Aphra Behn's genre-bending tale Oroonoko fuses travelogue and fictional biography to tell the story of Prince Oroonoko, the "royal slave" . Although Behn characterizes Oroonoko's honor as unique among men, his admiration for him seems to flow directly from the way he reflects the primary model of a Christian Englishman of noble descent. Indeed, Behn measures and praises Oroonoko's masculinity solely in terms of these parallels. Other men, like Oroonoko's grandfather, are emasculated due to their inability to conform to these standards. The femininity of Oroonoko's wife, Imoinda, is also a subject of praise as she embodies the normative values ​​of beauty and modesty of the time. argues that Behn's juxtaposition of native qualities with the values ​​of the time constructs the gender of his characters in such a way that they function solely as dark-skinned representatives of white virtue. Additionally, this article will analyze the texts of Oroonoko and The by Addison and Steele. Spectator to demonstrate how certain writers of the time treated “the other” via subjective cultural norms. Say No to Plagiarism Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay that Behn presents to us. to Oroonoko as an African warrior-prince possessing unusually Caucasian physical features. She writes: “His nose was raised and Roman, instead of African and flat. His mouth had the finest shape that could be seen; far from these large turned lips which are so natural to the rest of the Negroes” (8). Under the tutelage of a Frenchman, he acquired linguistic, scientific and moral knowledge. Behn attributes Oroonoko's "humanity" in part to this guardianship. Not only does he speak English impressively, but he is also able to carry on a conversation in English with as much wit and charm as a native speaker. From his alleged personal interactions with Oroonoko, Behn asserts: “There was nothing barbaric in his nature, but he spoke on all points as if his education had taken place in a European court” (7). From these details, it becomes clear that Behn's enjoyment of Oroonoko stems from her European finery. In many ways, Oroonoko becomes the "noble anti-savage" (although a solid definition of "noble savage" has yet to emerge at this time). Contrary to the fact that his nobility results from minimal contact with civilization, he is instead praised for his ability to learn from the white men he meets. Much more attention is paid to his ability to imitate English than to his African qualities. Behn states that her skin color is "perfect ebony", unlike the common "rusty black" of her nation, but still considers it an obstacle to the consumption of her beauty (8). Oroonoko's sexual behavior also stands out from this. of his compatriots because he follows a code of monogamy. He promises his new wife, Imoinda, that “contrary to the custom of his country, he made a wish to her that she would be the only woman he would possess during his lifetime” (10). This is yet another example in which Behn projects Christian values ​​onto Oroonoko in order to distinguish him from his race. Thus, few of its admirable traits lie in its separation from English culture. While Behn creates less stellar examples of Oroonoko's compatriots, it seems that Oroonoko has overcome her race and that is where her value lies. Oroonoko's grandfather, the king of Cormantien, is depicted as a man of excess. His palace is full of women whose sole function is to please him. Despite his countless wives, the king desires Imoinda. In aan act of duplicity, he orders his servants to bring her the royal veil (a symbol that she must come to the king's bed or be punished with death) while her grandson is hunting. Yet the king exemplifies the emasculating qualities of sin, as his repeated lasciviousness robbed him of his sexual virility. Once Oroonoko and Imoinda are finally reunited, Imoinda asserts "...that she remained an impeccable servant until that night, and that what she did with her grandfather had not robbed him of any part of his honor of virgin…” (19). Because Oroonoko is pure for Imoinda, he “takes away in an instant what his old grandfather had been undertaking for so many months” (19). Despite his libertine practices, Behn condemns the polyamorous practices of the Oroonoko people and instead praises marriage and monogamy. Although many of Oroonoko's qualities reflect Behn's religious values, she does not choose to portray Oroonoko as a Christian. This choice seems to come from Behn's desire to condemn those who identify with Christianity, but do not follow its teachings. For example, Oroonoko's first encounter with Christianity occurs after his capture, when a captain tricks him into slavery by swearing before the Christian god that he will release him once the ship reaches the shore (27 ). In response to this deception, Oroonoko says: “Farewell, Sir, it is worth suffering to acquire such true knowledge of you and your gods by whom you swear” (29). Behn's later attempts to engage him in a discourse on the fall of the Trinity are ignored. Oroonoko's resentment of the Christian religion is portrayed as unfortunate, but justified. Even so, its values ​​reflect religion so faithfully that its official rejection of it becomes negligible. Behn also measures femininity according to the standards of European Christianity. Oroonoko's wife, Imoinda, is repeatedly described as possessing "extraordinary modesty and beauty" (34). She is the constant object of white desire and it is often claimed that she elicits more sighs than many "white beauties" (34). Much of the text is devoted to praising a beauty so great that it becomes a burden. Preserving the virtue of her body becomes the central point of Imoinda's destiny. His purity is constantly threatened and/or questioned, and his free will diminishes as his situation gives him less and less control over his body. When she is captured by the king, he forces her to “swear herself a servant” (11). Once she and Oroonoko are reunited, she is forced to swear that the king did not rob her of her virginity. When the king discovers that Imoinda and Oroonoko have copulated, he sells Imoinda as a slave, because after being possessed by a member of the family, touching her would be "the greatest crime of nature among them", she was now "a a polluted thing, totally unfit for its embrace” (21). This action depends entirely on the state of Imoinda's body, for previously the king found no fault in usurping her from her husband as long as she remained pure. There is no detailed account of Imoinda's time in slavery before Oroonoko found her. However, from Trefry's account we can infer that she spent the majority of her time warding off admirers (including Trefry) and maintaining the purity of her body. Trefry recounts her attempts: “she disarms me with this modesty and these tears so tender and so moving that I withdraw, and thanks to my stars, she conquered me” (33). Finally, Imoinda's heartbreaking death is staged by her husband as part of his plan for revenge against the white men who betrayed him. He fears that if he dies in his attempts, Imoinda will be left behind and "ravaged by all the brutes, exposed first to.