Time travel in Kindred is very unique
Time travel is very crucial to the central plotline of Kindred as Dana travels back in time to the early 1800s to the Weylin plantation where she meets her enslaved ancestors. She also meets Rufus Weylin whom she apparently gets traveled back in time to save in near-death scenarios, as it's discovered he is also one of Dana's ancestors. What stands out about the time travel in Kindred is how it's not explained. It is not like other science fiction novels where they develop fictional explanations or devices to enable the characters to travel through time. Alternatively, it remains a mystery how Dana suddenly gets transported back into the 1800s involuntarily. She is the only character throughout who is directly time travel, however she can bring Kevin to and from 1976 and the 1800s by way of physical contact. What makes Butler's use of time travel brilliantly unique is how it bridges the gap between modern times and history in an unfiltered way from the traditional te