He also began to resemble, in Dana's mind, Rufus and Tom in his expressions and voice. It is clear he was involved in violence, but many details are left unclear to the reader. There is a scar on his forehead and his demeanor is changed. She turns out to be correct, for when Kevin is left in the 1800s for five years, he is marked both physically and psychologically. Dana, 77ĭana is justifiably worried that Kevin will be affected by the 19th century. The place, the time would either kill him outright or mark him somehow. Rufus will not grow up to be the exception to the rule he will be just as capricious, cruel, ill educated, and controlling as his father. She privileges her own time period and her own strength, forgetting that this reality of 1815-1824 is not to be taken lightly, and that slavery's role in society is pervasive, all-encompassing, and insidious. Dana, 68ĭana is rather naive here, thinking that her experience of living in the putatively more tolerant and progressive 20th century will help her instill positive values in Rufus and to an extent counteract the deleterious effects of slavery. I might even be making things easier for Alice. And I would try to keep friendship with him, maybe plant a few ideas in his mind that would help both me and the people who would be his slaves in the years to come.

Disguise is a part of slavery, as people cannot develop a true self without keeping things hidden.īut I would help him as best i could. These roles are also the first of many that characters will don and define throughout the novel. Patriarchy is present in both centuries, though it manifests itself differently. Dana 'belongs' to Kevin as his slave in the 19th century, just as she 'belongs' to him as his wife in the 20th. They concoct roles for themselves that, to an extent, mirror their current-day situation. That means we're going to have to play the roles you gave us.' Dana, 65Īt the beginning of this journey Dana and Kevin know very little about what is happening and why, but they know that they need to fit in as best they can. 'We're going to have to fit in as best we can with the people here for as long as we have to stay.

Kindred octavia butler