Orleanna's Words
Orleanna’s words have ironic echoes of both Conrad’s novel, Heart of Darkness, and the story of creation from the Bible. Heart of Darkness follows one man's nightmarish journey into the Congo. Along the way, he witnesses brutality and hate between colonizers and the native African people. Like Kurtz, Nathan also places himself in a god-like position over his family and over the people he is attempting to convert even though he himself is emotionally prostrate before God. It is a misplaced perception of himself, and the observation comes as close to satire as Orleanna is able to get. Neither she nor her husband had dominion over themselves, let alone the "creatures" of the earth. Orleanna also speaks about darkness which she believed to be
a part of Africa, when in reality it is a blindness in their own hearts. Orleanna's passage plays a major role in the novel's motif of light versus dark. Throughout the novel several references are made to the "darkness" of Africa, echoing Conrad’s novel Heart of Darkness. Nathan commands the people to "enter into the light" on several occasions, but even as he preaches enlightenment to his tiny congregation, his own heart grows darker and more distant from even his own family.
a part of Africa, when in reality it is a blindness in their own hearts. Orleanna's passage plays a major role in the novel's motif of light versus dark. Throughout the novel several references are made to the "darkness" of Africa, echoing Conrad’s novel Heart of Darkness. Nathan commands the people to "enter into the light" on several occasions, but even as he preaches enlightenment to his tiny congregation, his own heart grows darker and more distant from even his own family.