Butler also sees “Blood-child” as a love story, though other works of African American fiction have demonstrated that love and slavery are not mutually exclusive topics.
As the protagonist of Kindred states, “slavery of any kind fostered strange relationships.”
Which interpretation of “Blood child” is most accurate? Does the “slavery” reading indicate that certain expectations have been cultivated among readers and subverted by the author?
Is Butler’s denial of the centrality of slavery a disingenuous effort to maximize her story’s interpretive possibilities?
Close readings of the text can produce compelling arguments either way.
It is possible, however, that readings of the story as a metaphor for slavery are based on extra textual reasons as much as textual ones.
Consider the possibility that the identity of “Blood child” has been determined by the identity of its author.
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