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Book 2, Chapter 11
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
Nikanj will remain sleeping for a long while before it reaches maturity. Lilith is mostly bored until one day when Kahguyaht comes to visit. Kahguyaht brings some old Earth books as gifts, which have been recreated based on prints. Kahguyaht seems more agreeable, knowing that Lilith has pledged to take care of Nikanj during metamorphosis.
While the books that Lilith receives suggest that Kahguyaht is beginning to better understand what humans like, it’s noteworthy that Lilith only receives a copy of the real thing. The Oankali are good at creating near-replicas of human things like food, objects, and environments, but they can’t create the real thing, showing the limits of what they can do.
Themes
Lilith asks Kahguyaht about the “sensory hand” Nikanj is growing, and Kahguyaht explains. It is a hidden organ in the sensory arm that the rest of an Oankali’s hard outer skin protects. Kahguyaht shows its sensory hand, which reminds Lilith of a starfish. Kahguyaht also explains that humans tend to bond with only one ooloi—Lilith has bonded with Nikanj after it healed her injuries, which is why Kahguyaht has a smell that makes her uneasy.
Nikanj bonded with Lilith before it explained the bonding process, once again showing how the Oankali refuse to give Lilith agency over her situation. Starfish, which the hand of the sensory arm resembles, are known for their ability to regrow arms, which is similar to the Oankali ability to recover from injuries quickly.
Themes
Kahguyaht admits that it didn’t want to accept Lilith at first, thinking a human male would be a better choice, but it admits that it was wrong. Kahguyaht thinks that Lilith will make a good parent figure to guide a new group of humans on Earth. Lilith doesn’t want this responsibility and doesn’t expect people to trust her, but Kahguyaht remains firm. Kahguyaht says that though Lilith may never understand Oankali, her children will.
On the one hand, Kahguyaht’s praise of Lilith’s ability to be a good parent recognizes the importance of mothers in a society. Kahguyaht realizes that as a mother, Lilith would be different from the patriarchal leaders on Earth who led the planet to its demise. Still, this passage raises the issue of whether Kahguyaht and the Oankali really have Lilith’s best interests at heart or whether they just want to exploit her abilities as a mother for their own good, similar to how Paul Titus was forced to father children without his knowledge.
Themes
