Mirror Dynamics Between Alice and Dana in "Kindred" Essay Example

“‘Behold the woman,’ he said. And he looked from one to the other of us. ‘You really are only one woman”’ (Butler 228). Octavia E. Butler uses her characters, Alice and Dana, two black women from two polar opposite time periods, to display the numerous similarities and differences, through their experiences of being enslaved and their romantic relationships, creating a wonderful juxtaposition throughout the eternity of the novel Kindred. Butler uses juxtaposition to further illustrate the two time periods and how things have changed ever since 1815, as well as to help the reader understand the dynamic of Dana and Alice’s ancestral relationship, representing the struggles Dana’s ancestors had to endure. 

Alice plays the role of Dana’s great-great-grandmother and as a mirror character for Dana, to represent the struggles of her ancestors. Dana and Alice are enslaved on the Weylin plantation, try to escape and both terribly fail, causing major backlash is a wonderful example of how Butler incorporates juxtaposition in her writing to enhance their ancestral relationship. In the chapter, The Fight, Alice escapes with her husband, Issac, after he knocked Rufus unconscious when he found out that Rufus raped his beloved wife, Alice. “Issac and Alice had four days of freedom together. On the fifth day, they were caught. On the seventh day, I found out about it” (Butler 143). After a wonderful “four days of freedom together” Issac and Alice were found. Alice and Issac were successful in their wonderful, “four days of freedom together”, as they are more acclimated with the time period since they were both born and raised here. These unfortunate events resulted in Issac being sold to a trader who was on his way to Mississippi, and Alice was bought by Rufus and found covered with marks and on the brink of death. Sadly, this was something normal in 1815, enslaved people would try to escape and face terrible repercussions. It was also very common that they were found after a short period of time, considering their level of education. Dana would have never thought that she would be sent back in time to 1815 and have to go through the troubles her ancestors had to face, for her to roam the Earth so freely. But oddly enough, Butler creates a similar incident where Dana, the great-great-granddaughter of Alice, tries to escape one night. She was only a couple of hours into her escape when she realized she had been followed by Rufus and Tom. “They were looking for me - already! They shouldn’t have even known yet that I was gone” (Butler 173). Dana had been on the run for barely a couple of hours until she realized that “they were looking for [her] - already!”, which came as a surprise to her, as she was very discreet when she left. She was almost certain that she would not get caught, especially this soon, as Alice and Issac were free for four days and they are not nearly as educated as she is. Dana was counting on her education and knowledge from studying the map of Maryland and looking at Tom Weylin’s books to come in handy, and keep her from getting caught. Just like in Alice’s case Dana tries to escape from the Weylin plantation, so she can try to find her way back to Kevin and because she had endured enough abuse from that family. Unfortunately, she gets caught by Rufus and his father when she was about to get trampled by Rufus’s horse. These events truly make her sympathize with the struggles of her ancestors. She realizes that she is not that different from Alice as they have endured so much suffering, but still manage to persevere and hope for the best. This is another example of how Butler incorporates juxtaposition in her novel, to demonstrate the similarities and contrasts between the two characters and time periods, really teaching Dana about the struggles of her ancestors.

Butler incorporates juxtaposition in her novel through the couples Alice and Rufus, as well as Dana and Kevin, both interracial couples, but from two different time periods, signifying the connection and evolution between Dana and Alice. At the beginning of the chapter  The Fight the reader is introduced to the relationship between Dana and Kevin. After receiving hate from both sides of their families and facing many ups and downs in their relationship, they rethink their decision to get married, “‘Are we going to get married?’ I went to him. ‘You know damn well we are”’ (Butler 116). This is a key example of how their relationship differs from Alice and Rufus’s, as Dana and Kevin both consensually agreed to their marriage, “you know damn well we are '', rather than one of them enforcing it upon the other. Their relationship is heavily envied by Rufus, as they both are in love with the other and obtain an equal hold of power in their relationship, unlike with him and Alice. Demonstrating the value they have for one another. Unfortunately, Alice does not have a choice, as Rufus is a slave owner and she is both legally and figuratively ‘his property’. When Dana finds out Rufus raped Alice, she confronts him, and that's when she learns his side of the story, “I was beginning to realize that he loved the woman—to her misfortune. There was no shame in raping a black woman, but there could be shame in loving one. ‘I didn't want to just drag her off into the bushes,’ said Rufus. "I never wanted it to be like that. But she kept saying no. I could have had her in the bushes years ago if that was all I wanted”’ (Butler 124). Alice and Rufus’s relationship is unusual for their time period, as Rufus is a slave owner and Alice is a slave. But, all Rufus wants is for Alice to love him back, even though they have been raised in a time period where she is viewed as inferior compared to him. Rufus tries to justify his terrible actions to Dana, as she is shocked when she hears that he raped Alice, even though his actions are ‘normalized’ in his time period. He says that his actions were purely out of love,  and he “never wanted it to be like that”, which Dana sees after he goes to tremendous lengths to get her back and to keep her happy and healthy after all that she has gone through. Even though it is evident that he loves her it is still shocking to Dana because she could never imagine Kevin doing such terrible things to her. Butler creating the relationships in such an articulate manner shows the evolution between the two time periods and the struggles Dana’s ancestors had to face, allowing for her to be in such a loving relationship.

Octavia E. Butler’s use of juxtaposition in the novel Kindred through the use of interracial couples from two different time periods, as well as the struggles that enslaved women from two different time periods, go through, deepens the divide between the two time periods and demonstrates the numerous tragedies Dana’s ancestors had to face, for her to live such a wonderful life.