Quote: "He noticed the children less and less. He was hardly a father except in the vocational sense, as a potter with clay to be molded. Their individual laughter he could not recognize, nor their anguish. He never saw how Adah chose her own exile; how rachel was dying for the normal life of slumber parties and record albums she was missing. And poor Leah. Leah followed him around like an underpaid waitress hoping for the tip. It broke my heart. I sent her away from him on everypretense I knew" (98).
One of the unique features of Kingsolver's novel is the way in which it brings a feminist perspective to a history that has largely been told from a white, male perspective.
The novel, which is told from the perspective of the four Price daughters and their mother, takes on themes of activism and feminism. Instead of treating women as subjected voices, the novel brings their voices to the forefront. Their perspective on the family's missionary activities highlight the violence often inherent in the process of colonization. Nathan Price's story might have been told as the story of a hero who heroically ventured into the African jungle and was martyred for his work. Instead, through the feminist perspective, we see a man that was both violent and ignorant to the cultural situations into which he brought his family.Nathan exploits his wife and daughters to further his own agenda and wrestle with his personal demons, and does not seem to care if he sacrifices their well-being in the process. As the strongest driving force for their presence in Africa, Nathan also has the least understanding of the people he's trying to convert of anyone in his family. To varying degrees, the Price women adapt to their surroundings. Their experiences in the Congo eventually prompt Orleanna and Leah to stand up to Nathan and determine their own destiny. After Leah observes her father's self-serving motives in his interaction with the Africans, she refuses to allow him to control her behavior and begins to adopt some of the villagers' customs.
The novel, which is told from the perspective of the four Price daughters and their mother, takes on themes of activism and feminism. Instead of treating women as subjected voices, the novel brings their voices to the forefront. Their perspective on the family's missionary activities highlight the violence often inherent in the process of colonization. Nathan Price's story might have been told as the story of a hero who heroically ventured into the African jungle and was martyred for his work. Instead, through the feminist perspective, we see a man that was both violent and ignorant to the cultural situations into which he brought his family.Nathan exploits his wife and daughters to further his own agenda and wrestle with his personal demons, and does not seem to care if he sacrifices their well-being in the process. As the strongest driving force for their presence in Africa, Nathan also has the least understanding of the people he's trying to convert of anyone in his family. To varying degrees, the Price women adapt to their surroundings. Their experiences in the Congo eventually prompt Orleanna and Leah to stand up to Nathan and determine their own destiny. After Leah observes her father's self-serving motives in his interaction with the Africans, she refuses to allow him to control her behavior and begins to adopt some of the villagers' customs.
This describes the major theme expressed in the novel, the women's movement towards free will. This theme extends throughout the novel and builds through each of the Price women. Because the Price women are their own authors we can see each of their developments and growths leading to the breaking of the social forms forced on them by their father, Nathan.
-Alyssa G.
1 comment:
Quote and analysis really drive home the point of the Price ladies being their own authors and the importance of this technique.
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