“Oroonoko”, a work written by the English literary world’s first woman professional writer, is an important piece of literature. Aphra behn was an innovator of novel writing, and her narrative voice combined intimacy with unusual detail. The plot also features one of first literary examples of “noble savage”. In terms of character, role and status in the novel’s development, her female personas are fascinating to analyze. The sexualization of these characters has largely been ignored by feminist literary scholarship, as critics have focused on Behn’s life and her place within literary history. If feminist scholars, or other critics are interested in analyzing the positive representations of females, they tend to focus primarily on the white woman narrator.
The story’s narrator, as we mentioned previously, is the focus of readers and writers who are interested in gender roles. Aphra behn is not the white female writer who acts as narrator. Imoinda the black character is shown as a woman men like because she’s beautiful. This is why the female characters who are pro-feminist find her less appealing. However, the white female narrator of the book is considered to be noble, elite and intellectual by the readers. Aphra Behn’s role as narrator also helps us sympathize because we know enough about her to portray her as the noble and intellectual woman in the story. Behn appears in the Surinam part of the story as well. Behn has used her own first name throughout the novel. This raised the issue of whether it could be considered a autobiography or not. (KLEIN, 1929). It sparked debates amongst researchers on the accuracy and truthfulness of given events, as well as the data provided by Surinam about its people and flora. Behn’s story was praised by some critics, but others criticized it for being a fiction. They called him a liar because he presented fiction as fact. Behn’s life in Surinam doesn’t mean the story is true. Oroonoko was told by the narrator, who claimed to have been an eyewitness for much of the narrative. However, some of the characters’ appearances and natural settings can make it difficult for a reader to take the story as true.
Behn examines men and women’s rights and the differences. Her strong women protagonists are continually searching for female power. They have a hard time dealing with male authority. There are also female characters who appear weak and helpless, destined to a lower status in society because of gender. Both types of women allow the reader to form a general conclusion about women’s status throughout the story. Oroonoko is one of many feminist writers’ primary sources.
Oroonoko was described very well in the opening part of this story. Imoinda however, is only described by a single sentence in the story when she first appears: “a woman so beautiful, it was only necessary to say, that she was the female equivalent of the noble man, the black Venus of our young Mars. Her persona and virtues were as delicate as his” (p12). Imoinda could be compared to the beautiful Oroonoko. I knew exactly what Oroonoko looked because he was described in great detail. I had to use imagination when I came across Imoinda. Imoinda’s character is later described as sentimental. She is described as having a “lovely modesty”, a “softness to her appearance”, and a “sweetness to her words and her behaviour”. These all reflect the emotional role that women traditionally play. Behn often describes Imoinda with words that would be appropriate for a European women. Words like “fair princess of the night” have been criticized for being a contradiction, especially when describing racial features. Oroonoko has a nose described as “rising Roman”, while his hair is described as “straight”. Physically speaking, neither character is African nor European. Instead, they are a mixture. Imoinda’s body, even though it is a representation of the ideal woman in white, is closely linked to African culture. The markings on her body serve as a representation of her ethnicity. These marks represent her elevated social status. Only Africans of high social status were permitted to have flowers and birds carved on their bodies. The passage that follows from the book explains this clearly (44):
“One can imagine how we treated her, paying her the utmost respect. Even though we thought her beautiful, with flowers and birds carved on her entire body, Clemene, Imoinda was so beautiful that we could never praise her. I forgot to mention that the noblest of those born in that country have their trunks so finely carved and razed that they look like japanese, with the work raised around the edge of the flowers.
Imoinda’s high social position can be seen from the descriptions. Due to her beauty and king’s fascination with her, Imoinda’s social status was lowered when she was sold as a slave. The story’s most important element is her beauty. It is, in my opinion “the” main factor that determines the course of events. Her beauty caused the conflict between Oroonoko and the king, Imoinda’s downfall and Oroonoko’s final self-destruction. In most love stories, female beauty leads to jealousy and sexual desire. Oroonoko is no different. A relationship between an aunt and nephew can be damaged by the uncle’s interest in his beloved. This is disturbing from a humanistic perspective and hard to accept. I believe that this type of conflict is the most important moral issue humanity must avoid. Behn depicts female bodies as sexual objects in his work, which is initially disappointing. However, readers’ feelings are neutralized once Imoinda fights to get the King to listen to her. She was treated as a slave from the moment she entered King’s Otan. She was controlled and kept from her true love. Imoinda’s goal was to control and protect her body so that Oroonoko could have it. However, this fact demotivates feminists as they place such importance on a women’s “body.” Barbara Bush says that women’s control of their bodies involved power relationships at the most fundamental level. Controlling women’s sexuality gave them power, which was something that slaves did not have to deal with.
Oroonoko is a great example of Behn’s play with gender roles. Some characters possess qualities that are opposite to their gender. The story alternates between gender stereotypes and gender reversals. Oroonoko’s masculine actions and feminine characteristics are both a part of his character (1999, Nevstold). He is portrayed in the novel as a strong man who has achieved many feats of bravery, such as winning battles with tigers, or winning wars on Coromantien. He doesn’t fear danger and seeks it out to prove and test himself. The following paragraph (46) describes his masculinity briefly:
“He had an untamable spirit, which could not be restrained by a lazy life. He used all his efforts to keep himself active in sports and actions that this world offered, such as wrestling, running, fishing, hunting, and fishing.
While his strength is unimaginable, we still see his feminine side. Behn says he is a woman with long hair. Furthermore, he behaves “like the long-suffering heroine of romance”. Oroonoko’s image is that of a sentimental and soft man. These are qualities typical for women. He does not feel embarrassed about his sentimental side and expresses it without embarrassment. His soft, passionate voice shows that he’s an emotionally charged man. Oroonoko, on the other hand, felt the agonies and pains of love. Oroonoko seems to not feel pain as he is tortured and cut to death, yet he cannot endure the heartache of fearing that he may lose Imoinda.
Imoinda possesses both masculine beauty and delicate features. She fights alongside Oroonoko against the white slave-owners. She fights alongside her husband, despite being pregnant. Imoinda, a brave woman who blindly trusted Oroonoko, is described. She is a skilled bow-and-arrow user and has managed to injure several people. She uses a poisoned weapon to kill the governor. Her masculinity comes through at the ending when she accepts her fate rationally, refusing to be moved by Oroonoko’s proposition. Imoinda has a strong psychological and physical character. Imoinda’s character is strong both psychologically and physically.
Imoinda can also be a part of a marriage. It’s important to examine this. In the story, it is love that brings two people together. However, for Africans, marrying an attractive woman was a way to gain status. The former is easier than becoming a slave. When a woman becomes a slave, she loses all rights to her own body. They knew they would suffer more if the women rebelled, than if the slaves did hard labour or became mistresses.
The narrator has been described as the primary motivator for feminists and elite, but in this story she is completely powerless. The narrator does not appear at the crucial moments of Oroonoko’s brutal whipping. The narrator is absent at two crucial moments: firstly, when Oroonoko is brutally whipped. Why would the narrator run away when things became worse if she was so powerful? The narrator is completely out-of-reach when the black enslave most needs her power. She also cannot stop Oroonoko from being mistreated, despite her claims of power. Oroonoko was positively influenced by her throughout the entire story. Oroonoko is encouraged in different ways by Imoinda as well as the Narrator. Imoinda has a strong presence in Oroonoko’s freedom fight, unlike Behn. Behn only uses her strength to retell Oroonoko’s tale. Imoinda, however, is defined almost exclusively by her physical appearance. In contrast, the narrator was characterized by his literary voice. Imoinda is a voiceless woman, but an active one. Behn has a voice, but she’s passive. Behn became passive due to being a woman and unable to rise up against imperialists. This shows the dominance by men of power in colonial culture. Although men and women had different ways of exercising their power, they were equal in terms of hard work. All slaves are equal in price whether they’re men or woman, as both perform the same hard labour.
As a conclusion, it is important to note that Oroonoko was written by a woman who defended the value of women. However, because of the setting in which her work was set, she needed to be more imaginative and create distinctions between characters. We cannot separate gender and race because Behn ties them together so tightly. She has balanced gender roles by highlighting the differences between them. Oroonoko has had a significant impact on women writers. “All the women of the world should come together and place flowers at the grave of Aphra Benn. She gave them the freedom to express themselves” (Virginia Wolf).
Works Cited:
Oroonoko by Aphra behn (1929).
Sarah Klein The Evasion and Shifting of Responsibility in Oroonoko.
The construction of masculine and feminine characters in Aphra behn’s Oroonoko (Sandro jung)
Aphra B. Behn, the Beginnings Of A Female Narrative voice (Nestvold),
