Coming of Age Theme Analysis

Set on an alien planet inhabited by a species called the Tlic, “Bloodchild” tells the story of Gan, an adolescent human facing a decision about which adult responsibilities he can bear. Humans (called “Terrans” in the story) have long lived among the Tlic, but their relationship is fraught: the Tlic protect the Terrans and permit them to live on the Preserve, a Terran habitat protected from the greater Tlic population, but, in exchange, the Tlic impregnate some Terrans with parasitic Tlic eggs that feed on their blood. Although Gan always knew that he would have to host his Tlic mate’s eggs within his body, he is given a fuller understanding of the mortal risk and gruesome nature of the task after accidentally witnessing a birth gone wrong. His childhood security is replaced by fear, and for the first time he is forced to come to terms with his own role in society and what will be required of him for the sake of others. Through Gan’s struggle, Butler suggest that an individual comes of age when they shoulder the weight of their responsibilities, and the sacrifices entailed, for the sake of the people around them.

Gan’s childhood is defined by the fact that although he had technical knowledge of his role in society, he lacked the experience to fully understand the importance of his task—or how much it would cost him. Gan notably describes the events that take place in the evening of the story as his “last night of childhood.” When he is still experiencing that childhood, Gan is affectionate toward and trusting of his Tlic mate, T’Gatoi, reflecting his innocence. At this point, Gan has enjoyed the privileges of his position as T’Gatoi’s mate (extra provisions, protection, and being excused from taking up his family’s trade) without assessing the actual cost to his own body. Still a child, he has not yet questioned why he benefits from such unequal treatment. Gan is aware that his feelings toward T’Gatoi differ greatly from those of his mother Lien, who resents T’Gatoi, yet Gan has not seriously questioned why this is. In his childishness, he has only recognized the effect that his mother’s attitude has on him: Lien is emotionally distant and resents the affection between T’Gatoi and himself. Butler uses these details to cast childhood as a naïve and self-absorbed state in which Gan has not yet considered the world around himself.

Gan’s childhood effectively ends upon seeing the gruesome reality of Tlic birth—and, by extension, the reality of the world he lives in. Such knowledge in itself is not enough to truly come of age, though, as is evidenced by Gan’s initial refusal to accept the responsibilities of his future. Gan witnesses the traumatic birthing of Bram Lomas, a Terran who is mated to a Tlic partner in the same way that Gan is, which shatters his childhood security. Upon seeing her tear open Lomas, T’Gatoi goes from the most familiar person in his life to a creature that is alien and frightening.

With his newfound knowledge of what will be done to his body and his own powerlessness to stop it, Gan’s brief flirtation with suicide is his first reach for the personal agency that comes with adulthood. In his eyes, dying by his own hand is better than dying in the birthing process, for at least it will have been his own decision. Yet Gan is aware that if he were to somehow leave or be relieved of the responsibility to bear Tlic eggs, the responsibility would be passed on to either his brother, Qui, or his sister, Xuan Hoa. Fleeing from social responsibility would only shift his own burden onto someone else, and Gan’s impulse to flee thus reflects that despite no longer being ignorant of the world around him, he has not yet truly matured.

Gan truly enters adulthood when, realizing that dodging his own responsibility will hurt those he loves, he accepts the burden of carrying T’Gatoi’s eggs. This reflects the story’s assertion that coming of age entails both an acceptance of personal responsibility and a willingness to put others’ wellbeing first. As such, Qui works as a foil to Gan. Qui witnesses an even more gruesome Tlic birth as a child and initially tries to run from reality. When he realizes there is nowhere to go, since leaving the Preserve means certain death, he makes medicates his fears with the narcotic effect of drinking sterile Tlic eggs. Qui, in contrast to Gan’s shouldering of responsibility, prolongs his own childhood by shielding himself with Gan, knowing that so long as Gan is safe and healthy, Qui will never be forced to carry Tlic eggs.

By contrast, when Gan realizes that if he does not willingly bear T’Gatoi’s parasitic children, Xuan Hoa—whom he loves—will have to, he understands that she will then have to face the same fear and risk. If Gan were to pass that on to sister, not only would he be hurting her, but he would be shielding himself with her in the same way that Qui selfishly shields himself with Gan. By accepting the sacrifice of his personal freedom and the risks involved, Gan is protecting his family members and preserving the social contract that keeps the Terran population safe on the Preserve. By looking beyond himself, then, Gan has become a man. Butler thus argues that to come of age—to truly grow up—one must take ownership of the wellbeing of the people around them, even when that comes at the cost of personal freedom or safety.