This is a weird way of saying this, but, I think in an odd way, agency is forced on Dana in Kindred. Until she gets her bearings, Dana does not want to cause waves and get noticed. Then after she understands her surroundings, she especially doesn't want to influence her environment. This is her choice; being a passive observer is her original goal. However, as Rufus ages and Dana's trips become longer and more frequent there is really no way for her to remain un-involved, so she is therefore forced to choose work (or she would be whipped) and forced to save her abusive and unstable ancestor ( lest her existence cease to exist.) It's like having the illusion of choice when in actuality there are no real options. Having real options would mean there was a path she could take with a desirable outcome.
Really, the very nature of Dana's trips is involuntary, yet she has to accept her circumstances (does her acceptance mean that they aren't really involuntary?). Maybe her agency is not forced upon her, but certainly decision she would have options for in her own time are ambiguous and have no real options (having to convince Alice to be raped passively, submitting to field work rather than suffering through a whipping).
I guess what I'm trying to ask is, even though there are hardly any positive answers to any of her problems, does the presence of a choice however negative it may be mean that she has agency?
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