The Necessity of (Dis)memberment: The Intersection of Mixed-Race, Gender, and Hero in Duffy and Jennings's Adaptation of Butler's Kindred

Abstract:Around the time Butler wrote Kindred the prevailing theories of African American literary criticism involved conflicting views of the genre—views that previously supported historical narrative but that were progressively evolving toward deeper, more evocative criticisms. This developing narrative, at a distanced view, perhaps offered a mirrored understanding of then-contemporary African American concerns. Often these newer criticisms pitted black women against black men, yet Damian Duffy and John Jennings's graphic novel adaptation of Butler's Kindred melds the identities of male and female in Dana, the androgynous protagonist of the story. Dana represents the struggle of a mixed American who, fostered by the time travel paradigm, embodies a heroic woman grappling with the side of herself that is white. In this article, I base my argument on the African American critical theories of Hortense J. Spillers and Jonathan Brennan. Joining the ideas of these two African American theorists adds credence to my contention that the character of Dana not only must accept the white side of herself but must escape the oppression of her past by leaving a part of her body, a physical dismemberment, behind as proof of freedom from the confines of the situation, of the page, and even of herself.