Redefining...Well, a Lot of Stuff

We discussed the Harriet Jacobs article somewhat in class, but I think there was more to be said about her narrative and its connection to Kindred.  One of the main points made in the article we read about Jacobs’ experience as a slave said “’true womanhood’ meant chastity and virtue,” and that “slavery makes it impossible for a black woman to live a virtuous, chaste life.”  This is certainly true of some of the characters in Butler’s novel.  In fact, one of the central issues of Kindred is Rufus’ sexual exploitation of Alice.  But within this novel Butler revises genre, especially with her character, Dana.  Dana is living in the 1970’s, right at the peak of one of the biggest feminist movements.  At this time women were transcending the idea Jacobs’ presented of women who were defined by “chastity and virtue.”  By placing Dana in the 1800’s, she is redefining Jacob’s slave narrative by presenting a black female slave who manages to maintain her virtue and chastity.  Although during the 1800’s, virtue was usually defined by a “sexual pureness,” Dana sustains other virtues (self-awareness, honesty, tolerance, and determination are just a few) that at the time weren’t usually upheld.  Combined with her education, political awareness, and sense of history, Dana is nearly the opposite of a traditional antebellum slave, the kind seen in slave narratives. 

These aspects also add up to make Dana out to be a heroic figure, albeit not necessarily the kind usually seen in science fiction and fantasy works.  Dana is your average modern woman.  In an everyday setting, the qualities Dana possesses would not necessarily be seen as anything “heroic.” However, the circumstances into which she is forced make her out to be the heroine.  In this way Butler is rewriting the classic sci-fi/fantasy novel.  (There are other aspects of this work that revise the sci-fi/fantasy genre, but that’s another story.)

There are so many ways in which Kindred redefines both the slave narrative and the science fiction and fantasy genre.  One of the effective ways, however, is through the main character, Dana.  The reader feels a certain attachment to her as the narrator of the novel, and because she is a modern woman, it makes the reader see history in a new light, one that’s perhaps easier to understand and relate to.