Love and Obedience Theme Analysis

In Oroonoko, the question of how love relates to obedience is one with different answers for different characters, and a theme which allows love triangles to develop, fuels power conflicts, and even leads to death.

Oroonoko himself struggles greatly throughout his life to find a balance between these two ideals. Conditioned to ethical and social obedience by being raised in a strict culture that expects him to become his country’s next general and future king, Oroonoko then learns a different kind of obedience through his love for Imoinda, which teaches him to obey his heart. Not only does he learn the language of love and how to express his passion, but by continuing to love Imoinda even after the King has taken her as his concubine, Oroonoko disobeys his unjust grandfather and his society’s traditions. He thus learns to prioritize and protect his love for Imoinda above his obedience to cultural norms and to his treacherous grandfather, the King. In the colony, then, Oroonoko’s patience with being obedient wears thin, as the colonists urge him to continue waiting for his freedom, which will never come. It is again his love for Imoinda and their unborn child that guides his decision to try to break free of the yoke of slavery, no matter the cost. Eventually, it is that same love that compels him to accept the harsh reality that he will never be a free man again, and to take dire action to secure freedom through death.

For Imoinda, obedience seems to be a natural requirement of love, especially given the social expectations in Coramantien society that women revere their husbands like gods. However, when the King brings her to court to be his concubine, Imoinda realizes that obedience is not always a form of love when free will is not present. As the King’s consort and Oroonoko’s wife, Imoinda has to obey the King and perform loving actions, while also disobeying her heart and her husband. By the tale’s end, however, she is able to reconcile her understanding of the relationship between love and obedience. She willingly accepts her murder at Oroonoko’s hand, happy to be able to prove her faithfulness and pleased that he has chosen a culturally honorable means to end their tragic love story.

The King’s understanding of love and obedience is much less familiar to Western audiences (especially as he is essentially an African caricature created by Behn). A polygamist who has unlimited power and assumes he will have his own way in everything, the King expects love to spring abundantly from his people, who must obey him without fail. Imoinda’s resistance to his advances thus confuses and angers him, as does Oroonoko’s disobedience, because it rocks his worldview that someone could dare to refuse him or deny him the love he expects to receive.