Doro remains unconscious of the negative implications of his role, whereas Anyanwu is continuously aware of the consequences of Doro's ambition. "I am like a prisoner. All bound," she notes (90). Doro is not above using purely physical means of coercion, as he "catches" runaways by snatching and invading their bodies (91). "Individuals who ran from him were caught and most often killed," (80). However, Doro cannot physically bind Anyanwu but rather, uses mainly psychological coercion to prevent her disobedience. Doro does so not out of kindness or compassion but out of outright need for Anyanwu's powers in conjunction with his own. In Wild Seed, Doro is a slave to his own desires and to his own unchecked ego. His enslavement is purely psychological and Doro remains unconscious of his condition. Anyanwu is cognizant of her subservient position, and becomes frustrated by it. She sees her situation...

Doro's possession of bodies is the most obvious and fundamental type of slavery, for no matter how many times a slave is physically beaten, the consciousness remains connected to his or her body. Doro, however, can actually undo the spiritual connection between a soul and body, rendering the individual consciousness obsolete. Doro's utopian vision for a new society is undermined by the means he uses to achieve an otherwise noble end. Doro's lack of compassion for the oppressed in large part stems from the sense of entitlement he has as a man, and especially as a super-man. Because her experiences are filtered through the experiences of women, Anyanwu is familiar with the subtle yet powerful forms of slavery that men practice over…