Time and Self
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and peculiar speech, Agnes loves Kivrin for her kindness and patience. When
the plague strikes Agnes, Kivrin realizes how much she loves the little girl as
well. In her delirium, Agnes howls for Kivrin to help, but Kivrin lacks the power
to keep her alive. When Agnes dies, Kivrin hysterically cries to a God in whom
she does not believe: “I won’t let you kill her, too, you son of a bitch! I won’t let
you!”^®
More than through shared DNA, family is constructed through shared
memories and mutual histories. As with Agnes, because of the intensity of their
experiences together, Kivrin’s friendship with Father Roche develops into a
deep familial bond. When the Black Death reaches the village, Kivrin and Father
Roche assist the stricken. As the plague spreads, the numbers of infected
increase, as does the death rate and the horrors they must endure. Kivrin and
Father Roche depend upon each other for psychological support and physical
help in caring for the villagers. In the narrative of their lives, they share their
most vulnerable and emotional moments together. Though they could recount
the experience to others, only Kivrin and Father Roche comprehend the impact
of those times upon each other. When Kivrin discovers Father Roche has grown
buboes and notices his skin turning purple, she weeps in despair and disbelief. It
would make no difference whether Kivrin lived in 2052 or 1348. He would
remain her closest friend throughout her lifetime. They had shared intimate and
life-changing experiences and had depended upon each other in the most
desperate of times. When Father Roche passes away, Kivrin drags herself to the
church’s bell tower. Despite her exhaustion, she rings the heavy bell nine times
for her dear friend’s soul. Kivrin could profoundly connect to Agnes and Father
Roche of 1348 because they shared the same spirit of love, interdependence, and
appreciation. Though the circumstances of the Great Plague were unique to
Europe in the mid 1300s, human nature remains unchanged throughout time.
Similarly, Dana makes it clear that she and Kevin have little community in
1976. Both are orphans and neither gets along with their living relatives. Before
eloping in Las Vegas, Dana asks Kevin to pretend that they have no other
family. The only wedding gift they receive is a plant from a coworker. When
Dana and Kevin both journey to the Maryland plantation, however, they find
themselves growing attached to the community within. Dana nurses Alice back
to health after she has been ripped to pieces by dogs. When Dana runs from
home and receives lashings for it, Alice returns the favor and cares for Dana.
Her experiences in Maryland are potent, and she shares the experiences with her
plantation community. Dana creates family through her shared memories, and
where one has family, one is home. Fellow slaves try to protect and advise
Dana, and Rufus greets Dana as if she belongs. Rufus becomes such a fixture in
her life that she uses the pronoun “him,” and Kevin immediately knows to
whom she refers. As Dana spends increasing amounts of time on the plantation,
she becomes more attached to it than to California in 1976. Nobody greets Dana
in 1976, and when she returns to her lazy apartment, she feels out of place.
Walking towards the candle-lit plantation on her most recent visit to Maryland