Exploring Themes in Aphra Behn's "The Rover": Marriage, Prostitution, and Feminist Legacy

 Exploring Themes in Aphra Behn's "The Rover": Marriage, Prostitution, and Feminist Legacy

Introduction

This thinking activity, assigned by Megha Trivedi, delves into the rich thematic landscape of Aphra Behn's The Rover (1677), a Restoration comedy set during the vibrant Carnival in Naples. The play follows exiled English cavaliers and spirited women navigating love, disguise, and societal constraints. As one of the first professional female playwrights in England, Behn infuses The Rover with bold commentary on gender, power, and autonomy, particularly through characters like the sisters Florinda and Hellena, and the courtesan Angellica Bianca. This blog addresses two key questions: whether Angellica's comparison of marriage negotiations to prostitution holds merit, and whether Virginia Woolf's assertion in A Room of One’s Own that Behn earned women "the right to speak their minds" is justified, drawing directly from the play.

1. Angellica's Equating of Marriage Negotiations to Prostitution: Do I Agree?

In The Rover, Angellica Bianca, a renowned courtesan who commands a high price for her affections (1,000 crowns a month), boldly critiques the institution of marriage during a heated exchange with the roguish Willmore. She argues that the financial bargaining inherent in arranged marriages focusing on a bride's dowry rather than her personal qualities mirrors the transactional nature of prostitution. In Act II, Scene II, Angellica retorts to Willmore's accusation of her "mercenary" ways: "Pray, tell me, Sir, are not you guilty of the same mercenary Crime? When a Lady is proposed to you for a Wife, you never ask, how fair, discreet, or virtuous she is; but what’s her Fortune which if but small, you cry She will not do my business and basely leave her, tho she languish for you. Say, is not this as poor?" Willmore concedes that it is a "barbarous Custom" he scorns in men but despises in women.

I wholeheartedly agree with Angellica's perspective. In Restoration society, marriage was often a economic alliance rather than a romantic union, with women's value tied to their inheritance or dowry. Behn, through Angellica, exposes the hypocrisy: while prostitutes like her openly commodify their bodies for financial gain, respectable women are similarly "sold" in marriage markets, their autonomy sacrificed for familial or social advancement. This parallel underscores a broader feminist critique women's bodies and choices are commodified in both spheres, but marriage cloaks it in respectability. Angellica's independence as a courtesan, though precarious, allows her agency that married women like Florinda lack; Florinda is betrothed against her will to an elderly suitor for his wealth, highlighting how dowries dictate fates.

Behn doesn't romanticize prostitution Angellica ultimately falls victim to unrequited love for Willmore, losing her emotional guard but she uses it to dismantle the sanctity of marriage. In a patriarchal world, both practices reduce women to bargaining chips, with love secondary to profit. This view resonates today, where economic disparities still influence relationships, reinforcing Angellica's timeless insight.

2. Virginia Woolf's Tribute to Aphra Behn: Agreement and Justification from The Rover

In her seminal essay A Room of One's Own (1929), Virginia Woolf celebrates Aphra Behn as a trailblazer: "All women together ought to let flowers fall upon the tomb of Aphra Behn, which is, most scandalously but rather appropriately, in Westminster Abbey, for it was she who earned them the right to speak their minds." Woolf credits Behn with proving women could earn a living through writing, paving the way for future female authors despite societal scorn and hardship.

I fully agree with Woolf's statement, and The Rover exemplifies why. Behn, a widow who turned to playwriting for financial independence in the late 17th century, defied norms that confined women to domesticity or dependency. Her success as a professional writer producing over 19 plays, novels, and poetry demonstrated that women could wield intellectual and creative power publicly. In The Rover, this "right to speak their minds" manifests through Behn's portrayal of assertive female characters who voice desires and critiques often silenced in male-dominated literature.

Hellena, destined for a nunnery, disguises herself to pursue love on her terms, declaring in Act I, Scene I: "I have considered the matter, and am resolved to venture myself." Her wit and agency challenge conventual repression, echoing Behn's own bold life as a spy and writer. Florinda resists her brother's arranged marriage, prioritizing passion over profit, while Angellica Bianca articulates feminist ideas on autonomy and hypocrisy in love. These women aren't passive victims; they scheme, seduce, and subvert expectations, giving voice to female perspectives on sexuality and freedom.

Woolf notes Behn's work was uneven due to the pressures of earning a living without "a room of one's own," yet her perseverance opened doors. The Rover's subversive humor and proto-feminist themes blurring lines between virtue and vice, marriage and prostitution show Behn speaking her mind unapologetically, inspiring Woolf and others. Without Behn, the literary canon might lack the diverse female voices that followed, from Jane Austen to the Brontës.

Conclusion

The Rover remains a powerful lens for examining gender inequalities, with Angellica's critique revealing marriage's economic underbelly and Behn's authorship embodying Woolf's call for recognition. Behn's legacy endures, reminding us of the hard-won right for women to express themselves freely. As Woolf urges, let's metaphorically scatter those flowers Behn earned them.

References

• For full text and analyses of The Rover, see Project Gutenberg editions and scholarly discussions cited inline.
• Woolf's A Room of One's Own is available via Gutenberg Australia for deeper reading.