Downward Spiral of Orleanna Price in The Poisonwood Bible
In Barbara Kingsolver’s novel, The Poisonwood Bible, the main character, Orleanna Price, goes through an internal and external struggle that weighs her character down all the way until the end of the book. This downward spiral starts the moment they set foot in Africa, bringing her through emotional hells as one thing after another disappoints her. ... When the Price family first learns of their father’s plans for them to go to the Congo, Orleanna begins packing all of her worldly belongings. ... Soon, all the villagers near by are shooting them looks of disdain, and Orleanna begins to see the truth after all: “Until that moment I thought I could have it both ways: to be one of them, and also my husband’s wife” (89). Not long after the day they lost Mama Tataba and Methuselah, Orleanna begins to struggle even more, over the decision on whether or not to stay with her family or flee Africa as quickly as possible. ... As she remembers back to when she first met Nathan, she begins to see that even that was the start of her spiral downward into a life she would never truly enjoy. ... When Orleanna loses her youngest daughter, Ruth May, to the snakebite, she reaches a turning point in her life.