In the novel "Kindred" Dana goes to Rufus more than two times. The first time she goes Rufus is drowning in the river. The second time she is transported Rufus is in danger of burning the house down. Dana is also transported when he breaks his leg, is badly beaten and left on the road and caught in a bad storm, thrown by his horse and left in a mud puddle to drown. Each chapter is entitled thus to match the theme of Rufus' danger and Dana's transport.
One thing that is similar each time is that Dana is dizzy and feels like she is floating. She feels out of control and unable to stand. Each time she arrives near Rufus. Each time Rufus's life is in danger or he has been seriously injured. The only way she can return to her own time is to have her life threatened in someway.
"On her twenty-sixth birthday, Dana, the protagonist of Kindred, is overcome by nausea...Traumatized by the event, she calms down and begins to recover her wits. Suddenly she finds herself next to the same boy, named Rufus, in a burning bedroom. As she saves him again, Dana realizes that Rufus is calling her when his life is in danger. She discovers that the year is 1815, and although he is a white, Southern slave-owner, he is the future father of the first woman listed in her family records—Hagar Weylin. The woman listed as Hagar's mother, Alice Greenwood, is a free black child and Rufus' friend. Dana realizes that she has just saved the life of her ancestor."
No comments:
Post a Comment