Kindred

In Kindred, the role of power between slave and slave master has been flipped very slightly. Though Rufus still holds the rank of master with the power over Dana to strip her of her freedom as well as forcing her into punishing situations, it is Dana who holds the power of life in her hands. She has the ability to decide whether to save Rufus or not when he puts his own life in danger. She may be hurt in Rufus’s time, but will be sent home at any point where her life is in danger. So ultimately it is Dana plays the role of master over Rufus’s life as she has the ability to decide his fate, whether he lives, or dies. Now the slaves look at Rufus with mixed emotions. On one hand they hate the man as the monster who denies them of their freedom and treats them as property. But on the other hand they respect him as the man that feeds them. This is how we typically imagine the emotions a slave may have toward his owner. They hate the man but respect the power he holds over them. I would argue that Rufus feels some of the same emotions toward Dana. On one hand he seems to feel some sort of hate or resentment toward her. She, a black woman, is smarter than him and more defiant toward him than the other slaves. She takes care of him but in return has a lesser fear of his power. Rufus can punish her as he pleases but does not have the same hold on her as the other slaves and lacks the ability to control her as his property. But on the other hand he respects her as some odd form of a guardian angel. She holds his life in her hands. She kept him in this world for all of these years and she is appropriately the one to take him out.