Oroonoko: A Story of Honor

Oroonoko, The Royal Slave is a unique story for it’s time in part due to the fact that it is told from a woman’s point of view. It is unusual to imagine women of her time (circa 1640-1689) to have traveled as extensively as the author Aphra Behn it seems must have traveled in order to describe so many diverse customs, landscapes and people. We hear the distinct female voice both in the story’s construction and through the narrator’s voice which is that of Behn herself. In the story Behn says of Oroonoko (at this point known as Ceasar) that “His misfortune was to fall in an obscure world that afforded only a female pen to celebrate his fame” (page 2193). Rather than a misfortune that female voice is the story’s greatest gift.
Oroonoko’s story is one of a great and noble warrior destroyed by the dishonesty and deceit of others. Behn’s description of his strength and prowess in battle is focused on the decisions he makes, his choices in the heat of battle and...