Octavia Butler - Lilith’s Brood

Biography  Born June 22, 1947 in Pasadena, CA  1968 Pasadena City College  California State University, LA  UCLA  Has won Hugo and Nebula awards  MacArthur Foundation “Genius” grant  Published 11 novels and many short stories and critical essays

Butler, Octavia  “a hermit in the middle of a large city [Seattle] – a pessimist if I’m not careful, a feminist, a Black, a former Baptist, an oil and water combination of ambition, laziness, insecurity, certainty, and drive.”

Criticisms  Heather Shaw Character interactions social taboos  Burton Raffel Biology determines the destiny of a race  No negative criticisms

Burton, Raffel  “Carefully, expertly crafted, deeply satisfying as it is to the reader of more than seven hundred preceding pages, and tautly, firmly resolving as it does the major plotline question, this is nevertheless determinedly functional, essentially unobtrusive prose-unlike, say, the highly literary writings of Samuel R. Delaney (the only other black s.f. writer of major status)”

Lilith  Appears in the Bible Associated with the end of the world “Night hag”  In Jewish tradition Adam’s first wife. Rebelled against Adam, expelled from Eden  She’s become a feminist symbol, especially in Jewish feminism

Discussion Questions  What does Butler mean by a hierarchical society, and how does it relate to individual freedom?  Are the Oankali hierarchical and/or sexist?  What is the significance of incest and miscegenation in the novel?  Does Butler take a position on whether what the Oankali is doing is right?  Is what the Oankali are doing rape? What is its significance?