![]() ![]() Why all of this should be is a question worth asking, for it tells us that Imoinda is as important as Oroonoko to Behn’s analysis of power in a ruthless colonial world where heroic ideals of beauty, constancy, and honor are under siege. Indeed, while the second half of the novella refers to Oroonoko by the name his European purchasers impose on him-Caesar-Imoinda’s original name is restored to her in Behn’s final sentence. And, as is not the case with Oroonoko, the narrator expresses no ambivalence toward her. Yet in a narrative that foregrounds issues of names and naming, Behn’s female narrator ends not with Oroonoko’s name but that of his wife and lover. It is Oroonoko’s story that captures our attention and arouses our admiration, frustration, and horror, and it is Oroonoko who gives the book its title. These are the last words of Aphra Behn’s 1688 novella Oroonoko or, the Royal Slave, a work justly celebrated for its exploration of race and power through the figure of Behn’s titular protagonist, the “royal slave” Oroonoko. ![]() “The beautiful and the constant Imoinda” (77). ![]() Peter Lely, Portrait of Aphra Behn (before 1680) ![]()
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