Father daughter conflict in "The Poisonwood Bible".

        When Leah admitted that she was pulling away from her father after obeying him for so long  and trying to “set my shoes squarely in his footprints”(page 244), her own thoughts and ideas began to form. As her father did more things to discourage her, like punishing her or constantly lose his temper, she gained independence. She starts to resent her father for putting her down constantly and her own thoughts and ideas begin to form. From that, she finds that her own thoughts and beliefs not only differ from those of her father’s, but seem to be of a totally different mindset. While Nathan stays indifferent to anything other than his beliefs, Leah becomes more observant of things around her. She sees the community’s dislike for her father, proof coming when Christianity is outvoted for the worship of nature and spirits (page 333).

        Leah is also more open- minded, leading to the reason she is so easily dissuaded from her father. Nathan Price (Leah’s father) was so narrow-minded and lacked self-awareness, leading to his aversion for any other opinions but his own. Nothing will really please him, of which Leah comments (page 36), So it is doubtful he even truly care about his family. This constant selfishness is what leads Leah to disobey, outright, when Leah wants to help hunt but he refuses to let her (page 336). When it came down to a vote Leah got her chance, proving to her father that she no longer wanted to follow his orders, and in the end, she actually helped the family more than Nathan had, the whole time they were in the Congo. When he should have been the one providing for his family, he did not. Leah was the one that pulled through and took care of them. If Leah had not, no one would have.  

        One of the main Themes of The Poisonwood Bible was that people deal with guilt differently. Nathan Price does not have guilt, which is one of the main causes of conflict between him a Leah. He felt that as long as he preached, that his purpose was being filled, no matter the cost. Even at his youngest daughter’s funeral, he was void of Emotion. Leah was the opposite, having to be the one to tell her parents of their loss. She found him to be a “simple, ugly man”. Finally, when the end came for him, Leah was the one who felt guilt for not telling her siblings sooner of the loss, then for describing his death in detail. Leah was the opposite of her father, and she realized this when she allowed her feelings to shine through. She could love, when her father could not.

         Nathan Price’s arrogance and ignorance to anything other than what he wanted, greatly affected his relationships with all of his daughters, and Leah was the first to do anything about it.  She tried so hard to be on his good side, thinking it was best. It took conflict between the two for her to see how wrong he was, and for her to realize she had the power to do what she wanted, and her father never really had any control over her.