Kindred could not have ended any other way; the power of being unpredictable and inevitable.
Kindred is a novel in which you spend a lot of time wanting to read ahead– finish just another page– to get over the cliffhanger. Nonetheless, there’s an inevitable quality to the novel’s conclusion, and really everything that happens. Of course Rufus didn’t send Dana’s letters to Kevin. Of course Dana had to use her knife. Of course Rufus had to die. Of course Hagar was born. Chekhov’s gun has to go off once introduced; and it always does. The inevitability of this novel’s events are due to foreshadowing. However, thanks to distractions, the readers are kept guessing on what’s to come, and the novel stays unpredictable.
The book ended with a few main conclusions: Dana survived, Hagar was born (of rape no less), Dana had to use her knife, Rufus wanted Dana, and the others were not free. All of these conclusions felt inevitable. For Dana’s knife, it’s almost like Chekhov’s gun in the sense that once it was presented, as well as the dangers that told her she could face it (42-43, and 47), it had to be used. We knew the danger was present, the threat that would cause her to use it, along with mentions of its presence often. She was always aware of the knife, as were we. So, we knew she had to use it, but every time she didn’t, it kept us wondering if she would. Every time she got close to using it, she didn’t, so we were temporarily diverted, but we kept getting reminded. This ever-present knowledge of her weapon, and the fact that she might have to use it, made the event of its usage inevitable. Nonetheless, with every diversion we would momentarily forget that she’d have it, and Chekhov's knife went ignored (for the time being). As for Dana surviving, we knew this was inevitable from the prologue, we also knew it would be a struggle to survive from the fact she only had one arm and came in screaming (11). It was inevitable. However, the inevitability of it was always questioned with the constant plot twists and distractions in the development of the novel. As soon as the idea was introduced that Rufus and Dana were related through Hagar, we were aware of Hagar needing to be born (27-28). Nonetheless, Hagar was not born until page 233; eight months into her longest journey, signifying how one of the most important plot points went unresolved for a majority of the book (plus the resolution of it was anticlimactic). This shows how long foreshadowing carries out. Still, despite the inevitability of it (it literally needed to happen or Dana would not exist) the fact that it took so long and was pushed to the back of our focus diverted our attention and kept us readers on our toes. The uncertainties were born of the constant plot elements, and the fact that the book is in first person, making it impossible to ignore current stresses. In the end, inevitability rules over distraction.
Hi Sophie, I agree with you on how it's interesting that while readers know the conclusion of the novel and Dana's fate was inevitable -- readers know for a fact that Dana will come back alive from the prologue -- we still go in for a ride feeling the suspense and uncertainties. I think one big factor contributing to this effect is the 1st person narrative adopted in this novel. The nuance and details offered from 1st hand perspective give readers a lot more opinions and emotions rather than facts. Overall great blog!
ReplyDeleteHey Sophie, I agree that many of the story beats in Kindred were predictable, but Butler managed to manipulate them such that they were still interesting and exciting for us to read. Also, what you point out about the inevitability of certain events in Kindred can really be extended to the majority of books written, in that the main character wins and their opponents are defeated, among many other basic plot points. While Kindred does follow this generic format, it does so with distractions, like you mentioned, which makes the book feel fresh and different. Nice post!
ReplyDeleteHey Sophie, I do really love the inevitability of the book and how Butler seems to set everything up, at least in some way, before it happens. You can really predict almost exactly how the book will end by the clues she gives throughout the book, and what we remained aware of as we read (like the knife). However, the emotion and circumstances that are incorporated, like the time travel, and Dana's first person narrative plays into the more uncertain fear that the book has. The overall structure of the book definitely reminds me of the quintessential novel trope where the book ends in the hero's favor. Great job!
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of Dana's knife as a form of "Chekhov's gun" which, once introduced in act 1, "has to" go off by act 3. For Dana, this is always framed as a necessity in the event that she has to defend herself physically, but as you note, it also has to do with RUFUS choosing to cross a line (the very same line he crosses with Alice, notably). And the general sense of inevitability, despite all the cliffhangers, is an important part of the fictional structure--this stuff IS history, and it is fixed in place, giving shape and meaning to the present in a way that can't meaningfully be altered, just confronted. Remember that we get the final scene at the very start of the book, as Dana refers cryptically to her "last trip home" and "losing an arm." We may not know the HOW, but we have a pretty explicit sense of the WHAT--and because Dana is narrating, we know she survives the experience and lives to tell. So on some level, we KNOW where this story is headed all along.
ReplyDeleteHi Sophie. I think this foreshadowing and the choice to reveal the loss of Dana's arm is used to further a key idea that neither you generally or Dana in particular can change the past.
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