Did Rufus Love Alice?
Around the midpoint of Kindred, when Rufus began his pursuit of Alice, I wondered if his love for her would inspire a questioning of his own racist beliefs. Maybe, as Rufus acknowledged his feelings for Alice, he would also acknowledge her own humanity and agency. Maybe he would realize that the woman he loved was a woman and not an object. Dana had the same hope for Rufus, and she attempted to guide him toward that realization since she knew she could not separate Rufus and Alice before Hagar was born. Alas, Rufus was unable to make any logical or emotional leap and grant Alice agency. If Rufus was truly in love with Alice, how was he unable to empathize with her? And if Rufus wasn’t in love, what emotion was he taking out on her? Rufus’s ideal relationship with Alice is not a typical (for the time) master/slave one. He wants a romantic relationship where he loves Alice and Alice loves him back. He doesn’t want to have to force Alice into anything. However, the distinction be...