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Book 1, Chapter 5
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Dawn, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Humanity, Evolution, and Genetics
Motherhood and Leadership
Consent and Autonomy
Sexuality and Gender
Summary
Analysis
Lilith meets three of Jdahya’s relatives in a daze before going to sleep. She wakes and finds food ready for her that is much more flavorful than anything she had in captivity. She eats gratefully, then once again begins to notice the Oankali around her. In addition to Jdahya, there is his wife, Tediin; his ooloi mate, Kahguyaht; and the family’s ooloi child, Nikanj. Kahguyaht is the one who looks strangest to Lilith, with four arms and two big tentacles like an elephant’s trunk, and Lilith learns that ooloi use “it” pronouns.
The number three continues to be important to the Oankali, with a typical family unit having three parents. The family structure of the Oankali is very different from humans and suggests that human ways of organizing a society are not inevitable, and yet, the fact that the Oankali have such a highly structured way of living suggests that there is nevertheless something inherent about the concept of organizing a society around family units.
Themes
Kahguyaht explains to Lilith that while some Oankali food is poisonous to humans, Oankali have learned to eat all human food by studying humans. Kahguyaht admits that a very young or old Oankali might be able to be poisoned by certain things from their home world. When Lilith keeps asking questions about it, Kahguyaht asks what she plans to do with this information. Lilith asks why Kahguyaht gave the information in the first place, and Kahguyaht says that it’s because the Oankali know Lilith and want her to be able to know them back.
Lilith and Kahguyaht’s conversation draws attention to the tension between their two species. In many ways, Lilith seems to be testing Kahguyaht, seeing how much information Kahguyaht is willing to trust Lilith with. As is often the case for its character, Kahguyaht remains highly guarded when talking to Lilith, but it nevertheless gives her information about the weaknesses of the Oankali, offering the basis for a more trusting relationship.
Themes
