Alda, The British Captive
The novel has been set in a historical age when the Roman Empire was still growing strong and Christianity was spreading in Europe and the Middle East. It therefore contains wars which were common in those days as the Roman Empire desired world domination. The novel starts off when the Prince Aldogern and his daughter Alda who was a teenager then are captured by the Roman General Paulinus from Britain and dragged to Rome as prisoners of war. These acts show how the need for power overcame humanity during the era because the prisoners of war were brought to Rome and celebrated as the spoils from the war that the Romans had won.
Alda was a slave in the house of Marcus Lelius where she met Susanna, a fellow slave. Alda’s strong spirit could not be broken by the slavery that she was enduring. Indeed her undying spirit enabled her survive the mistreatment from her mistress Lelia and the other servants. She had refused to obey the Romans who she regarded as inferior and inhumane to other people. Once she broke the Roman household gods which were considered very powerful by the superstitious Romans. As a result, she was whipped badly and fell ill for a couple of days.
Through Susanna who was the only friend of Alda at the time, the theme of friendship develops. This is because Susanna nursed Alda in the time of her illness, advised her and was a companion to her. Susana introduced Alda to the christian faith and taught her of christian virtues which Alda found herself in need of as time went by. Through her sad stories, Susanna convinced Alda to forgive as she had before since her uncle had sold her into slavery.
