cess of his autobiography. He portrayed himself in a
favorable light for the reading public and influenced
that audience to denounce the inhumane practice
of slavery.
Kelli Randall
spirituality in The Interesting Narrative of
the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa,
the African. Written by Himself
In the opening chapter of his Interesting Narra-
tive, Olaudah Equiano boldly announces, “I regard
myself as a particular favourite of Heaven, and
acknowledge the mercies of Providence in every
occurrence of my life.” Equiano feels that God’s
providence, or plan for his life, justifies everything
that has happened to him, both good and the bad.
This heartfelt Christian conviction is quite dif-
ferent from Equiano’s account of “Eboe” religious
cultural practices in Africa. The Eboes believe in
one Creator. Equiano never uses the word God or
Lord when he describes the Eboe supreme being.
The Creator lives in the sun and wears a belt so “he
may never eat or drink.” The Creator also smokes
a pipe, a luxury in Eboe culture. The Eboes believe
that the Creator controls people’s lives, especially
their deaths and forms of captivity such as slavery.
Their religion, however, does not include a doctrine
of eternity. Instead, Equiano refers to their specific
belief practice as the “transmigration of souls.”
These souls of friends and family members guard
and protect their living loved ones from bad or evil
spirits, foes, and enemies. Equiano describes how
ritualistic reverence for those souls is demonstrated
by setting aside a portion of food or pouring drink
onto the floor to both acknowledge and appease
the spirits.
Equiano’s Interesting Narrative demonstrates
the influence that autobiography as a genre and
style had on slave narratives. The genre of spiritual
autobiography is particularly important in under-
standing the structure and style of the Interest-
ing Narrative. The slave narrative plot generally
focuses on the protagonist’s enslavement, escape,
and eventual freedom. The structure of Equiano’s
story parallels nicely the spiritual autobiography’s
three-part emphasis on the protagonist’s life of sin,
conversion, and spiritual rebirth. Slavery is akin to a
life of sin, while escape from slavery parallels spiri-
tual conversion, and freedom is symbolic of spiritual
rebirth. In the spiritual autobiography, the narrator
is retrospective. Equiano speaks about the past to
give an account of things as they were experienced
in the past while at the same time interpreting past
events from a present, informed, and wise perspec-
tive. As a spiritual autobiographer, Equiano initially
talks about sin, then his repentance of sin, inevitable
backsliding, and rebirth by professing his faith. He
parallels physical enslavement to sin. It is not until
he accepts Christ that he becomes both physically
and spiritually free.
Equiano is only able to come to terms with his
identity and develop his religious character after he
obtains his physical freedom by purchasing it. In
terms of Christian theology, Equiano redeems him-
self. With a number of his contemporaries, such as
Phillis Wheatley, James Albert Ukawsaw Gronnio-
saw, and John Marrant, he shared Selina Hastings,
countess of Huntingdon, and the Reverend George
Whitefield as patrons and spiritual advisers. Like
his fellow African-descended writers, he embraces
Methodism.
Equiano’s audience probably consisted primarily
of Christians. In his narrative, he seeks to appeal
to the Christian consciences of his readers to per-
suade them toward the cause of abolishing slavery.
He hopes that Christians will empathize with his
experiences as a slave. If they are indeed true Chris-
tians, then they will not want to take part in the
human suffering of their fellow enslaved African
brethren. Equiano’s abolitionist rhetoric focuses
primarily on Christian morals, and he often indicts
his audience of white Christians for their hypoc-
risy. He challenged them to do unto others as they
would have others do unto them. He specifically
refers to these individuals as “nominal Christians”
and demonstrates the incompatibility of slavery and
Christianity. Like many of his African-descended
contemporaries, Equiano feels that his fall into slav-
ery was meant to be. God’s plan for Equiano was to
experience physical slavery as a path toward becom-
ing spiritually free.
Kelli RandallThe Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African... 407