In the essay below, Hoegberg explores the idea of power struggle in Oroonoko, noting Behn's allusions to Achilles and Julius Caesar.

In the essay below, Bernbaum addresses the question of realism in Oroonoko, concluding that much of Behn's material came from secondhand sources.

In the following essay, MacDonald discusses why the character of Oronooko's black African wife, Imoinda, in Aphra Behn's novel Oroonoko is depicted as white in later adaptations of the work. The critic claims that Imoinda's whiteness is used to suppress the facts of racial and gender conflict and to confer racial authority on white women.

In the following excerpt, Spengemann argues that Behn's efforts to create a novel popular with the public resulted in a noteworthy and remarkable work.

In the excerpt below, Gallagher discusses the meaning of blackness in relation to European society in Oroonoko.

In the essay below, Rogers argues that Oroonoko is a creative treatment of facts derived from Behn's personal experiences.

In the following essay, Fogarty offers a new reading of Aphra Behn's 1688 novel Oroonoko, arguing that the novel does not reveal parallelisms bewteen slavery and the subjugation of women as has generally been held, but rather emphasizes that a harmonious co-existence between the black slave and his white female friend is an impossibility.

In the following essay, Zimbardo argues that Behn's skill in using established as well as newly developing styles of discourse is evident in Oroonoko.

In the following essay, Brownley discusses Behn 's handling of the narrator in Oroonoko, asserting that the narrative persona is used "to unify and to add realism to disparate elements" in the novel.

In the following essay, Hargreaves addresses the question of Behn's claims of travel to Surinam, arguing that new evidence suggests she did travel there.

In the following essay, Houston discusses the construction of the text and some thematic contradictions inherent within Oroonoko.

SOURCE: "Romantic Love-Prose Fiction," in Virtue of Necessity: English Women's Writing, 1646–1688, Virago Press Limited, 1988, pp. 85–101.

In the excerpt below, Baker argues that Oroonoko represents the ideal man, and that through her novel Behn condemns European civilization.

In the following excerpt, McKeon explores the issue of authenticity in Oroonoko, arguing that Behn idolizes Surinam.

In the excerpt below, Sackville-West argues that Behn limited herself to exotic subjects instead of depicting life in her native Britain.