stunning piece that reflects modern realities, and it shows women who are in a constant fight for ordinary rights and fair life.
Reference
Butler, O. (2004). Kindred. Beacon Press.