Nathan's Perspective In The Poisonwood Bible

A common question one ponders while reading the Poisonwood Bible is, why is Nathan not given a perspective in the narrative. More appropriately, the question should be whether Nathan needs a perspective, and the answer is not only no, but by reading the book in the Orleanna’s perspective, we gain more insight into Nathan than we would have if we were reading in his narrative.

Orleanna Price has very minimal narrative, yet has some of the greatest insights about her husband. Right off the bat, she claims “I married a man who could never love me, probably. It would have trespassed on his devotion to all mankind. I remained his wife because it was one thing I was able to do each day.” (8, par 3) which is already a view of how Nathan holds himself.

"Everything turned on the day we lost them both,- both released by Nathan." (pg 90, par 3) is commented on by Orleanna mentioning that there are consequences for acting on his impulses to let go the woman "on whom our lives depended", especially considering she disappeared into the jungle without much chance of coming back. The longer the Price Family is in Africa, the more evident it is what Orleanna thinks of her husband. Much of what she states, comments on, or snidely suggests is barely noted, although it registers in the back of the reader's mind and gives the subtle impression of misogynistic, white male oppression that is so evident in Western Literature.

The most beneficial part of the female narration in the subtle acknowledgement of the type of character Nathan Price is characterized as, and the way the authour adjusts to force the reader to see it through the eyes of a woman. Long enough to get a feel for the man, Nathan does not need his own narrative because not only is he very well represented by his wife and children, but you receive more dimension to his character without the narrative than one would ever get with