Although we have finished our discussions about Kindred, I still find that I have many questions regarding the novel. One of the Main ones being: Why did Alice kill herself instead of run away?
I found a somewhat decent answer on sparknotes.com and it goes as follows:
Alice kills herself because she has lost all of her possible identities. Running ceases to exist as an option, because Alice cannot lay claim to any of the identities she would need to embrace in order to flee. She cannot see herself as a fiery young rebel willing to risk the whippings, dog attacks, and death that running away might entail. After years with Rufus, she cannot see herself as Isaac’s wife, so desperate to reunite with her husband that she will flee the Weylins’ plantation to find him. Neither can Alice take on one of the identities she would need to inhabit to remain on the plantation. Because she thinks Rufus has sold her children, she can no longer think of herself as a mother. Although she had found some measure of peace with Rufus, she can’t conceive of continuing to live alongside the man who has robbed her of her children, and so she can no longer think of herself as Rufus’s grudging partner. Alice kills herself because it becomes impossible for her to imagine a way to exist in the world.
Does anyone have any thoughts on this analysis.
As much as it pains me to write this, I like what sparknotes has to say here. But I also have to wonder if Alice's death isn't also a kind of "don't do this" example for Dana. After all, once could make the case for Dana's having "lost all of her possible identities" due to her time travels. OR, one could make the case that Dana has too many identities... either way, suicide might definitely come up as a "way out." BUT, perhaps b/c Dana is a writer, she is always able to "IMAGINE a way to exist in the world" (any world). And this is what ultimately saves her life.
ReplyDeleteAny thoughts?