Summary

In his rage, the King confronted Imoinda and Onahal, who told him the story that Oroonoko had contrived: that Oroonoko, desperate to be with Imoinda, broke into The Otan and took her by force. The King believed them, and instead of condemning Imoinda to death for being unfaithful, sends her and Onahal into slavery. The narrator then describes how, in the aftermath of Imoinda’s departure, the King began to second-guess and eventually regret his decision, coming to believe that he had dishonored Imoinda by not allowing her the dignity of an execution: narration reveals that among the King’s people, an older man having relations with a woman who had had relations with a younger relative (i.e. Oroonoko). In order to avoid facing public retribution for his actions, the King then resolved to tell Oroonoko that Imoinda had, in fact, been put...