Mental Health In Octavia Butler's Kindred

Throughout Kindred, there is a noticeable difference between what a black woman is allowed to do in the 1970’s than in the 1800’s. Dana is able to publicly pursue her writing career, while marrying a white man. The progression of the American black woman is a form of feminism. This same feminism was seen in Dana’s ancestor, Alice. She explored her version of freedom by committing suicide, and no longer being a slave to her sorrows. However, the personalities of Dana and Alice, along with other female slave characters, changed from what they were at the beginning of the book. The treatment the slaves received had an effect on their mental health. Is there a hidden point in Kindred that untreated mental health during slavery should be a point …show more content…
Mental illness is a hereditary issue that was passed down from slaves due to it being untreated. It is hard to support the condition if the treatments and consequences are not known. This effects how mental illness is treated in present day. During slavery, African-Americans coped with their faith in God, or whatever practice they chose. Christianity became normal amongst the black community, and the idea that prayer can heal everything became popular. Overtime, people believed that they could pray away depression, anxiety, and other bad feelings. Dana could tune into the slavery period except when it was time to take care of Alice. She noticed that she was not the same, but she just decided to deal with instead of trying to talk about it. However, when Dana was caught running away, Alice made it her duty to help her feel better. This routine from victim, to aid, to victim again make it hard to heal. Alice no longer had time to come to terms with loss and becoming. It was time to help one of the few people who accepted her at the Weylin’s. Once Dana realized how wounded Alice was, it was too late. She watched the roots of her family tree break a part in front her eyes. If the issue of mental illness is ignored, people will remain ignorant. Along with mental health, people are not used to talking about slavery. Not talking about it does not mean it did not happen. There needs to be healthy discussions at home and in classrooms in order to provide comfort. Once people are comfortable opening up their wounds, they can heal them. History allows people to access the areas where they are confused or interested in how they got to where they are. Dana was allowed to portray Octavia’s Butler message through her characterization. The message that slave ancestors did all they could to get African-Americans to where they are