Aphra Behn presents issues of slavery in Oroonoko as an interpretation of all that was happening around the world in the seventeenth century. She was one of the first writers introducing new elements of slavery in her novel.
According to Janet Todd, Aphra Behn did not oppose slavery at all. She accepted the idea of powerful groups enslaving the powerless, and it is said that during her childhood she used to hear many Eastern tales in which the Mongols enslaved entire European villas. Apart from that, her husband Johan Behn (although it has never been proven that Aphra was married) had been a Dutch slave trader who sailed on The King David. So if Aphra Behn had been opposed to slavery as an institution, how would she have married a slave trader? It is known with certainty that her marriage was not happy. Oroonoko was written twenty years after the death of her husband and, among its characters, there is no one more evil than the slave ship captain who tricks and captures Oroonoko leading him to slavery. Here, what Aphra Behn is doing is comparing her husband, a Dutch slave trader, with the captain of the ship in Oroonoko.
Dutch slave trader.
The ship captain.
Dear Arancha,
ResponderEliminarI really liked the fact that you connected Behn's life with her depiction of the slave ship captain. You are turning this short novel into Behn's revenge on her husband, don't you think?
Thanks for your clever approach.
I'm giving you a 4 in a scale of 5.
Clarify this: "new elements of slavery?"
She was one of the first writers introducing new elements of slavery in her novel.