The Voice of the Narrator in Oroonoko

Aphra Behn employed a very unique and innovative style of writing in Oroonoko because the narrator frequently comments on her own tale. It is almost as if the female narrator is speaking to readers conversationally or writing a letter to a friend. Despite the informality, this method of writing increases her credibility because she continually states that she was either closely involved with the plot or she received a firsthand account from someone who was. For instance, she did not directly witness the death of Oroonoko, but her mother and sister were standing by and were able to pass on the details of the event. Her words throughout the short novel are infused with authority which makes the story more real and reliable.

I also thought it was interesting how the narrator inserts random anecdotes about her life throughout the tale. Behn obviously enjoyed regaling her readers with descriptions of the local wildlife and the cultural customs of the natives. That is why her writing is often classified as a “travel narrative,” and I think it added a lot of depth to the story. Writing with this narrative strategy also provided Behn with the opportunity to state her opinions concerning matters of colonialism and slavery. The amount of empathy that permeates her words on these subjects exemplifies her authorship as a female and further individualizes her work.