Climax

Wow.... this was a little beyond my expectations. What surprises me about the ending is not the climactic death of Rufus by Dana's hands, but the fact that despite the ancestral roots and years (or months?) of protection for Rufus, there seemed to be little guilt for what she'd done despite the fact that she'd acted in self-defense. There's virtually no "family" connection at this point, and it's almost as though the reader forgets that they're related to each other. The climax takes none of this into account, until the epilogue mentions the geneology that Dana and Kevin discover, and my reaction was "Oh yeah! They were family.... how could I have forgotten?" Rufus fell in love with Dana; Dana killed Rufus. After all is accomplished, and the bond of protection is broken, even the sanctity of blood couldn't serve to prevent the tragedy that would eventually occur. Cold irony...(No happy ending, but then we all knew she'd lose an arm, right?)

It was obvious from the moment Dana went home that Alice would do something tragic. After Hagar was born and Rufus' life becomes less significant to perpetuate the following generations, nothing could change the course of history or cause a truly positive outcome. They had both played their roles. I still don't understand, despite all that occured, why cold, indifferent fate chose to submit Dana to retribution for her deed by taking her arm--which, it seems, was the cause for the horrible effect. (Haha... but, I noticed that it didn't take her writing arm. Just chance?...) "Something cold and nonliving." I suppose fate dealt Rufus a worse punishment.

For the most part, all other aspects of the story followed a fairly predictable pattern: the danger to Rufus--and to Dana--gradually crescendoed into a finality that couldn't be avoided by any natural force except for history and fact. Slavery in America's past was ugly and harsh, just like the end of Kindred. Perhaps this is the reason for the lack of a positive outcome. By lending a hand in her ancestor's death--whether inevitably or by chance--Dana paid the price for taking a life that was not hers to take. The result is complex, and the end is harsh.