Aphra Behn was born in the midst of the English Civil War and by the time of her death in 1689, she had seen Charles I executed by his own parliament, the overthrow and restoration of the monarchy with Charles II, and finally the deposition and replacement of James II for religious reasons. The only cultural context that Behn ever knew was one marked by great cultural and political unrest that pitted the royalist conservatives (Tories) against the parliamentary liberals (Whigs). In such a political climate, it is natural that the artistic and literary production of this period is marked by a sense of agitation about the English situation, and Behn's 1688 tale Oroonoko is a striking example of this. In summary, Oroonoko tells the story of an idealized and highly romanticized African prince who is sold into slavery by his grandfather (the king) and is taken to the Dutch colony of Suriname via the Middle Passage, where he eventually leads a slave revolt. , performs a mercy killing on his wife and is eventually executed. Operating as a reactionary response to the political turmoil of this time, Oroonoko is an allegorical narrative that affirms the divine right and honor of kings, a sentiment that echoes Behn's realist political tendencies. Although Behn's work is known for its important contribution to the development of the novel, it is also a text strongly influenced by the culture of political anxiety in which it was written. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay To fully understand the allegorical aspects of the novel, you need to examine the meaning of "royalty" and "royal blood" in 17th-century England. The monarchs of England (as well as many other Western societies) are notable in that their authority was considered a grant from God, which would indicate that divinity was present in the actual person of the monarch and in their lineage. Anita Pacheco writes about the conceptual basis of hierarchy, saying that, “. . . through the mysteries of blood, virtue would be transmitted from one generation of the ruling class to another, so that power would be legitimized on the basis of dignity, authority presented as hereditary and innate. . .” (494). In other words, the circumstances of a royal's birth are crucial because, by being born into that position, he or she is said to be naturally granted the idealized virtues and elevated status of divine authority. These notions were central to royalist ideology and are even more critical considering the context of the time, which saw parliamentarians seeking to overthrow what they believed was the authority of God, manifested in the person of the monarch. The nature of realist faith is crucial to understanding the political climate of the time, which was characterized by mutual anxiety and violent conflict between two parties advocating radically different notions of government. Written about a royal prince whose authority and honor are challenged by corrupt officials, Oroonoko is a text clearly shaped by the political climate of the time, allowing it to function as an allegorical novel about the divine authority of the royal family and about the corrupt nature of the royal family. those who try to deprive them of their power. From the beginning of the novel, Oroonoko is characterized by the highly admirable characteristics that Behn deliberately implies are the result of her royal status. When introduced, the narrator notes that he has, “. . . that true greatness of soul, those refined notions of true honor, that absolute generosity and that softness which was capable of the highest passions of love and gallantry. . .” (79-80). Although this conveys the reverence that thenarrator (or Behn herself) harbors for this man of royal birth, Oroonoko is also shown to stand out among the others, almost as if he were intrinsically different.them by virtue of his birth. This is also manifested in his physical appearance, where it is said that, “. . . he was adorned with a native beauty, so transcendent all those of his dark race as to inspire awe and reverence even in those who knew not his quality. . .” (79). Oroonoko's character is established in such a way that even his humanity seems negligible, as he is clearly portrayed as someone who appears God-like to others. What is significant about Behn's writing here is that she paints a picture of kingship the way she sees it: divine, guiltless, and untouchable. The perfections of Oroonoko are such, according to Behn, because those qualities are granted to those of royal birth, who are models of God's perfection and are therefore bestowed to maintain authority on earth. Therefore, Oroonoko's divine presence is meant to represent the nature of all royalty, who are too endowed with the perfect virtue of kings and are too exalted among men. Behn continues the narrative with more subtle but still touching illustrations of the prince's naturally elevated status. . Oroonoko is tricked into slavery by being led (along with his people) onto the ship of a slaver, whose corrupt captain had previously befriended the prince only to betray him. What is notable is that the Captain proves himself to be a villain not so much because of his occupation, but mostly because (as Oroonoko tells him) of the fact that he betrays his honor by kidnapping a man of the prince's status (104). While Pacheco argues that this example shows the prince separating his moral sense from that of the Christians, I would instead suggest that this moment is instead intended to distinguish Oroonoko's exalted position from that of others, including both his people and the Captain. Oroonoko himself is a slave trader and has never had any objections to the practice on moral or honorable grounds; it is only when he himself is taken as a slave that the practice of enslavement becomes a dishonorable practice in his eyes. In this light, it can be interpreted that Behn wants the audience to understand Oroonoko as a person who (at some point) had the right to act as she wished, regardless of honor, simply by virtue of her royal position. In this way, Behn once again tries to separate the hero of this story from the other characters on the basis of his eminent and divine status. Another key aspect of Oroonoko is that it addresses the issue of the presence of corrupt individuals in positions of power, something that is intended to mirror Behn's dislike of the ultimately victorious Whig party. Condemnations of such officials appear in the second half of the story, exemplified by the description of Deputy Governor Byam as: “. . . a type whose character is not worthy of mention with the worst of slaves” (128). In this statement, Behn seeks to discredit the ideologies and actions of the authoritative individual (Byam) by aligning his character with those considered the dregs of society. While Byam is not based on any specific historical figure, nor is he intended to represent a specific individual, Byam and his forces are intended to represent an authority that is both criminally and illegally in power. In a case of more generalized criticism, Oroonoko issues a poignant denunciation of her captors, saying: “. . . there was no faith in white men or the gods they worshipped; who taught them according to principles so false that honest men could not live among them. . .” (130). Although one can assign this quote as evidence of fervor.