Previous
Book 3, Chapter 6
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
Despite Nikanj’s connection to her nervous system, Lilith doesn’t go unconscious, and she realizes that Joseph is still conscious too. She wants to take Joseph’s hand, but Nikanj encourages her to make a connection through Nikanj to Joseph instead. A long time passes, and Lilith drifts in and out. When she finally wakes fully, she has a pain in her throat, as if she’s been shouting. Nikanj apologizes, saying it only allowed Lilith to shout once when she surprised it. Nikanj helped facilitate a connection between Lilith and Joseph, basically a form of sex, allowing each to experience the sensations of the other. Joseph is now sleeping, not due to Nikanj but due to exhaustion.
This passage raises questions about what constitutes sex and what is necessary for consent. The connection that Nikanj, Lilith, and Joseph have bears little physical resemblance to human sex, and yet the experiences that Lilith has seem to be sexual. Still, the fact that she doesn’t remember parts of the experience and the fact that Joseph seems to be asleep raises the question of whether this type of relationship between humans and Oankali is inherently unequal.
Themes
Nikanj says it has to go. It warns Lilith that she must seal Joseph off so that she can be the first to talk with Joseph after he wakes. Nikanj mentions that while Ahajas and Dichaan were convinced that Lilith would mate with one of the tall humans with dark skin, Nikanj could always tell that Joseph was like Lilith. Nikanj says that it actually picked Joseph’s profile specifically to be added to Lilith’s group, believing the two of them would be a match. Still, it emphasizes that it only made Joseph available and that Lilith herself made the choice.
Nikanj’s claim that it always knew Lilith would end up with Joseph and specifically chose him for Lilith is difficult to prove or disprove. It reflects the Oankali idea that it’s possible to predict people’s futures based on quantifiable data, like the kind that was available on Joseph before he was Awakened. While Lilith’s choice of Joseph seemed to temporarily give her back some of her autonomy and humanity, this passage raises the question of whether even her new relationship is in some way controlled by Oankali.
Themes
