Kindred Summary
Octavia E. Butler

Kindred Overview

Kindred is a historical fiction novel by Octavia E. Butler set between 1976 and the early 1800s in America. Protagonist Dana is a Black woman in her late twenties, a writer who is inexplicably pulled back in time to antebellum Maryland. During her time travels, Dana realizes she only gets called back in time when a great-grandfather of hers, Rufus Weylin, is in mortal danger. Dana repeatedly saves Rufus even as she gets to know him and both the enslaved and slave-owning sides of her family better. In the 1800s, Dana meets her ancestors, lives as a slave herself, is brutally abused both physically and emotionally, and finally makes a critical decision that puts an end to her time-traveling. This novel explores themes of oppression of Blacks by whites, the brutality of slavery, the endurance of the spirit, and survival.