Orleanna and Judges Connection

At the beginning of each book, Orleanna’s narration serves as almost a prologue of what series of events is to follow. And while she doesn’t directly come out and pronounce each event so that it is crystal clear, she discusses things that allow for interpretation, and allude to what is to come. In the book of Judges, Orleanna tell us, “The day does come, finally, when a daughter can walk away from a man such as that- if she’s lucky. His own ferocity turns over inside her and she turns away hard, never to speak to him again, instead she’ll begin talking to you, her mother, demanding with a world of indignation: How could you let him? Why?” (191). And while none of us would ever suspect that it would be Leah and Nathan that she was talking about, after reading the rest of the book, I know that it was Nathan and Leah that Orleanna was subtly describing. We see toward the end of Judges, and into Bel and Serpent that Leah’s faith in and respect for her father quickly diminishes and she is no longer his biggest fan, but his worst enemy. It is cool to go back and reread portions of Orleanna’s sections, because after reading the rest of the book, some of what she speaks of that was earlier dismissed, now has a whole new meaning.