Interracial marriages are the union of two people from the diverse ethnic background; the case became famous in 1967. Nonetheless, it is now common in many cultures despite the challenges that emanated from slavery and segregation, and this is what the kindred depicts as it realizes that interracial marriages were illegal (David, 214). Even after the 1967 lift of the ban against these types of unions, societies were adamant, and in some states such as Maryland, the law could jail such couples. The paper shall discuss the development of interracial marriages in the story kindred by E. Butler, where she shows power struggles and complicated dynamics of interracial relationships.
Body
This section analyzes the historical development of the interracial marriages using the short story kindred. The story is about a black girl Dana, who discovers that her purpose is to save a white boy (Kevin) when in troubles even when she also worked closely with other slaves as one of them.
Before the supreme court ruled against the white supremacy of maintaining racial marriages, even when two ethnic but loving personalities meet, they could not live together as the law termed it as fornication, with punishment such as fines and jail sentences (NELSON). Therefore, the kindred preach these problems, where the author shows two people of different races with a genuine love based on their experiences and personalities, but the couple could not marry. Their relationship is not free from discrimination, and they both have to fight against the racist co-workers and family members. ‘You’re gambling with history’ (Butler, 83), a statement made by Kevin after Dana insisted on staying close to Rufus even when she knew that his parents were dangerous. The comment proves protection of Kevin to Dana due to love as they put more efforts of meeting to support and show the mutual respect for an honest and long-lasting relationship. Nonetheless, the level of racism in this period could not regard their ties due to color differences.
Again, Alice and Rufus are another ultimate example of unhealthy interracial relationship. For instance, Rufus has an obsession of acquiring Alice as an object of affection and a slave, while Alice fears Rufus and considers him her master although with some hints of attachments. The injustices and social structure surrounding the relationship of whites and blacks makes it difficult for both to escape the power discrepancy of Rufus as a master as well as the dehumanization of Alice as a slave. Due to lack of common ground and respect, the romantic relationship cannot work for either partner; Rufus exploits Alice sexually without regarding her feeling, and this forces her to give up her freedom and consent and also subject her to the resentment of her fellow slaves. If Alice decides to serve Rufus sexual desires, she may lose control of her body as well as betray other slaves by taking advantage of being the master's mistress. Eventually, Alice decides to commit suicide instead of sleeping with the master, and Rufus becomes destroyed because he does not know the benefit of showing respect to a black woman apart from being a sexual object. "There was no shame in raping a black woman, but there could be shame in loving one” (p.124). In this explanation, Butler tries to show the human instinct that makes it impossible for any of these two people to rebel in a society that discredits blacks and only know them as objects for work, beat, and rape.
Moreover, the contact between the two couples impacts the dynamics between Kevin and Dana as well as Alice and Rufus. Dana, a descendant of a black slave and white master, tries to convince Rufus to acknowledge Alice as a true partner, but the time that both Kevin and Dana spent in the past exposes their marriage to the unhealthy influences of black and white relationship in the slavery. In this case, Butler tries to emphasize the physical similarities between Rufus and Kevin and also between Alice and Dana, and this indicates how the relationship between races are yet to become free from legacies of oppression as well as American privileges of races (Reginald, 1349). Butler acknowledges the conflicts faced by interracial couples, but also advocate for more acceptance to assist them in living in a supportive environment and provide a step towards the removal of racial divides in America. Only after dealing with the systems of privileges and oppression that couples will strip the difference of race and connect in a more positive platform. Although Kevin and Dana are a healthy couple, they do not solve the centuries of pain inflicted to the black slaves, but they provide a future where both whites and blacks are integrated and equal as well as have an opportunity to have a positive relationship.
Conclusion
The kindred novel serves as an insight to many societies about the historical injustices of slavery, but also about marriages, and people should adopt this to avoid future repetition of these misfortunes. The lift of the interracial marriage bans in 1967 has served America with more freedom, a process that has also encouraged the support of same-sex marriages, but people should not forget the painful centuries where some individuals would not marry the people of their choice due to color difference.
Work cited
Butler, Octavia. Kindred. Beacon Press, 2004.
JESSICA VIÑAS-NELSON, 2017. Interracial Marriage in "Post-Racial" America. retrieved from: http://origins.osu.edu/article/interracial-marriage-post-racial-america
Oh, Reginald. "Interracial marriage in the shadows of Jim Crow: Racial segregation as a system of racial and gender subordination." UC Davis L. Rev. 39 (2005): 1349.
Upham, David R. "Interracial Marriage and the Original Understanding of the Privileges or Immunities Clause." Hastings Const. LQ 42 (2014): 214.
