Octavia Butler author of Kindred, separates the main character Dana and her husband Kevin. Separating the two characters weakens their relationship and causes Dana to make a connection between Kevin and Rufus while bringing Rufus to all aspects of her life. Kevin’s return home from the past is the reason for the separation; Kevin was not the same man he was before because of external factors. Butler left kevin in the past, and that caused him exhibit power he did not previously have over Dana. Giving Kevin an accent and having Dana acknowledge the accent makes Dana acknowledge the similarities in Rufus and Kevin, and leads to her forming a connection between the two men. After Kevin and Dana reunite, Dana repeatedly compares Kevin to Rufus,…show more content… Kevin returning from the past has separated him and Dana physically and emotionally. This separation drives a wedge between Kevin and Dana that will lead to a weaker connection between them. His separation from Dana led to unfamiliarity between the two: “[H]e stopped, glared at me as though I was some stranger who had dared to lay hands on him” (194). After returning from the past Kevin and Dana were having a conversation; Kevin ended up leaving while Dana was talking, and Dana had grabbed his arm in order to make him listen. Getting stuck in the past left Kevin with some trauma, the trauma is evident when Dana grabs him. He seemed to have forgotten where he was, and viewed Dana as unfamiliar. Glaring at Dana gives the impression of hatred toward her, not something typically done toward a wife. Using “dared to lay hands on him” is an example of how being left in the past negatively impacted his life. He was not used to black women grabbing him in the past, and none of the women in the past were familiar to him. Similarly to how her relationship with Rufus degenerates over
