What reasons did she (Orleanna) have for marrying Nathan Price?
Reasons why Orleanna had married Nathan Price before they had children were quite the opposite of what the reasons for staying with him now were. Nathan has become a changed man and is not what Orleanna first fell in love with. On page 194 of the Poisonwood Bible, Orleanna speaks of attributes to Nathan that first interested her. “A handsome you red-haired preacher who fell upon my (Orleanna) unclaimed soul like a dog on a bone” in which the preacher fell madly in love with Orleanna and cared for her. Orleanna was intrigued at Nathan fondness for her and was more “sure of himself than (Orleanna) thought possible.” Although Nathan Price was charming with his heavenly words the subject of heaven and hell never seemed to leave their topics of conversation. His seriousness dismayed Orleanna greatly resulting in mixed emotions.
One way Nathan kept Orleanna’s attention during their younger days was going over to her house and reading her scriptures out of the bible. The words to her were “mysterious and beautiful” so she let him stay. His words he spoke to her daily were alluring and drove her to continue to see him.
Nathan also “hardly missed a Sunday chicken dinner” at Orleanna’s house. Because of this her Aunt Tess finally said, “You’re a-feeding him anyways, child, why not go on and marry him if that’s what he’s after.” Orleanna did not have time to form an opinion before Nathan and Aunt Tess had the idea sealed. They all just came to the conclusion a marriage was taking place.
No comments:
Post a Comment