Slavery Representation in Aphra Behn’s Oroonoko
Representation of Slavery in Oroonoko
During the 17th century, as England became one of the most powerful nations, it began creating a vast empire. The English colony in Suriname, where Oroonoko’s story is primarily set, was founded in 1650 and soon began importing slaves to supplement the low number of indentured servants coming from England to work the sugar plantations. Aphra Behn’s account of the lives of slaves through Oroonoko opened a claim for the abolition of slavery. Thus, this essay aims to analyze the representation of slavery in Aphra Behn’s Oroonoko.
Racism and Slavery in Suriname
First and foremost, it is important to note that slavery was connected to racism, and both are very important themes in Behn’s work. In the Suriname setting, racist attitudes are readily apparent and pervasive.
Slave Trade Context in Oroonoko
From the very beginning, the narrator sets the story in a slave trade context and setting, Suriname. When Behn presents the slave-holding traditions of Coramantien and Suriname, she offers little commentary as to whether she considered the institution itself morally right or wrong. On top of that, she gives illuminating period detail of how families are separated, how rival African tribes sold their prisoners of war to Europeans, and even how slave traders made money selling human chattel. This can be seen in the beginning of the book when it says:
Those who want slaves make a bargain with a master or a captain of a ship, and contract to pay him so much apiece, a matter of twenty pound a head, for as many as he agrees for, and to pay for ’em when they shall be delivered on such a plantation (Behn, 12)
All of Behn’s white colonist characters, from the blatantly racist—like Banister and Byam, who torture their slaves into submission—to the more enlightened—like Trefry and the narrator, who befriend Oroonoko as their equal—participate in and uphold the enslavement of blacks imported from Africa by either owning slaves or by silent assent.
The very hierarchy of the society reflects the attitudes of colonial Europe. White colonists place themselves at the top of the social ladder. In Suriname they are on friendly terms with the natives, but only because they outnumber the colonists.
Oroonoko’s Exceptional Status
Despite this, the narrator also goes to great lengths to indicate that Oroonoko is too special and too good to be a slave. Furthermore, it is interesting to see how beauty and outer appearance is determinant in the book for slavery. Not only does the narrator explain their view that “Oroonoko was as capable even of reigning well, and of governing as wisely, had as great a soul, as politic maxims, and was as sensible of power, as any prince civilized in the most refined schools of humanity and learning, or the most illustrious courts” (Behn, 15), Also, Imonida, who could also have been traded is elected by the king of Coramantien because of her beauty. Even the colonists think about Oroonoko’s wife, Imoinda, in this way. Even before they find out she is royalty, they give her special treatment because they admire her beauty and poise.
The Paradox of the Royal Slave
Nevertheless, we never get to a true account of the life of a slave. Oroonoko does not suffer proper slavery. At first, Oroonoko rejects the notion that he deserves better treatment, and he resigns himself to be treated like the other slaves. Oroonoko becomes a paradoxical ‘royal slave’; he carves out an uncertain position for himself as a gentlemanly slave: the other slaves bow down before him as their king. He trades Trefry his fine, princely robes for simple slave garments, and demands that the other slaves treat him like a commoner (when they begin to bow at his feet); the English, who also recognize his nobility, keep him in an elegant plantation house. He also spends most of his time with the upper-class colonists, hunting and dining with them, guarded and entertained by the novel’s narrator.
Oroonoko’s Evolving Views on Slavery
After Oroonoko grows tired of waiting for the Lord Governor’s permission to return to Coramantien, Oroonoko thus seems to have replaced his uncertain status in the colony and developed a position against slavery. As the leader of the slaves, he argues that no man, woman, or child should ever be enslaved, and that the slaves should unite to become a free and supportive community. This is interesting because Oroonoko himself does not try to abolish slavery but offers the view that nobody has gained their slavery by war. He claims that slaves are necessary for some people in order to help them with chores and work during their life. Nevertheless, he believes that there is only one situation when slaves should be obtained, and that situation is to win slaves through war, as he states:
Have they vanquished us nobly in fight? Have they won us in an honorable battle? And are we by the chance of war become their slaves? This would not anger a noble heart, this would not animate a soldier’s soul. No, but we are bought and sold like apes or monkeys […] Will you, I say, suffer the lash from such hands? (Behn, 62).
Additionally, when the armed colonists come after them, however, Oroonoko is abandoned by his fearful followers. Oroonoko then seems to lose his faith in humanity and returns to the English (and Coramantien) way of thinking about slavery—namely that some people deserve freedom (like whites and non-white royalty) and some people deserve to be slaves (like “common” blacks or prisoners of war). Oroonoko even apologizes to Byam for his rash belief that he could make free the men and women who are innately servile.
Conclusion
In sum, once being a prince and holding certain views on life and politics, Oroonoko seems to be a hypocrite when dealing with slavery. Nevertheless, this work meant a valuable account for the revision of the history and slavery during the 17th century.