In this video on the novel Oronooko by Aphra Behn, the lady speaking in the video brings up a few good points. One point being that Aphra Behn and Oronooko were not exactly against the concept or action of slavery but were against the idea of royals being put into slavery. I found this point very interesting because for this thought to have happened, one would have to really believe that some people are “higher” or far more “superior” than other people. For Oronooko, it was not even because of skin color since all of the slaves and royals in Africa were all the same race and had the same skin color.

While I understand this novel was written in the time period where slavery was very common and popular, I do not understand how Aphra Behn felt the same. In the video, the speaker mentioned how Ms. Behn was formerly a spy for King Charles II but was not paid well. In turn, Aphra Behn had to pawn off her jewelry just to be able to complete her spy mission. This caused her to be thrown into a debt prison. This made me wonder if Aphra Behn thought she was as a royal status and should not have been treated that way. Through her novel, she would be writing about herself through the use of her character, Oronooko.

The speaker in the video also mentioned that Aphra Behn was married to a presumed German merchant who later is also presumed dead. If Oronooko was representing Aphra Behn, then I wonder if Aphra Behn had a miscarriage or somehow lost her child before or during her time with her husband. I also wonder if she felt any guilt of what happened during her lifetime since so much of it is unaccounted for. Oronooko, was consumed with so much guilt after killing his wife and child, that he could no longer carry out his revenge plan. So if there is a comparison, I wonder what would make Aphra Behn feel guilty- not implying that she had also killed her husband and child, but maybe she felt guilty of what she had to do when on her spy missions or she felt she was responsible for what happened to those around her when she was a little girl.