How easily slaves are made : the presence of performativity in kindred by Octavia Butler

Abstract

In this thesis Octavia Butler’s Kindred is analysed with the use of Judith Butler’s theory of performativity. As the protagonist is a black woman, Kindred is especially helpful in order to understand the racializing norms Butler mentions in Bodies That Matter. The thesis analyses the transformation in the female protagonist Dana’s performativity in three stages: before the first time she is called to antebellum Maryland, while she is there, and after her final return home to California. By analysing Dana’s racial, gender, and sexual performativity, it is possible to form an impression of her identity, and see how it changes when she is situated in a different discourse.