Aphra Behn: Female Restoration Playwright
A Biography of the First Professional Female Writer
Aphra Behn caught the eye of the royal court and was employed by Charles II in secret service in The Netherlands, known as Agent 160 in her correspondences. Unrewarded, and imprisoned for debt, she began to write to support herself, becoming the modern Western world’s first professional female author.
The English Restoration
In 1660 the Stuart dynasty was restored to the throne of England. Charles II, son of the previously beheaded king, had been exiled in France together with many of his supporters, all of whom were familiar with Paris and her passions.
The return of Charles II to the throne brought French influences, particularly in the theater. Upon his assuming the throne, performances immediately began, (previously banned by the Puritan Stuarts) changing the face of Western Theatre forever.
The Rover
From 1670 until her death in 1689, Aphra Behn enjoyed commercial triumph on the stage. Her comedies, such as The Lucky Chance and The Rover (two parts, produced 1677 and 1681) were highly successful.
The word “rover”, is another name for “rouge” or “philanderer”. These cavaliers could be seen as modern outlaws, living a warlike life and viewing the world through a hedonistic and wild philosophy. As these “soldiers of fortune” they frequently dueled and brawled at even the slightest of insults.
The Rover centers around the suffering of three sisters to escape the arrangements their father and brother have set up for them. The sisters take advantage of their momentary freedom during Carnival time to outwit, and eventually fall in love with the bad boys of the Restoration.
Most Restoration plays, breaking free from Puritan restrictions on theatre, were comedies featuring bawdy subjects and lewd behavior, and Behn’s plays were no exception. She proved more than capable of keeping up with her raunchy contemporaries.
Women on Stage
The English Restoration began to see women take the stage in England. This was an opportunity for women to earn an income, become financially independent, and find self expression. Charles II own mistress, Nell Gwynn, was a featured nightly performer, and became the first professional actress in England.
Aphra Behn’s gifts as a writer earned her a place in history because she had done something no other woman had done before---write for her very literal survival. Her versatility, and output in her day was rivaled only by that of her friend and colleague, John Dryden.
Virginia Woolfe, acknowledging Behn for her contributions to women finding their voices through writing, wrote in “A Room of One’s Own” that “…all women together ought to let flowers fall upon the tomb of Aphra Behn—for it was she who earned them the right to speak their minds.”
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