Coming of Age

"Bloodchild" opens with the line, "My last night of childhood began with a visit home." This clearly signals that it is a coming of age story, concerning the protagonist's loss of innocence and his accession to an adult role of knowledge and responsibility. In the science-fiction fantasy world that Butler has created, Gan's rite of passage entails witnessing flesh-eating grubs hatch from a man's abdomen and then agreeing to be implanted with the eggs of a powerful, insect-like alien. Bizarre as these events may seem, the story's plot shares many elements that are common to coming of age stories.

At the beginning of the story Gan is innocent, not understanding his mother's or Qui's hostility toward T'Gatoi. At the end of the story, he is in a position of knowledge, agreeing to be implanted with T'Gatoi's eggs despite his new understanding of the fearsome risks involved...