Dana as Rufus's Replacement for Margaret Weylin
In “The Storm,” after Dana announces that Tom Weylin is dead and she is unable to help him, Rufus sends her out to work in the fields. When he “rescues” her later on, Rufus tells her to “go read a book or something,” acting as an apology for what he did (Butler 217). At that moment, Dana realizes something: “I remembered suddenly the way he used to talk to his mother. If he couldn’t get what he wanted from her gently, he stopped being gentle. Why not? She always forgave him” (217). Throughout the novel, Rufus comes to view Dana as somewhat of a mother figure. How did this happen? The act of having to save Rufus every time Dana is transported into the 1800s allows him to view Dana as a caretaker, paralleling his mother’s behavior. Each time Dana reappears in Rufus’s life, she saves him from danger, often nursing him back to health. Because of this, Rufus begins to develop an unhealthy attachment to Dana, learning that she will always come when he calls for help. In “The Rope,” Rufus r...