‘There must be a little psychological analysis but not too much; a little girding
at ysocial conventions, but social conventions must ultimately prevail; there
must not be too much logic, but there must be romance and sentiment’ (W.L.
Courteney on London theatre of the late nineteenth century). Write an essay
on generic conformity AND/OR experimentation in ONE OR MORE of the plays
studied on this module.
In Aphra Behn’s restoration comedy ‘The Rover’ social conventions are girded,
psychological analysis is sifted in, romance is peppered throughout and generic
conformity is both flouted and abided by through Behn’s experimentation and
compliance with the genre’s tendencies. This essay explores the portrayal of generic
conformity and experimentation through its characters, prostitution and rape,
marriage and its carnivalesque context.
Behn experiments and capitalises on the idea of female actresses with Hellena to
give women more agency and question gender roles. A driving power in the play,
Hellena declares ‘I don’t intend every he that like me shall have me, but he that I like’
(III.i,I.40-45). Hellena denounces womens’ constricted choices and flouts the basis of
marriage, positioning herself in a state of power traditionally reserved for men. A
confusion of gender roles are clearly depicted in the syntax of the repositioned
personal pronouns ‘he’ ‘me’ ‘I’ - there is a margin for mobility of gender norms, just
as there became space for women onstage in restoration comedies. Behn allows
ample display of Hellena’s vehemence from the start: she is resolved to ‘provide
myself this Carnival, if there be e’er a handsom fellow of my humour above ground,
tho I ask first’. She instructs Florinda that ‘we’ll outwit twenty brothers if you’ll be
ruled by me’ (I.i,I.181-7). Hellena conveys the strong impulse of female agency in the
play when she assumes leadership and dominion over her sister possibly serving as
a female analog to Willmore, given his leadership role as captain. Thus, even though
Hellena seeks marriage like all honourable women in Restoration comedies do, it is
in a thoroughly untraditional and unfeminine way, where Aphra Behn technically
conforms to social convention but mostly challenges it.
However, the portrayal of the central character the Rover conforms to the generic
feature of the handsome and witty rake, driven by lust and limited by naught.
, Willmore openly declares he wishes he were ‘that dull, constant thing, which thou
woud’st have, and Nature never meant me’ (V.i, l.290-291), relieving himself of any
responsibility or accountability for his fickleness, pinning his roving tendencies on
‘Nature’, for which the audience immediately excuses as valid. Although he does not
have that ‘constant’ faithfulness, the playwright and audience have consistent faith in
him: Behn does not condemn Willmore for his rape attempts, instead rewarding him
with a prosperous marriage. Payne states ‘the titular character, involved in both
attempts, was problematic to contemporary critics as he made vice too attractive,
and remains so to modern critics as his success complicates any assessment of a
satirical perspective’(40).1 As seen here, the play glorifies his honourless lifestyle,
depicting it as an amorous adventure of an exiled cavalier when in truth he wreaks
havoc consequence-free and exploits his love interests for money. However, given
the method by which he gets money and a profitable marriage - seduction - reveals
that the self-reliant rake may be just as much a slave to financial security as women
are, Behn derailing the idea of male prowess in her depiction of him. Ultimately
however, the narrative stance on the rover injects a reassertion of generic conformity
within the play.
The characterisation of Angellica Bianca flouts generic conformity until male
dominance finally prevails. Described by Willmore as ‘wondrous fair’ (II.ii, l.106),
Angellica’s powers of seduction over men connote a malignant danger, ‘Oh! Fear me
not, shall I not venture where a Beauty calls? A lovely charming beauty? For fear of
danger! When by Heaven there’s none so great as to long for her, whilst I want
Money to purchase her’ (II.ii, l.268-271). The question marks imply Willmore is
knowingly unaware of Angellica’s enigmatic aura and wily charms as they are out of
his reach, yet ‘call’ him to follow, fulfilling the generic expectation of the manipulative
woman who later seeks revenge after inevitably losing her honour to the rake. An
accompanying shift of power ensues - Willmore wants ‘to purchase her’, questioning
whether Angellica is truly an independent woman or a luxury commodity for men.
Editor Frederick Link comments that she shifts from a ‘believable and individualized
woman to an artificial and conventional type’.2 I oppose Link’s view given Behn’s
1
Payne, The Carnivalesque Regeneration of Corrupt Economies in ‘The Rover.’, Restoration: Studies
in English Literary Culture 1660-1700
2
Link, Aphra B
ehn, New York: Twain
