Character Representation of Christianity in Poisonwood Bible

The strong commentary on Christianity in Barbara Kingsolver’s The Poisonwood Bible is strongly evident throughout the novel. The narrative itself is divided into ‘books’ that mirror those of the Bible, including: Genesis, The Revelation, and Exodus. Throughout the progression of the novel, the structure of the novel strays from a biblical reflection with the addition of new ‘books’ which denote Kingsolver’s personal appellations. Kingsolver’s characters each represent a different attitude towards Christianity. This suggests that Kingsolver’s rewriting of the Christian text and adapting it to her own story is in response to the will and progression of her characters.

The father of The Poisonwood Bible represents the weaknesses of religion. Nathan is a strong evangelist who is consumed entirely by his faith. The garden he plants upon the family’s arrival in Kilanga is symbolic of his attempt to convert the locals. As he struggles to grow his non-indigenous crops, he also struggles to plant the concept of Baptism in Kilanga. “He declared that he would make them grow, in the name of God, or he would plant again…” (63). It is clear that his methods of gardening were of no use in a tropical forest; ergo, his method of gardening resembles his method of religion. The land that he attempts to cultivate symbolizes the new land of Kilanga which he has intruded in. His failure in his garden is like his failure to his church. It is evident that his character is in a struggle to compete with Africa’s very nature. Ultimately his unchanging attitudes and strict values lead to his own destruction and Kilanga’s rejection of the Christian faith.

Orleanna Price is the wife of Nathan and represents the consequences of blind faith. She submits to the will of her husband and struggles to provide for her children in the harsh African environment. “Maybe I’ll even confess the truth, that I rode in with the horsemen and beheld the apocalypse, but still I’ll insist I was only a captive witness. What is the conqueror’s wife, if not a conquest herself?” (9). Her thoughts dwell on the guilt of her bringing her children to Africa, the United States’ involvement in the Congo and eventually her involvement in the death of her child. She places herself in a particular position with respect to the guilt she is feeling. Orleanna did not commit the crime, but she is closely connected to the perpetrator and perhaps even benefited from his crimes. “I remained his wife because it was the only thing I was able to do each day” (8). Her submissive nature causes her to follow where her husband leads with no her obligations to herself firmly thrust aside. As Nathan's madness becomes more apparent in the novel, and her children's lives seem ever more fragile, she struggles to revive the ability to act out on her own, to oppose her husband's will. Upon the death of her youngest daughter Ruth May, she acquires the strength to leave Nathan with the rest of her daughters. She spends the rest of her life obsessing over her responsibility in her daughter's death.

Adah is Leah’s identical twin sister save for her physical deformity (crippled, the whole left side of her body paralyzed from birth). Her views on life are cynical, preferring to view things backward rather than forward, and she holds herself back, preferring to pretend she was an observer rather than a participant. "When I finally got up with sharp grains imbedded in my knees, I found, to my surprise, that I no longer believed in God" (171). Adah rejects her father’s religion (silently) and instead forms her own opinions on the world through reflections on her surroundings. While she still complies with her father’s expectations, she delights in turning religious