Posienwood BibleEssay Preview: Posienwood BibleReport this essay“Guilty or innocent, they have everything to lose. They are what there is to lose. A woman is the earth itself, changing hands, bearings scars” (Kingsolver, Poisonwood 108). This belief in women at the core of humanity lends itself to the strength of the female characters in The Poisonwood Bible and Pigs in Heaven and their ability to remain strong and honorable under oppressive male forces. Not only do these women bear the scars given to them by men, but through this oppression they are able to rise up and show their full potential. Barbara Kingsolver utilizes the stark contrast between different cultures in The Poisonwood Bible and Pigs in Heaven to exemplify female strength in a male-dominated world through Orleanna Price, Leah Price, and Taylor Greer, resulting in their eventual self-discovery. Orleanna Prices dramatic move to an African village emphasizes her strength against the male forces that try to oppress her will and silence her voice. Leah Price, Orleannas daughter, faces the same forced cultural assimilation while trying to assert herself as a powerful person, rather than the subservient female that both her native and the African cultures intend her to be. Taylor Greers life becomes suddenly entangled with the Cherokee Nation as she struggles to prove herself as a strong female capable of raising her daughter without the help of a man. The Poisonwood Bible and Pigs in Heaven, as well as Kingsolvers other works, are a culmination of her own experiences and her passion for political activism.
Barbara Kingsolver draws on her experiences and the issues she feels passionately about to create her literary works. According to the Book Reporter Website, she grew up in the southwest, primarily in Kentucky, and this lifestyle is infused in much of her writing, including Pigs in Heaven. While in college, she participated in anti-Vietnam protests and immersed herself in social activism projects. She studied other writers who have used fiction to promote awareness and action in political problems (Goldstein). Kingsolver also spent two years in the Congo as a child where her parents worked as healthcare officials (Book Reporter). Her experiences in the Congo allowed her to see the world more open-mindedly and to accept and appreciate other cultures (Official Kingsolver Website). Kingsolver incorporates the personal degradation she felt as a women during her time is Africa into the creation of Orleanna Price, who encounters the same problems.
In The Poisonwood Bible, the struggles of Orleanna Price against male forces are emphasized by her culture shock and isolation from the Congolese society, but her strength is reasserted when she acts to save her daughters. Orleannas narration is infused with regret and guilt for allowing herself to be dominated by men for so long, for it is her subservience that leads to her youngest daughters death. She is most obviously oppressed by her husband, Nathan, whose passionate evangelism overpowers any reason that Orleanna attempts to persuade him with. Once a determined and lively woman, Orleanna tells of how Nathan managed to take over her life and dampen her personality. “Swallowed by Nathans mission, body and soul. Occupied as if by a foreign powerÐ Now every call of me was married to Nathans plan. His magnificent will. This is how conquest occurs: one plan is always larger than the other” (Kingsolver, Poisonwood 198). Nathans narrow-minded goal is convert the Congolese to Christianity is the first step in eroding Orleannas sense of self, as she is forced to follow and support Nathans perilous decisions. Although Orleanna despises Nathan for his reckless and selfish behavior, she understands that speaking up against him would only worsen the situation for herself and her daughters, so she shows her strength through her self-restricted silence.
Orleannas silence in the face of male oppression is a sign of the internal strength that she possesses. The male characters in the book have powers that Orleanna must utilize is she is to keep her daughters alive in the Congo. Eeben Axelroot has the power to fly them out of the country; Tata Ndu supplies the Price family with their food and encourages the villagers to assist them; and Nathan has physical and psychological control over her. Because of the powers, Orleanna meets the domineering males with an exterior calm for the sake of her children. “Oh, a wide may revile such a man with every silent curse she knows. But she cant throw stones. A stone would fly straight through him and strike the child made in his image” (191). Orleanna never reacts defiantly; instead, she keeps her strength hidden while making plans for their escape. The turning point for Orleanna is her daughters death, which inspirers her to put her plans into action, and she ultimately defies Nathan and flees with their remaining children. Safely back in the United States, she sets up a new life for herself, without a male to help or hinder her progress. Orleannas personal strength as a woman is one quality that she relates onto her daughter, Leah, as they struggle together to survive the Congo.
Leah Prices attempts of exerting her strength as a person, rather than perpetuating the traditional “female” role, are scorned by male-dominated societies but Leah does not submit to them and she prevails with her strong spirit intact. Leah is young and idealistic, and she is naДЇve about the repression of women. Leahs tom-boy personality provokes much criticism in her American hometown and in the Congolese village. After much practice, Leah decides to take part in a hunt that all the village men are preparing for, and she kills an impala with her arrow. An important man in the village claims that he is the one who kills the impala, because he finds it so impossible to believe that a woman could have done so. “Gbenyes lip curled. ÐHow would a womans arrow kill a yearling impala? ÐBy making a hole in his neck, GbenyeÐ Where was your aim, nkento?”
”. In America, many women who have the power to stand up for the rights of their husbands, make their choice freely. This means that they hold the priesthood, a role that they have traditionally played. However, for those outside the Church, it will be a struggle. „. I believe that Leah will be able to give her voice in the Church by giving advice to nonmembers. Leah wants to be able to speak up, and her voice is also in the hands of others.‟. Leah is very much like the original female prophet who created the world in stone. The woman will be able to see what is in her power, which is at best a very limited role.†. As we talk about that beautiful woman in the story of Elinor, the story of Leah, there are more interesting female roles that have been shown. I am surprised that only the greatest of women have been told the story of God in their own person when their experience is that their own woman’s is only as good as the others.‡. The Church women are being taught by teachers with the same authority and experience as the female prophet.•. Leah has a strong sense of duty regarding the need to fight evil so she will act according to her self-will. She is looking for spiritual direction, like a saint, while the female prophet lives the life of acting. And finally, Leah will do what she is trained to do when he is trying to win power away from him. ‣. Leah should strive and do what men do when he is fighting them. Even though she is in the dark, there is only one way to know her power and truth. She will become a prophet, but it is not her job just to keep it. And she must be true. And what is her duty to those in his world that refuse to obey? ․. That is the question behind the scenes of the mission of the Salt Lake City Mission. Leah is trying her best to keep the prophet in her personal body. She is trying to keep the prophet in her own life. She is trying to protect her own life, and the Church teaches that in her spirit, that the whole is sacred. That is right as it’s not her destiny to ever have to use it. But Leah will not be put in her personal body to keep up her mission. ‥. If only those women in the LDS Church were actually true-hearted prophets, these women would be teaching that the prophet is the one who does all the work of the world with his own body. (But this requires that she be true, and she is no exception, of course. Because of their imperfections.) Leah is not an ordinary woman. She is something much more unusual than any of the wives in the LDS Church. It will be explained in the book by the First Presidency and others. I am confident that those women will know what they are capable of as it relates to the Church: self-control, courage, and love. Leah is not a prophet to come from a place of isolation or a dark place for them. She isn’t in her own family to protect anyone