Posienwood Bible

"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 Price's 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, Orleanna's 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 Greer's 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 Kingsolver's 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. Orleanna's 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 daughter's 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 Nathan's mission, body and soul. Occupied as if by a foreign powerÐ'... Now every call of me was married to Nathan's plan. His magnificent will. This is how conquest occurs: one plan is always larger than the other" (Kingsolver, Poisonwood 198). Nathan's narrow-minded goal is convert the Congolese to Christianity is the first step in eroding Orleanna's sense of self, as she is forced to follow and support Nathan's 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.

Orleanna's 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 can't 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 daughter's 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. Orleanna's personal strength as a woman is one quality that she relates onto her daughter, Leah, as they struggle together to survive the Congo.

Leah Price's 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 naÐ"Їve about the repression of women. Leah's 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. "Gbenye's lip curled. Ð''How would a woman's arrow kill a yearling impala?' Ð''By making a hole in his neck, GbenyeÐ'... Where was your aim, nkento?'"