Aphra Behn, in Oroonoko, plays a central role as narrator and character. The purpose of her piece is to persuade the reader that the "Royal Slave," Oroonoko, a character who is supposed to be a savage by European or English standards, is actually far more noble and civilized than the Europeans. The Europeans, on the other hand, are the true savages, or at least that is Behn's argument.
In order to give her story added credence, Behn claims that it is a true history. She claims that she is reporting what she herself saw and experienced, as well as what the hero himself told her about his life. Perhaps there is some irony in the first words of her narrative "I do not pretend" (1866), with the implication that she is not writing fiction but non-fiction. We cannot know, of course, precisely how much of the story she actually did witness and how much she created or imagined. However, as to the question of her roles as character and narrator, those roles are essential to any understanding or appreciation of the story.
In the first place, so confused is Oroonoko by the misfortunes unjustly visited upon him throughout the story that he could not himself have told his story with any coherence. A narrator was required to give the story form and sense. In the second place, the viewpoint of the narrator is crucial, for the wealth of possible accountings and interpretations of the events of Oroonoko's life would confuse the reader without the grounding of a single perspective.
As the one supplying the narration and the interpretive perspective, Behn guides the reader through Oroonoko's life. However, she does it with anything but an objective viewpoint. She is bound and determined that we see the goings-on just as she herself saw them, and she presents in the process a very well-defined outlook on the contrast between this "noble savage" and the "civilized" Europeans, a contrast which at most points favors Oroonoko.
Accordingly, sh...