Dana and Alice
Throughout Kindred, we as the readers were always careful to recognize that even though some of the characters from 1976 and the early 1800s parallel each other, these are small patterns. This idea is interesting to study in terms of Dana and Alice, from the eyes of Rufus. I had slightly noticed their similarities throughout the novel, mainly because they were both very strong-willed and rebellious if needed. However, I only began to really observe their similarities and differences when Rufus explicitly called them “two halves of the same woman.”
As Rufus grew up, Dana was never really a sexual figure to him. In his child/teenage years, Dana is more of a sisterly figure in that they bicker very much and she is often responsible for his safety. As they become the same age, the dynamic shifts to the point where Dana is almost like Rufus’ moral compass. There is something sacred about their relationship where Dana receives more respect than the other women in the novel and Rufus listens to her more. In this way, I think that Rufus develops romantic love for Dana, because he truly does respect her intelligence. It is clear that he is jealous when she receives attention from other men, especially when Dana says things like, “I already have a husband - Kevin.” As he develops this love, he wants to act upon sexual feelings for her, but knows that it is a boundary he cannot cross, or he will risk losing Dana forever. Plus, his sexual needs are met as he continually abuses Alice.
As long as Alice is alive, Rufus completely sexualizes her. Though, the fact that Dana recognizes Rufus’ love for Alice means that Rufus also understands Alice’s intelligence. It seems that Rufus is mostly interested in sexual acts only if he holds love for the person. As long as both Alice and Dana are alive, Rufus is able to have his romantic needs met by Dana and his sexual needs met by Alice. Yet, I believe that Rufus’ attempted rape of Dana is an exact consequence of his needs not being met as soon as Alice dies. He has suddenly lost half of his ideal woman, and is selfish/naive enough to do whatever it takes to regain that – even if it means losing Dana forever.
Ultimately, I think that Butler deliberately portrays this contrast between the two women to show the abuse black woman faced in slavery. She also emphasizes the timelessness of these characters. Although a century apart, both of these women possess similar levels of bravery and power, even if wildly different contexts (Alice’s being far more difficult). Butler’s use of time travel with Dana showed the reader what it would be like for a modern woman to enter a time of slavery. Maybe her use of similarity between Alice and Dana is pushing the reader to wonder if Alice would act similarly to Dana if placed into 1976. Nonetheless, the two women are similar, but are most definitely whole on their own instead of halves to each other.
The parallels between Dana and Alice are indeed explicit, one major part being that they're related. I agree that Rufus' relationship with the two women follow this parallel. Your sentence in the last paragraph on how Alice might have acted if she came to 1976 made me remember a thought I had while reading about how a character from the Weylin plantation would have acted if they were transported to 1976. It certainly would be a massive change, but your point on Alice acting similarly to Dana is interesting. Great post!
ReplyDeleteI really like your final point about Alice and Dana each being whole and unique and developed on their own. It really highlights the importance of not letting Rufus's twisted perspective guide how we see them as characters. Your point about romantic attachment and sexualization on the flip side are crucial for defining Rufus's perspective on them and serve to explain his actions at various points throughout the narrative. Very well thought-out post.
ReplyDeleteIn this line of thinking, it is kind of interesting to think about how Alice and Dana's feelings towards Rufus seem to contrast a lot of the time. When Alice hates him. Dana seems to still have amicable feelings towards him. When Alice seems to warm up to him (at least a little) towards the end, Dana is as cold as she has ever been towards him. It has bothered me for a while that Dana didn't offer Alice her knife when she was debating whether to go to Rufus or not. I guess if they are two halves of the same, she eventually got her revenge.
ReplyDeleteAs connected as Dana and Alice are, it's important to understand that their situations are fundamentally different. Dana has a vested interest in enabling Rufus's rape of Alice--without that piece of history, she wouldn't exist. This complication prevents Dana from giving truly objective advice to Alice at any point during the novel. But once Hagar is born, Dana has no reason to keep Rufus alive and she finally musters the courage to end everything once and for all.
ReplyDeleteOne of the things that sticks out most to me with this Dana - Alice parallel is everyone (in the book) commenting how alike they look. I know this is not a real story or anything and that I shouldn't take everything too seriously but I keep on getting caught up in this. How similar can they really look to each other. There's a large generation gap between them, probably around 5-6 generations. After all the time and all the new family lines introduced to the tree, how alike can they really look? Could it possibly be enough for this parallel to be drawn between them? (Again I know it's a stupid thing to be caught on considering it is fiction but whatever.)
ReplyDeleteI think that this is a really interesting way of looking at Rufus's view on Dana and Alice. I think that Dana does take the motherly figure for Rufus with the absence of his own mother, yet Alice is the one he loved. However, I think that Rufus did have a little bit of a thing for Dana in the back of his mind before Alice's death. Kevin hints at this, and before Rufus shoots the two, he says something along the lines of "i can't let you leave me" which makes it seem like a bit more than just a motherly figure. Nice post!
ReplyDeleteThis is a really good analysis! Another parallel between Alice and Dana that we discussed in class is that they both undergo this specific horror of being born free, and then forced into slavery as adults. This adds another dimension to Butler's exploration of how people are shaped by their contexts, and, starting as early as the scene where Dana witnesses Alice's father being whipped, we see similarities in how Dana and Alice are absorbed into this system.
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