The Poisonwood Bible

Orleanna draws a comparison between life during the Great Depression and life in Kilanga. She also recounts her life and marriage, explaining that while Nathan was always stubborn, he did not become violent until after his time in the Philippines. During the war, he had been struck by a shell and, concussed, wandered into a pig shed. He was later rescued, but the men he had been stationed with were taken prisoner and killed in a death march. The survivor’s guilt led Nathan Price to become angry and violent. He resented Orleanna for being beautiful, hated his children for being “undeserved blessings” and proof of his lust. His black and white worldview only solidified, making him all the more certain that if their lives were difficult, it was because they—meaning Orleanna—were not righteous enough to deserve better. This led to the physical abuse, which began while she was pregnant.

Orleanna describes the way that her life was absorbed by Nathan’s will and that his own guilt and self-hatred infected her, causing her to genuinely believe that she was wicked and that Nathan’s will was indistinguishable from God’s: “I’d come to believe that God was on his side. Does this make me seem lunatic? But I did believe it; I must have.