The Judges

In the introduction to The Judges, Orleanna talks about what is to come in The Judges, she gives us a mild foreshadowing of the upcoming events. Near the end of Orleanna's narrative, she talks about how Nathan has caged her up in a sense and how she has slowly lost all sense of self
Orleanna tells us how Nathan likes to lay all the blame on her. Nathan has this theory, that all bad things that happen to them are retribution for someone in the family’s sins. The suffering that the family has to go through is because of someone's wrongdoing. In Nathan's mind, the wrongdoing is done by Orleanna. She is to be blamed because she is beautiful. In the text Orleanna says "Nathan resented my attractiveness, as if slender hips and large blue eyes were things I'd selected intentionally to draw attention to myself" (200). Orleanna also talks about how God is always watching, looking at everything that is going on.
This idea that all sins are punished by God is shown in The Judges. Ruth May believes that since she was spying, she broke her arm. She also believes because of all the other bad things she has done (lie, tear up pictures, spy on Nelson, etc...) Baby Jesus is making her sick. She says that Baby Jesus can see everything she has done, and is now making her sick becuase of all the naughty deeds she has done.
Orleanna also talks about how Nathan ignores her and that she feels like she has lost her spirit. At times Orleanna rebels a little, putting on lipstick while Nathan is away, but she loses herself to marriage, so sucked up in the care of her children and the tyranny of her husband.
In a way, the ants coming and swarming all over the village, biting, munching and destroying everything edible in their paths has a correlation to Orleanna’s marriage to Nathan. Nathan is like the ants, slowly bite by bite taking away Orleanna’s freedom, her will power and her sense of self. Nathan has picked Orleanna clean, leaving her raw and empty like the chicken bones the ants left behind.