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Aphra Behn’s “England’s first professional female author “ has been a very controversial figure in terms of literary criticisms throughout the centuries . The plays she wrote during the restoration period were hugely popular on the stage , and her fiction and poetry also enjoyed success , though on a much smaller scale . However , under rigid Victorian standards , her work essentially disappeared from literary discussion and did not re-emerge until the mid – 1900’s : in the 40’s Behn’s work was “little known , since she had lived under a cloud of Victorian disapproval for her erotic writing and her allegedly licentious way of life . However , by the end of world war II , “the kind of feminine interest that now gives importance to Aphra Behn as a pioneer in women’s professionalism was beginning to emerge “. Behn used her work as societal commentary , addressing politics , sex , money , relationships , power , virtue and ideals but it seems to me that the major focus of her writing is on gender roles .
The representation of the scenes in which the women are being raped suggest that the women’s being subject to men convey the male sexual aggression during that period . In “ The Rover “ , Behn does this by examining the overt commodification of women by not only men , but as a society as a whole ; in Behn’s eyes women were often just as guilty by their complicity . Through the characters of Hellena , Florinda , Angellica and the roving cavaliers , Behn examines ‘commodification ‘ by illuminating just how differently men treated their women according to class and how women were objectified by prostitution , forcible rape and arranged or forced marriages .
It is Florinda’s rebellion against the commodification of forced marriage th...
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...th of the commodity of virginity was held in such high regard that talk of sex was relegated to that which took place for a price by a whore .
So both in marriage and in prostitution – two institutions not usually thought as comparable women are used as objects of exchange . While the institutions themselves may appear vastly different , the level of objectification is equivalent . And they are altogether different from enslavement , or even rape ; there is in all an inherent element of force perpetrated by the male : the virgin is forced into marriage ; the prostitute , not being a virgin , is forced into her profession because she will never be deemed marriable and rape , ofcourse , by definition , is all about power and force . Though Angellica lived in the society , however she was not considered the part of society . Both are the victims of male authority .
During this time in society the industry of prostitution was an economic gold mine. The women operate the brothel while very distinguished men in the community own and take care of the up keep. The brothel keepers are seen as nothing more than common home wrecking whores. However, the owners of the brothels are viewed as successful business men.
During the Victorian Era, society had idealized expectations that all members of their culture were supposedly striving to accomplish. These conditions were partially a result of the development of middle class practices during the “industrial revolution… [which moved] men outside the home… [into] the harsh business and industrial world, [while] women were left in the relatively unvarying and sheltered environments of their homes” (Brannon 161). This division of genders created the ‘Doctrine of Two Spheres’ where men were active in the public Sphere of Influence, and women were limited to the domestic private Sphere of Influence. Both genders endured considerable pressure to conform to the idealized status of becoming either a masculine ‘English Gentleman’ or a feminine ‘True Woman’. The characteristics required women to be “passive, dependent, pure, refined, and delicate; [while] men were active, independent, coarse …strong [and intelligent]” (Brannon 162). Many children's novels utilized these gendere...
Welter, Barbara. “The Cult of True Womanhood: 1820-1860.” Nineteenth Century Literature March 1966: 102-106. Jstor. On-line. 10 Nov. 2002.
Throughout history, women have struggled with, and fought against oppression. They have been held back and weighed down by the sexist ideas of a male dominated society which has controlled cultural, economic and political ideas and structure. During the mid-1800’s to early 1900’s women became more vocal and rebuked sexism and the role that had been defined for them. Fighting with the powerful written word, women sought a voice, equality amongst men and an identity outside of their family. In many literary writings, especially by women, during the mid-1800’s to early 1900’s, we see symbols of oppression and the search for gender equality in society. Writing based on their own experiences, had it not been for the works of Susan Glaspell, Kate Chopin, and similar feminist authors of their time, we may not have seen a reform movement to improve gender roles in a culture in which women had been overshadowed by men.
Delany, Sheila. Writing Women: Women Writers and Women in Literature: Medieval to Modern. New York: Schocken, 1983.
These women authors have served as an eye-opener for the readers, both men and women alike, in the past, and hopefully still in the present. (There are still cultures in the world today, where women are treated as unfairly as women were treated in the prior centuries). These women authors have impacted a male dominated society into reflecting on of the unfairness imposed upon women. Through their writings, each of these women authors who existed during that masochistic Victorian era, risked criticism and retribution. Each author ignored convention a...
The creative use of diction that Behn puts forth in her work is extremely capturing to the reader. Furthermore, it brings forth another layer to observe in this work. When examining the last stanza, words such as bewitching, fury, and damned leap off the page. Examine first the word bewitching. This word in itself provides a negative connotation within the reader. Behn realized this and the word was not utilized unintentionally. Here Behn emphasized how during this time period the perspective of women consisted of...
`Plays and Poetry by early modern women are primarily concerned with negotiating a position from which women could speak. A concern for ideas of gender, language and silence is, therefore, central, though its expression is sometimes open, sometimes covert.' Discuss with reference to Aemilia Lanyer and / or Elizabeth Cary.
During this time, sex between those who are not married, was strongly looked down upon. Also, sex was strictly for pro-creation, never for pleasure. Therefore, Victorian pornography highlighted many negative and frightening possibilities of sex such as bodily decay and suffering (Joudrey, 2015). This makes it seem as though both the man and woman would have harm done to them for engaging in intercourse. However, in other categories of Victorian pornography, the perspective that it is God’s will to forcefully take a woman’s virginity takes place. According to scholar Joudrey, there are vivid explanations of doing so in short stories such as Venus in India (1890). Even supposing this view was acceptable in the Victorian Era, it is not a man’s duty to take a woman’s virginity to form her into a “real woman”. Today, this would presumably appear as rape especially because the women had no say in the matter and surely depict the women as objects rather than
Throughout Aphra Behn’s short novel, her interest in the abolitionist agenda comes off as tepid at best. While reading Oroonoko, it is difficult to say if the author is against the institution of slavery as a whole, or just against the enslavement of a specimen as beautiful and noble as Oroonoko. Much of the slave’s eponymous story is spent waxing poetic about Oroonoko’s appearance and dignity instead of demonstrating the inherent evils of the inhumane commodification of other human beings.
No greater degradation took place in the Victorian woman’s life than in the bedroom. The Victorian woman had no right to her own body, as she was not permitted to refuse conjugal duties. She was believed to be asexual: “The majority of women, happily for them, are not much troubled with sexual feeling of any kind” (Woloch 128). The inference is, if the husband did not demand the f...
Throughout literature’s history, female authors have been hardly recognized for their groundbreaking and eye-opening accounts of what it means to be a woman of society. In most cases of early literature, women are portrayed as weak and unintelligent characters who rely solely on their male counterparts. Also during this time period, it would be shocking to have women character in some stories, especially since their purpose is only secondary to that of the male protagonist. But, in the late 17th to early 18th century, a crop of courageous women began publishing their works, beginning the literary feminist movement. Together, Aphra Behn, Charlotte Smith, Fanny Burney, and Mary Wollstonecraft challenge the status quo of what it means to be a
In her play Widow Ranter, Aphra Behn takes quite a solid approach in disrupting the social order by empowering women. She presents the women with characteristics of authoritative figures. Set in 17th century Virginia, Behn use Bacon's Rebellion and the stereotypes of a developing colonial society as a foundation for developing gender politics at the time. Her play also attempts to justify the Emipre’s imposition of their social hierarchy within the Virginian society criticizing the wrongful seizure of power by those without the authority or nobility to do so.
Wojczak, Helena. “English Women’s History.” English women’s history. Hasting Press. n.d. Web 24 Nov 2013
In Aphra Behn’s “The Rover”, between the categories of virgin and whore lies a void rather than a spectrum. The three leading ladies of the play Hellena, Florinda and Angellica most certainly fall into these categories; Hellena and Florinda being virginal ladies of quality and Angellica being a famous courtesan. These three women attempt to challenge these roles throughout the play. Aphra Behn uses the domination of the men over the women, the objectification of the women and the double standards that exist between men and women to illustrate the impossibility of taking one’s sexuality into one’s own hands, and challenging the assigned roles of the patriarchal society for the female characters in the play.