In the beginning of the Poisonwood Bible, Orleanna was a shy and meager mother who was always obedient of Nathan, her husband.
"I remained his wife because it was the one thing I was able to do each day. My daughters would say; You see, Mother, you had no life of your own," (8).
Orleanna has no true reason as of why she married Nathan and why she shares a family with him. Orleanna views the world as cruel. She seems somewhat innocent and incapable of changing her life for the better. Orleanna just "goes with the flow" when it comes to interacting with Nathan and making decisions.
Although Orleanna's and Nathan's relationship is a huge component of Orleanna's attitude and her life, there are other parts of her life that she could have changed to improve her life as a whole. Orleanna's attitude towards life was negative, never believing in herself and her self-pride.
"It makes me want to keen, sing, clap up thunder, lie down at the foot of a tree and let the worms take whatever of me they can still use," (87).
Inferring that her body, physically and mentally is consumed and depleted, one cannot expect that her life would improve. but the turning point, when Ruth May suddenly passes. Orleanna decides that she must step up, for herself and for her 3 daughters. Orleanna figures out a way to push aside Nathan and his beliefs; Orleanna leaves the Congo. She realized that Nathan wasn't a plus in her life.
"Nathan was something that happened to us, as devastating in its way as the burning roof that fell on the family Mwanza; with our fate scarred by hell and brimstone we still had to track our course. And it happened finally by the grace of hell and brimstone that I had to keep moving. I moved, and he stood still," (384)
Towards the end of the book, Orleanna finds the world a much better place to be, finding happiness in her daily life. Moving into a cabin in Georgia, once again, to be close to Adah, she finds a special talent of gardening. Selling bouquets of flowers on the side of the road, she earns money in order to support herself. Now, Orleanna's character is much more of a leader and independent, since she has more freedom and living in solitude.
Assumptions:
Orleanna values her daughters the most in her life. She is always willing to make sacrifices and changes in her life for them. Even when the Price's were still in the Congo as a family, Orleanna was always thoughtful of them. Her daughters relied on her for many things around the house and Orleanna felt that she should take care of them at all times.
"If I only hadn't let the children out of my sight that morning," (324)
The girls are always her first priority. Obviously, I don't have children of my own, but I do have a family. They are always my first priority in life. I count on them to care for me a take care of me, as they rely on me as well, whether they live in the same house, like my parents, up the street, like my aunty and uncle, or in another state, like my brother.
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