The Pervasions of Power In Octavia Butler’s “Bloodchild.”
Word Count: 1120
The first sentence of the afterword of Octavia Butler’s Bloodchild reads, “It amazes me that some people have seen 'Bloodchild' as a story of slavery. It isn’t. It’s a number of other things...” (Butler, 20) While the relationship between Gan’s family and T’Gatoi is reminiscent of a master-slave relationship on the surface, what Butler is constructing is much more complex. In the afterword, she goes on to say, “On one level, it’s a love story between two very different beings. On another, it’s a coming-of-age story...” (Butler 20) On all these levels, what makes Bloodchild unique is how it constructs power. The love and the coming-of-age aspects of Bloodchild are hinged on how each character's power is constructed, viewed, and wielded in the narrative. It isn’t a story of slavery, but one that illuminates how a society's social and cultural construction is directly tied to its power relations.
The assumption of Bloodchild as an allegory to slavery comes from the physical constructions of power Butler employs in her narrative, and their similarities to constructions of power in real life. The Terran live on an isolated compound called The Preserve, separate from Tlic. When Gan’s brother Qui begins to rebel and run away from home, he describes it as “running in a cage.” (Butler, 19) The Tlic can visit the Terran as they please, but the Terran can only go into the city when accompanied by a Tlic. The separation of the Terran from the Tlic draws parallels to American segregation in the 1950s, and South African apartheid from 1948 to 1994, all events where the “lesser” race was geographically separated from the rest of the (usually white) population. The strongest parallel to slavery is the Tlic's ownership over the Terrans' bodies. Gan recalls that his mother is obligated to give one of her children away to the Tlic to be implanted; she chooses T’Gatoi because she’d rather give it to someone she’s familiar with than a stranger. The Tlic’s ownership of the Terran’s bodies bears resemblance to American Chattel Slavery. But not because Butler is setting up an allegory, it’s simply the fastest way to establish the level of control the Tlic have over the Terran without explaining it to us. The reader sees the parallels and concludes the nature of the relationship between Tlic and Terran.
The mental constructions of power are where we see a divergence from the traditional master-slave relationship. The Terran are sold an ideology that says they are honorable and noble for carrying the Tlic’s young. They are aware of the fact that without them, the Tlic species would cease to exist. Unlike the traditional master-slave relationship, the Terran have a large amount of power over the Tlic, which is easily identifiable and actionable. To conceal this, instead of convincing the Terran that they are inherently less valuable than the Tlic, they do the opposite, and tell them that they’re equally, if not more important than the Tlic. When Gan asks why guns are banned on the reserve where the Terran live, but not in the city where the Tlic live, T’Gatoi says it’s for the Terran’s “protection,” since they’re so valuable to the Tlic. In actuality, it’s to ensure the Terran can’t act on any rebellious impulses, as they have the power to lead to the end of the Tlic race. (Butler 10) Both parties have something to lose if this falls apart, as the threat of the Terran losing their home on the Tlic planet is constantly looming. The “master” then constructs an ideology that doesn’t strip the Tlic of their importance, but bolsters it, and claims that they’re so important they must be protected and controlled under this guise.
The final scenes of the story illustrate the emotional constructions of power in this society's dynamic. Gan has known T’Gatoi for his whole life and was raised not only to love and worship her but to view carrying her eggs as a privilege. When he sees the gruesome reality of carrying Tlic eggs, he realizes he’s been tricked into a false sense of security by her, and his entire understanding of his world falls apart. This realization also has an emotional impact on T’Gatoi, as the innocent, loving Gan she once knew is gone, and she fears what he’ll do now that he knows the truth. The love that Gan had for T’Gatoi was very real, but in the end, it was tainted by power. On the level that Bloodchild is a love story, once the power dynamic between T’Gatoi and Gan is made clear, he realizes he’s been groomed by her and feels betrayal. Simultaneously, T’Gatoi feels a sense of heartbreak, too, as she’s losing the Gan she once knew because of the power structure her people constructed to survive. One could argue that she felt a love for Gan that was just as real, and just as broken by power in the end.
When confronted with the choice of bearing T’Gatoi’s young or death, Gan chooses to do so to protect his sister. Here, the coming of age aspect comes into play. He sheds the ideology of his childhood and is forced to make a choice that will transform his life. And while he chooses to remain T’Gatoi’s carrier, he still finds a way to hold a sense of power over her by insisting that he’ll only carry her eggs if T’Gatoi doesn’t take his father's secret gun. “If we’re not your animals, if these are adult things, accept the risk. There is a risk, T’Gatoi, in dealing with a partner.” (Butler, 26.) Gan’s use of the word partner highlights a major difference between this dynamic and the master-slave relationship. While T’Gatoi has clear power over Gan, they are on some level partners. Both of them need the other to survive. In this moment, he reveals the true playing field between them. While T’Gatoi still has political and social power over Gan, he has the physical power to hurt T’Gatoi or her young to protect his family if she steps out of line. Both parties have something to lose, both parties have something to fight for, and both parties are acting in the protection of their best interests. This is unlike a traditional master-slave relationship, where the master has everything to lose and the slave has everything to gain.
Through this complexity, Butler constructs a society that is quite like our own. Power is embedded in our daily interactions and affects the choices we make, yet we can’t always see how. With this story, Butler illustrates that survival is not a good enough reason to subject another race of people to the power of another. The Tlic’s survival does not justify their means. It also doesn’t serve the Tlic on an individual level, as T’Gatoi loses her relationship with Gan to implant her eggs in him. Power, in any form, wielded over another is dangerous and subjective. In identifying the constructions of power in Bloodchild, the reader is able to draw parallels between their lives and identify where power is wielded in their society and relationships.
Works Cited
Butler, Octavia E., and Jesmyn Ward. Bloodchild and Other Stories. Seven Stories, 2022.
Butler, Octavia E, Bloodchild, xpressenglish.com
