"All women together ought to let flowers fall upon the tomb of AphraBehn, . .
. for it was she who earned them the right to speak their minds." (Woolf 91)
Born in 1640, AphraBehn broke gender stereotypes when she undertook a thrilling
(if unrewarded) life as a spy for the Crown, but it was her scandalous career as
an author which truly achieved many firsts for women. She was the first woman to
supporthereself financially by solely relying on the profession of writing, and
many readers argue that Oroonoko--her passionate tale about the institution of
slavery--was the first English novel. She was certainly one of the first female
authors to write candidly about sexuality: in fact, she both broke new ground
and challenged conceptions of patriarchal power when she wrote about women's
empowerment through sexuality. In her poems "The Willing Mistress" (from her
play The Dutch Lover, 1673) and "The Disappointment" (1680), Behn creates
situations of bold sexual mischief in which female characters are aware of,
comfortable with, and even thrive off their sexuality.
Not only was it virtually unheard of for a woman of Behn's time to express
herself openly as a sexual being, but it was also explicitly forbidden by
cultural precepts for a woman to so aggressively take charge of her own physical
desires and satisfaction, as Behn's characters do. Previously, men were in
control of most sexual situations--both in real life and in literature. Behn,
however, creates a playing field where the traditional roles not only do not
apply but are subverted. Urged to seize the da...
... middle of paper ...
...ny; they
can hold the power. Although these sentiments were certainly ahead of their
time, they did help pave the way for future generations of women to express
themselves honestly, sexually or otherwise. For that, all women are indeed
eternally indebted to AphraBehn.
Works Cited
Behn, Aphra. "The Disappointment."The Norton Anthology of Literature by Women.
2nd ed. Eds. Sandra Gilbert and Susan Gubar. New York : Norton, 1996. 112-115.
---. "The Willing Mistress." Norton. 111.
Bradstreet, Anne. "A Letter to Her Husband, Absent Upon Public Employment."
Norton. 89.
Woolf , Virginia . "AphraBehn." Excerpted from A Room of One's Own. Reprinted in
Virginia Woolf: Women and Writing. Ed. Michele Barrett. New York : Harvest, 1979.
89-91.
Sexual Empowerment of Women in Behn's The Willing Mistress and The Disappointment
1976 Words | 8 PagesNew York: Harvest, 1979. 89-91.
Sisterhood
1999 Words | 8 PagesWolfson, Alice, J. (1996). “Clenched Fist, Open Heart.” The Feminist Memoir Project. ed. DuPlessis, Rachel, & Snitow, Ann.
Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre
1754 Words | 8 Pages"The Creation of a Feminist Myth." Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. New York: W.W. Norton, 1987. 484-491.
The Awakening
1891 Words | 8 PagesSeveral critics deem Chopin as one of the leading feminists of her age because she was willing to publish stories that dealt with women becoming self-governing, who stood up for themselves and novels that explored the difficulties that they faced during the time. Chopin scrutinized sole problems and was not frightened to suggest that women desired something that they were not normally permitted to have: independence. Chopin’s decision to focus on and emphasize the imbalances between the sexes is heavily influenced by her upbringing, her feelings towards society, and the era she subsisted in. How Chopin was raised and educated not only inspired her but it also assisted her wi... ... middle of paper ... ...sed her emotions and thoughts on life during the period. Authors like Chopin helped people realize what was going on during the 1800s.
Virginia Woolf - Moving Beyond a Convoluted Memory of Her Parents
2260 Words | 10 PagesVirginia Woolf. Vintage Books. New York, 1996. Rosenmann, Ellen Bayuk. The Invisible Presence: Virginia Woolf and the Mother-Daughter Relationship.
Radical Ideas in Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre
1935 Words | 8 PagesBronte's novel was successful as her refreshing story captivated the attention, if only negative, of many audiences. Jane Eyre is the epitome of feminism as her main objective in life is to attain social equality. This woman is passionate, restless, and unusually bold as she dares to say things that women would never say. Throughout the novel Jane displays outstanding courage and boldness which were uncommon traits in women of her time. We first see Jane's efforts to defend herself crushed by Mrs. Reed who says, "There is something truly forbidding in a child taking up her elders in that manner" (pg.
The Treatment of Women in Hamlet
1030 Words | 5 Pagesin Women Reading Shakespeare 1660-1900. Ed. Ann Thompson and Sasha Roberts. New York: Manchester University Press, 1997. Pennington, Michael.
Ambiguous Women: The Power of the Female Narrative
3074 Words | 13 PagesNew York: Seal Press, 1988. Gordon, Lyndall. Virginia Woolf: A Writer's Life. New York: Norton, 1984. Heilbrun, Carolyn.
The Portrayal of Women in American Literature
2124 Words | 9 PagesBibliography: Works Cited Fryer, Sarah Beebe. Fitzgerald’s New Women: Harbingers of Change. Eds. Jackson R. Bryer, A. Walton Litz, and Linda Wagner. Studies in Modern Literature, No.
Characters of Sir Walter Elliot and Anne Elliot in Jane Austen's Persuasion
1917 Words | 8 PagesPersuasion. New York: Oxford, 1998 Curran, Stuart. "Women Readers, Women Writers." The Cambridge Companion to British Romanticism. Ed.
More about Women and Sexuality in Aphra Behn's Poems
Sexual Empowerment of Women in Behn's The Willing Mistress and The Disappointment
1976 Words | 8 PagesSisterhood
1999 Words | 8 PagesCharlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre
1754 Words | 8 PagesThe Awakening
1891 Words | 8 PagesVirginia Woolf - Moving Beyond a Convoluted Memory of Her Parents
2260 Words | 10 PagesRadical Ideas in Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre
1935 Words | 8 PagesThe Treatment of Women in Hamlet
1030 Words | 5 PagesAmbiguous Women: The Power of the Female Narrative
3074 Words | 13 PagesThe Portrayal of Women in American Literature
2124 Words | 9 PagesCharacters of Sir Walter Elliot and Anne Elliot in Jane Austen's Persuasion
1917 Words | 8 Pages