1976: Less Whipping, but Pretty Similar to 1819

            Kindred takes place in two wildly different eras: 1976 and the early 1800’s. The early 1800’s is a time of slavery, poor medical care, and manual labor. 1976 is a time of no slavery, good medical care, and not much manual labor. But the more time Dana spends in each place, the clearer it becomes that 1819 and 1976 are not as different as one would expect, and the worst part of 1819 – racism – is still alive and well.

            There are many minor similarities, like how Tom Weylin’s home is repeatedly compared to Dana and Kevin’s. But most of the 1976 sections talk about how racism is still around. It’s certainly less than in the 1800’s (white people can’t legally own, beat, or rape black people), but it’s pervasive. The hottest-button issue is Dana and Kevin’s interracial marriage, which only became legal in California in 1948 and nationwide in 1967 following Loving v. Virginia.

            As a side note, some states passed weird anti-miscegenation laws. Maryland’s law, in addition to prohibiting black-white marriage, specifically made marriage between black people and Filipinos illegal. Arizona’s law prohibited white people from marrying anyone who wasn’t white, which had the side effect of prohibiting someone who was only part white from marrying anybody. In Massachusetts, where interracial marriage was legal since 1843, there was a law that prevented couples from getting married in Massachusetts and moving back to their home states (to circumvent those states’ laws) that wasn’t repealed until 2008, 41 years after there were any other states with such laws. Sorry, I got carried away reading the Wikipedia article.

            Anyway, Kevin and Dana’s marriage is met with disapproval from both Kevin and Dana’s relatives. This is especially shocking to Kevin, since he thought his sister would be totally in favor. Dana’s aunt is mildly supportive (she wants lighter-skinned grand-nieces and nephews), but her uncle is opposed. Opposition to interracial marriage probably lasts to this day; in 2000, 40% of voters in Alabama wanted to keep a clause in the state’s constitution prohibiting it (the clause couldn’t be legally enforced anyway). When Kevin and Dana go to Maryland, they find people who “looked at Kevin and me, then looked again” (262). But they also see “black kids and white kids together”, which leaves some hope that future generations won’t be so much like they were in 1819.

Will Rufus become a redheaded Tom?

            Author’s note: This blog post is based on readings up to the end of The Storm. If more evidence shows up later, I’ll probably update it.

            In what I’ve read of Kindred, Rufus has grown up from being a toddler to a twenty-something who owns a plantation. Dana’s visits, which happen about every five years, give glimpses into his development. At her first substantive visit, when Rufus is eight or nine, a couple things stand out. He talks well, and seems fairly bright. He is well-attuned with what is going on in his world, especially the dangers of crossing Daddy. And he commits crimes but doesn’t seem to realize (or care) that they’re wrong. He burned down the stable, but when he talks about it (at the bottom of page 25), he dismisses it with “Anyway, I got mad and burned down the stable”. He burned the curtains because Daddy whipped him for stealing a dollar (about $15 in today’s money). He’s a little scamp now, but if he could be guided onto the straight and narrow, he could turn out well.

            Unfortunately, he isn’t. On Dana’s next visit, Rufus is pretty much the same. The one after that, he’s about eighteen and pretty much the same, but he can no longer be referred to as a little scamp because he’s just raped Alice. But from his point of view, raping a black woman isn’t any worse than the other things he’s done. The biggest change in his personality is that he is now very manipulative. He’s also gotten attached to Dana, and will do anything to stop her from leaving, including shooting her. At this point, Dana compares him unfavorably to Tom Weylin, who used to be the evil whipping Daddy who was a common enemy to both her and Rufus.

            Dana’s most recent visit, when Tom Weylin dies, provides a bit of hope. While recovering from dengue fever, Rufus is like he was before. But after he inherits the plantation, he settles down. He still regularly rapes Alice (as Tom did with Tess), but he seems to think of the resulting children as more than slaves. He doesn’t seem to lie or manipulate. Now Dana’s main objection is that he is doing what Tom used to do: treat the slaves as property, buying and selling them without regard for who they are. It’s the revulsion at this behavior that causes Dana to try forcing herself to go home for the first time. He’ll certainly keep doing that; it’s what slaveholders at the time do. That’s how the economy works. He’s on track to be just like his father, which makes sense.

But will he not think like his father? Will his relationship with Alice extend at least a little to the other slaves? I’d say no. When his personality changed, it was to become more like Tom Weylin when he took over the plantation. Tom Weylin commit petty crimes, lie, or have slaves as friends, so Rufus won’t either.
Update: In the last chapter, Rufus does free his kids, but then Dana kills him. He probably wouldn't have survived much longer anyway, since Alice's death seems to have taken a lot off from his sanity.