The Poisonwood Bible

One of the key themes in the novel is the concept of guilt. Survivor’s guilt plagues Reverend Price after he returns home from World War II. This guilt leads to his radical mindset and abusive behavior, resulting in the relocation to Kilanga, his refusal to leave during the change in Congolese government, and, eventually, his death. Orleanna Price also experiences survivor’s guilt as the death of her youngest child haunts her. Her guilt manifests in her commitment to aiding the civil rights movement and various forms of African relief efforts. Adah also experiences survivor’s guilt, wondering why she survived when thirty-one children, including her sister, died during their time in Kilanga: “Why not Adah? I can think of no answer that exonerates me” (413).

Leah exhibits multiple forms of guilt. First, her personality is shaped by the guilt she feels for inadvertently causing Adah’s hemiplegia by taking her nutrients in the womb. This guilt also drives a wedge between the twins. Later in the story, Leah experiences survivor’s guilt after her sister’s death to some degree, though she also considers the death to be at least partially her fault since she was the one who suggested helping Nelson. Leah also feels guilt for failing to empathize with the deaths of the other 30 children in the village until her own family experienced the same loss.

During her time in Africa, Leah also develops “white guilt.” Specifically, this is the guilt which a white person feels about the consequences of the actions of other white people, particularly regarding colonialism and slavery. In Book 3, Leah began to exhibit signs of this behavior, taking on responsibility for the potential harm the United States caused. Anatole’s dismissal of her culpability through his declaration of “not you” greatly relieves her concerns. However, throughout the book, the frustrations Leah is most plagued by are those to do with the dishonorable way Belgium and the US behave toward the Congo, demonstrating that she has not fully moved on from her white guilt. Ultimately, she disavows America as she cannot be proud to call a country home which behaves so abominably towards the people of Zaire, establishing her home in Angola.

The concept of forgiveness goes hand in hand with guilt, as guilt is often only alleviated through forgiveness given by the injured party. Leah hopes that she will receive the acceptance and forgiveness of the Congolese people and therefore alleviate her white guilt. It is unclear whether she overcomes her guilt through the sense of belonging she seeks. What is clear is that she finds acceptance and forgiveness for the sin of whiteness in at least one person, her husband, Anatole: “Most of all, my white skin craves to be touched and held by the one man on earth I know has forgiven me for it” (474).

Survivor’s guilt, by its nature, does not generally allow for forgiveness. As such, Reverend Price feels compelled to prove his worthiness through his work as a means of escaping his self-judgment. This is an attempt to remove the source of the guilt in the first place: the belief that he did not deserve to survive the war when the rest of his platoon did not. Orleanna regularly asks forgiveness from her youngest daughter, hoping to avoid her judgment, but, since she is dead, may be unable to receive the forgiveness she seeks.

Ruth May, watching her family from above as muntu, does offer the forgiveness her mother seeks, whether or not she is aware of it. She encourages Orleanna to forgive herself, explaining that since the judgment comes from Orleanna, the forgiveness is hers also. This moment highlights the idea that the judgment found in survivor’s guilt can only be alleviated when it is perceived as having an internal rather than external source: the dead are not judging, so their forgiveness is not the solution. The solution is self-forgiveness.

Leah initially shares her father’s black and white moral ideology, believing that that things are either right or wrong in all settings. Over time, her experiences in Africa cause her to change her belief system. She recognizes that strategies that worked in America do not necessarily work in Africa and vice versa. Eventually, this moves her philosophy of moral reasoning towards moral relativism, a belief in which the rightness or wrongness of a belief or action cannot be determined outside of its context. In her own words, “You just can’t assume that what’s right or wrong for us is the same as what was right or wrong for them” (490). This would hint at Normative Moral Relativism, which asserts that, due to the variability in rightness or wrongness of an action in context, no one can be objectively right or wrong. Therefore, since no one is right, the behavior of others cannot be judged. However, such a belief would be incompatible with the concept of injustice, which haunts Leah.

The contrast in ethical philosophies between Reverend Price and Leah’s final position are directly connected to their perspectives and ability, or lack thereof, to succeed in Africa. Reverend Price’s rigid stance prevents him from finding any meaningful common ground with the Congolese people. As a result, his attempts at evangelism are ineffective. On the other hand, Leah understands the cultures surrounding her and eventually finds a home in Africa despite her white skin.

Adah’s disability provides a regular return to the concepts of disability and ableism. While in Kilanga, Adah notices the differences between how disabilities are treated in the US and in the Congo. In Kilanga, disabilities are simply considered a fact of life to be accounted for. For example, Mama Mwanza, their nearest neighbor, has no legs, but she continues to manage her household. This normalization of disabilities presents a contrast to the ableist point of view found in America. In America, Adah feels that she is treated as less-than and pitied. She explains that disabled individuals tend to want acceptance more than to become abled: “[…] we’d like to be able to get places quickly, and carry things in both hands […]. We would rather be just like us, and have that be alright” (493).

Adah goes on to experience further ableism as she works with a neurologist to regain the use of her right side. Everyone believes that regaining her mobility is a miraculous thing which has no downsides. They are therefore unable to understand that her “slant” is a part of her identity. Neither can they imagine that removing its negative aspects from her body also removes its positive aspects from her mind. Though she regains mobility, Adah considers this process to be, at least in part, a loss of self. Further, Adah encounters ableism in her personal life as she realizes that her neurologist lover had no interest in her until she had resolved her disability. Adah’s growing self-respect leads her to decide that she will only consider partners who pass her internal test for the combination of affection for her and anti-ableism she requires: choosing the disabled Adah over Ruth May the night of the driver ants.