Oroonoko Explored
Heroic Romance
In Aphra Behn’s Oronooko, she draws on elements from several different familiar 17th century writing styles. One of the most powerful conventions is the classically influenced Romance literature. Paralleling stories from antiquity, the Romances often had a powerful and noble hero as the protagonist, with his counterpart matching his masculine qualities with the best characteristics attributed to women. Many obstacles often prevent them from living happily at the outset of the story. For example, in the French romance Polexandre, the heroic prince must search the seven seas to find her.
Illustration of Oronoko Ou Le Prince Negre
Though the heroic romance often ends happily, this is not the case for Oroonoko. Even so, his relationship with Imoinda follows the heroic romance in many ways. For example, both Oroonoko and Imoinda represent the ideals of both their genders in their physical presence and in their morality, and therefore are perfect for each other. The French heroic romances were written in part to educate readers in proper codes of chivalry and morality, and in this case Oroonoko succeeds, as the protagonist and his love are undeniably the best characters in the novel. In order to demonstrate Oroonoko’s heroic qualities, Behn shows that his character is unwilling to do anything to hurt his grandfather, even though his grandfather did him a great moral injustice through summoning Imoinda to be his concubine. Oroonoko also establishes his heroic abilities as an unbeatable warrior against soldiers in both Africa and Surinam, as well as through his ability to defeat mighty animals such as the wild tigers in the New World (Behn 45).