Hypocrisy Of Christianity In Behn's Oroonoko

Although many themes arise in Behn’s Oroonoko, religion is the most dominant, that is, of course, the author’s emphasis on the hypocrisy of Christianity. For example, in the narrative, Imoinda, Prince Oroonoko’s wife, faces colonial settlers who use their religious effort in hope to justify the ‘righteousness’ of their doings, as Mr. Trefry says, “we have christened her. But she denies us all with such a noble disdain, that ‘tis a miracle to see that she, who can give such eternal desires, should herself be all ice and all unconcern” (Oroonoko 2337). In other words, neither end of the spectrum can come to a medium conclusion. However, if the reader looks in between the lines of the quote, he or she can see that Behn’s use of words, “christened,

Although this quote is also complementing Oroonoko’s wife, the most important phrase is, “that, if she were capable of love, one would swear she languished for some absent happy man…as if she feared a rape even from the God of day” (Oroonoko 2337). In other words, there are several complications, including religious hypocrisy, within that quote (and keep in mind that these two quotes are in following order). First off, the settlers said, “but she denie[d] us all with such a noble disdain…she, who can give such eternal desires”, that is, Imoinda rejected the love from the colonists, and after being denied, they mentioned, that, “if she were capable of love, one would swear she languished for some absent happy man…as if she feared a rape even from the God of Day” (Oroonoko 2337). The complication is within the settlers, that is, after being denied of something, they automatically blame the person who rejected them. In other words, Imoinda can give such ‘enteral desires’, but apparently is not ‘capable of love’; Behn precisely alludes to the conscience of a New World settler, that is, to the way colonists think and act according to