Alice

            While chatting away on Tuesday about all the terrible things in Kindred, it became clear that the biggest problem for most of us is the clichéd, flat characters.  Each character is a stereotype of a person in the antebellum South that Butler uses to fill a role.  For instance, Sarah plays the typical “Mammy” of a plantation, the house slave who practically runs the show; Tom Weylin represents the cruel white plantation owner; Tess is the powerless slave who becomes the white men’s plaything until they tire of her; Jake Edwards is the heartless, power crazed slave driver.  Everyone has a very recognizable part—they are characters that can be found in any novel about slavery.  But while we were discussing the boring-ness of it all, I started to wonder how Alice plays into this stereotypical characterization.  She certainly isn’t the submissive toy like Tess, but she doesn’t actually stand up for herself to Rufus.  Her mood swings and attitude towards Dana are hard to read and to understand.  She is often angry, but usually sad, and we never know exactly why.  Of course her husband was sold and she was forced into slavery, but why does she come off as so much angrier than Sarah, who has also had atrocious things done to her.  It’s almost like we are finally given a character with depth, one who isn’t pigeonholed like the others on the plantation and who has more of a personality than Dana….almost.  I mean doesn’t it make you want more? I want to understand how Alice feels, hear more about her days on the run, and actually get a well-developed character.  Perhaps it’s because we only get to know Alice through Dana’s eyes, but I would love to read from Alice’s perspective, to see what an “insider” things and feels, particularly one who seems to have such strong emotions.  Though unlikable for the most part, Alice intrigues me and makes me wonder, far more than any other characters.