Slavery Exposed In Octavia Butler's Kindred

In Octavia Butler’s Kindred, Dana and Kevin is an interracial couple that experience conflicts from the past and from their own present-day lives. Dana and Kevin’s marriage is clearly a marriage of equals, but they face prejudice from their families that do not approve of their marriage. They can travel to the antebellum south through the Afrofuturism aspect of time travel which exposes them to the harmful effects of slavery. The harmful effects are seen by them firsthand between Rufus and Alice, an interracial couple of the past. Within these time jumps, Dana and Kevin’s relationship adjust to the past social structure, changing them but not their feelings for each other. Despite all these pressures, they can make their relationship work no matter what. This relationship is a prime example of the …show more content…
Kevin and Dana must play similar roles to Rufus and Alice to fit in. Kevin decided to play the role of Dana’s slave master to hide the fact that they are married. Rufus agrees to the idea, "That's better than saying you're his wife. Nobody would believe that"(65). The best thing for Dana to do is tell people that Kevin is her white master. This is the best idea, no one would believe that a black woman and white man could be married. They adjust to their roles, and they stay faithful to each other even though people like Margaret and the slaves disapprove of Dana being close to the whites. Her final time jump, adds pressure when the mention of her to marry again since Kevin is not with her, she responds with, "One husband is enough for me"(230). Dana denies Rufus' suggestion that she should find a husband now that she's stuck in the 1800s. Dana insists that she only wants one husband and that she'll get back to him no matter what it takes. She’s not influenced by the threat of her being stuck in the past. she is still loyal to the idea she will go back to her normal life with her