Rufus

Unfortunately but not unsurprisingly, Rufus Weylin ends up following in his father's footsteps. In more ways than one, he becomes the same terrifying, brutal and cruel slaveowner Tom Weylin was, breaking apart families and easily treating slaves as something below human. Despite Dana's best efforts, he's become another product of the system. However, Dana did have an effect on him, although I do not believe it was a positive one. Rufus's initial sensitivity was always doomed to have been throttled by the detached heartlessness that inheriting a slave plantation demanded, but somehow persisted through Dana's influence. Yet the child's emotion, his empathy that Dana had tried to nurture, only became twisted and dark. Seeing Dana's marriage to Kevin had inspired a hope in Rufus that perhaps he could have something like that with Alice. Rufus's mommy and daddy issues just compounded with impossible desires for a love with Alice, which was a desire that could not coexist with the systemic superiority that had been drilled into him since birth. Love requires reciprocation, an equality that contradicts the very nature of a slave and slave owner's relationship. Someone said Rufus wants to 'have his cake and eat it too,' which I think is completely fitting. He knows he is hurting Alice beyond any hope of forgiveness, but somehow expects her to love him. While committing a vile deed he knows is wrong, Rufus deep down feels guilt and loneliness, a pain that he needs Alice's love -- even if it's forced -- to assuage. There's nothing crueler than completely tearing someone apart, and then painting yourself as the lonely victim of rejection, and demanding love back. It becomes clear that these same twisted tendencies apply to Dana. Rufus's fear of abandonment stemming from his mother, and his methods of abuse inspired by his father, manifest in his alternatingly cruel and kind behavior towards Dana. He threatens her violently and forces her to work in the fields, then inexplicably offers her gifts and begs for forgiveness, begs for her to stay with him. He even admits clearly that his vicious behavior is to just make himself feel better. For example, when Tom Weylin dies after Dana fails to save him, he punishes her while commenting that he knows it's not her fault; he just needs to direct the blame at someone. In some ways, Rufus's twisted affections that make him a sympathetic character also make him more frightening than his father -- more unpredictable, more twisted and even crueler. Rufus creates a psychological conflict and pain with his manipulation that Tom, who never cared to become close with his slaves, never did. Rufus wanted to feel good about himself too, promised Alice that he'd free their son, promised Dana he wouldn't hurt her, but I have a sneaking suspicion he never had innocent nor genuine motivations. He could pretend he was different than his father, that he was 'kinder' or 'better,' but a slave owner is a slave owner. What's scary about Rufus is that his and Tom's actions themselves conform to similar cruel standards of their times, only Rufus calls his actions love.