English 375 — Revolution, Revolt, and British Romanticism (1770-1830)

Professor
J. Jennifer Jones

Student Y

Professor Jones

English 375

October 19, 2006

Examining “Greatness”:

The Influence of Emotion in Aphra Behn’s Oroonoko, or The Royal Slave

Though many readers of Aphra Behn’s Oroonoko, or The Royal Slave contend that the text speaks primarily to the reason of its readers, significant evidence to the contrary emerges upon closer narrative scrutiny. Instead of calling upon reason to generate compassion for Oroonoko’s plight as a slave, Behn aims at influencing the feelings of her readers by employing both romantic and graphic imagery to give life to Oroonoko as a character. In doing so, Behn succeeds in emphasizing her narrator’s portrayal of Oroonoko as a “great man” (2216) in spite of his morally-questionable actions of murder and revolt.

Behn’s ability to play upon her reader’s emotions becomes patent within the textual descriptions of Imoinda’s death. When referring to the moments immediately prior to her demise, the narrator describes Oroonoko as suffering from “a heart breaking within” (Behn 2223). The hopelessness of the situation overwhelms him in this moment, accentuating the gravity of the events at hand. Oroonoko experiences inexplicable emotional distress at feeling obligated to kill “the treasure of his soul” and “the pleasure of his eyes” (Behn 2223). He thinks of Imoinda in these poignant terms, further illuminating his love for her and his dismay at having to kill her. This tragically-romantic rendering of the unparalleled love between Oroonoko and Imoinda plays an integral role in generating readers’ sympathy for the slave. Though he kills his wife, Oroonoko’s loving motivations convince readers that his act is indeed “brave and just” (Behn 2223). His intense passion as well as Imoinda’s readiness to die are indicative of Behn’s efforts to engender emotional responses in her readers. By depicting the depth of Oroonoko’s love as powerfully as she does, Behn allows her readers to forgive Oroonoko for killing Imoinda and to see the murder as a heroic act. Behn’s romantic rendering causes her readers to feel sympathy for the lovers’ situation, to see a degree of humanity and goodness in Oroonoko, and to understand his plan as the narrator does—as a “noble resolution” (Behn 2223).

Similar literary intensity succeeds in generating readers’ sympathy with Oroonoko and convincing them that he embodies greatness. While the description of his execution is hardly romantic, Oroonoko’s ability to maintain composure throughout the violent and even grotesque scene provides readers with an impression of Oroonoko’s admirable character. Remarking on his death, the narrator reports, “The executioner came, and first cut off his members . . . they cut his ears, and his nose, and burned them . . . he gave up the ghost, without a groan or a reproach (Behn 2226). Violence’s impact on the reader becomes evident as Oroonoko’s particularly disturbing death comes to light. Because the narrator has characterized Oroonoko as honorable and loving throughout the narrative, readers become especially sympathetic toward him as he is mutilated, deciding that such extreme punishment is undeserved. Though Oroonoko kills his wife and leads a slave revolt, Behn’s narrator convinces readers that he is truly “worthy of a better fate” (Behn 2226). By employing the above violent imagery, Behn essentially shocks her readers into sympathizing with Oroonoko to an even greater degree than they do upon reading the descriptions of his love for Imoinda.

There is little doubt about Behn’s ability to affect her readers psychologically. By illustrating Oroonoko as honorable and loving, she creates compassion in her audience— sympathy that cannot be altered by Oroonoko’s later acts of revolt and murder. Because Behn’s readers find themselves sympathizing with Oroonoko, they become able to explore and potentially reassess any presupposed definitions of morality that might deem his character less than “great” (Behn 2216).

The Longman Anthology of British Literature. Volume 2A: The Romantics and Their Contemporaries. 3rd Edition (2006)

 Britain and the French Revolution. By Clive Emsley. Longman (2000)

Memoirs of Emma Courtney and Adeline Mowbray; or, The Mother and Daughter. [Amelia Opie] College Publishing (2004)

A Writer's Reference. By Diana Hacker. 5th Edition (2002)

What Every Student Should Know about Citing Sources with MLA Documentation. By Michael Greer. Pearson Longman (2007)

What Every Student Should Know about Plagiarism. By Linda Stern. Pearson Longman (2007)

Course Packet. Available at ICopy

Participation (20%)
Paper #1 (15%)
Paper #2 (15%)
Paper #3 (15%)
Paper #4 (20%)
Final Exam (15%)