The Rover

 

                                          The Rover 

                                                    - Aphra Behn

                                   

                                          

                                          ( Aphra Behn :- 1640 - 1689 )

    

      

       The Rover or The Banish'd cavaliers is a play in two parts that is written by the English author Aphra Behn. Aphra Behn was an English playwright, poten, translator and fiction writer from the Restoration era. As one of the first English women to earn her living by her writing. She broke cultural barriers and served as a literary role model for later generations of women authors.

                                     

                                 The Rover is a revision of Thomas Killebrew's play Thomaso, or The wonderer and features multiple plot lines, dealing with the enormous and adventures of a group of Englishman and women in Naples at Carnival time.

                           According to Restoration poet John Dryden , it " lacks the manly vitality of Killebrew's play, but shows greater refinement of expression. " The play stood for three centuries as " Benn's most popular and most respected play.

          :-      Thinking Activity on The Rover   :-

        1 )       Can you identify who is actually Rover? Illustrate with their behaviour find out who is actually the Rover.

        

                                     

                                Captain Willmore, is actually representative of Rover , an exiled english sea captain on shore leave to enjoy the carnival, or Hellena , a young woman hoping to experience life and love before being committed to a convent by her brother. These two rover's meet and fall in love and witty debates and sexual maneuvering.

                                      Willmore   is eager but unfaithful with women and quick get into fights. He shows little concern for others or remorse for his behavior. He romances both Hellena and Angelica , and seems to forget one exists when in the other's presence.

                                    Willmore is called Rover , not just because his travelling but also because of his roving eye. He constantly lusts for women , and seeks out different way to seduce them , leaving a trail of broken hearts wherever he goes.

                           Willmore wants nothing more than to enjoy the pleasures of as many women as possible during his brief stay in Naples. Willmore is a smooth talker , who charms both lady and courtesan , and he repeatedly manages to earn back their love even after they catch him in another tryst. Nor does he scruple to take their money. While drunk , he attempts to rape a noblewomen. He meets his match in Bellen, who shares his appetite for adventure and love whose streak of bold independence may inspire him to fidelity.

                              In this way we can say that Captain Willmore is actually representative of the Rover. Not just because his traveling, but also because of his roving eye, which is not stable on any one woman.

    2)             Can we say that this play is focusing on women's situation of that time?  Give critical point of it on this argument.

          

                                       

                                     In late seventeenth-century London, Aphra Behn was the first woman to earn her living as a writer. As a playwright, she wrote plays that reflected historical and cultural aspects of the Restoration from a female perspective. In 1677, she penned one of her most notable plays, The Rover; or The Banished Cavaliers. Behn’s play debuted during the height of the Restoration period, which for theater meant more female agency on the stage because women were allowed to take on female roles for the first time. Behn places the action of her play in Spanish Naples, just before Lent in the midst of carnival, which is a setting fit for emphasizing the urge to break free from societal constraints. Through the stories of Florinda, Hellena, and Angellica, Behn integrates strong elements of feminism and libertinism by focusing on issues of marriage, self-identity and representation. Each of these character types represents a different aspect of a woman’s struggle to define herself during the Restoration.

                                           Florinda’s character encompasses the Restoration woman’s struggle to gain agency in marriage. Before arriving at carnival, Florinda is trapped in the midst of a battle between following her own desire and the desires of her family. She wants to marry the English colonel Belvile, but must obey the patriarchal orders of her father and brother to marry who they see fit for her. In Katherine Quinsey’s book Broken Boundaries: Women & Feminism in Restoration Drama, Peggy Thompson points out that during the time that Behn wrote, male relatives often negotiated marriage contracts for the women in their family, but did so “not to protect their wards’ autonomy and property, but to enhance familial and dynastic interests”. In Florinda’s case, these interests would lead her to marry a rich elderly man named Don Vinciento. In a conversation with her brother Don Pedro during the opening scene, Florinda claims that she hates Don Vinciento, despite the fact that her brother says he could provide a good life for her in his “ancient villa belonging to the family of Vincentios these five hundred years." However, the prospect of marrying a man for property and stature is not appealing to Florinda, and she goes on to compare the tradition of arranged marriage to slavery, calling it an “ill custom” .

                                        This “ill custom” was not generally espoused during the Restoration. In Susan Staves’ article, “Behn, Women, and Society”, she describes how prior to the challenges of the Civil Wars, the Church of England taught that children had a “religious obligation to honour and obey their parents” . But during the Restoration, the church clergy and “most decent people” felt that while the daughter was still obligated to listen to her parents in terms of a suitor, she should still have the ability to choose who she wanted to marry . This shift in perspective gave women a sense of agency in who they chose to marry, which is important to Florinda’s character because it allows her to break free of her social limitations. In her conversation with Don Pedro, Florinda rejects the patriarchal order of marriage and then ventures off to carnival with her sister Hellena, defying her brother once again as he had just ordered her not to go.

                       

                              With Florinda’s sister Hellena, Behn exposes the struggle of self-identification, specifically in terms of faith. Hellena has been set on the path to become a nun, and as she ventures off to carnival with her sister, the masquerade is a tool for her to free herself from societal restraints and experience real love. As noted earlier, the Church of England was very influential during the Restoration. Behn incorporated religion into The Rover, but she presented a critical view of church customs by portraying such strong libertine ideals from a devout character like Hellena. In the first scene Hellena tells Florinda that she would like to see her and Belvile together because she hopes he has “some mad companion or other that will spoil  devotion”.

                                Hellena’s libertine values are very apparent when she meets Wilmore. Their courtship begins immediately and she tells him that vowing to die a maid is “foolish”. Wilmore and Hellena are both looking for an escape at carnival. When he arrives on shore, Wilmore tells the cavaliers that his “business ashore was only to enjoy [him]self a little this carnival”  hinting that he is looking for female companionship to occupy his time on the island.  Hellena’s feelings of oppression, curiosity and yearning for male companionship connect the libertine elements of these two characters together. In her article, Staves discusses how a central problem for Behn “was to work out the sharply different consequences of libertinism for women”. While Wilmore, the libertine man, thrives on sexual conquest and fails to yield anything constant outside of the moment, Hellena, the libertine woman, experiences her feelings as “proof that she is desirable” while also threatening her sense of identity . This contrast is evident in the plot since Wilmore has sexual desire for Hellena as well as the fair courtesan, Angellica Bianca.

                                  Despite their increasing agency in choosing a marriage partner, women in the Restoration were nonetheless valued as commodities. Angellica Bianca is an example of this as her struggles stemmed from social perspectives of value within the marketplace. The Staves article mentions that Behn was intrigued by the “’value’ of women in her society and experiment[ed] with dividing and isolating elements of conventional female value” . In her profession, Angellica usually takes on the dominant role in choosing a mate. “Nothing but gold shall charm my heart” , she proclaims after hearing about the cavaliers seeking to purchase her for the 1,000 crown price tag. The amount that the men are willing to pay represents her value and elevates her idea of self worth.

                                   Though each of these women was a valuable social commodity in their respective situations, Florinda began with no sense of agency, and the power shift in her patriarchal environment gave her more agency to choose who she would marry. Hellena began with the same level of agency as her sister, being forced into a life as a nun, but the shift in power allowed her to take on a new identity with a man which in turn gave her more agency in her devotion. Angellica, on the other hand lost power by falling in love. It left her vulnerable and decreased her level of agency which lowered her social value and self-worth.

                                 Through Florinda, Hellena, and Angellica, Behn was able to bring to life some of the ideals of the Restoration while also critiquing popular movements within the era. Each of these characters endures a social struggle that fits into a bigger picture for the time. Marriage, self-identity and social representation are all topics that women of the Restoration were faced with and characterized what it meant to be a woman during that time. Behn’s execution of these elements makes The Rover a critical part of the history of Restoration Theater.

      3 )       Women are justify by their clothes?  They are Noble or prostitues. What do you think? Can clothes give us identity? Or cloth can define us?

                             People's dress can be an important expression of their religious, cultural or personal identity or beliefs. As a general rule, the rights to freedom of religion or belief and freedom of expression entail that all people should be free to choose what - and what not – to wear.

                               

                            So women are free to what they want to wear. Clothes can not give the identity of any person. And any people not allow for comment on anyone's wear. If any women like to western dresses, they can wear that dresses. No one can define them noble or prostitute by their clothes , because from clothes they can not know anyone's innerslf. It's clear that women can wear clothes according to their likes.

                                Gone are the days when women accepted rules that were patriarchal in nature owing to the mythical belief that those rules were intended to protect the dignity of women. Women today are stronger and full of self respect. We understand our good and bad and do not want to be dictated about how we should lead our lives. Talk of these things and the society starts accusing you of being extremely feminist. And it is the same society we grew up in which leaves us with two options - bow down to the rules and be accepted or take a stand for yourself and for womanhood at large. We talk of women empowerment but blame a girl for wearing provocative clothes that excited the sick-headed rapists. Some are of the view that it is vague and hypothetical to say that women can dress anyway they want. Are rules really needed to restrict what women should wear and what not?

                                      It is justified to say that women should have freedom to wear whatever she wants to wear, given that she adheres to the rules of the locality and the dress codes in formal settings. Both men and women are bound by laws but objectifying women in regards to what she wears is absurd. Clothes are not an instrument of justifying one's personality or innerself.

        4 )         Carnival life is different from our society's life. Do you agree with this statement?

                                 AphraBehn’s The Rover or the Banished Cavaliers, one of the prominent plays of the Restoration comedy, deals with male-female relationships, libertinism and the carvinalesque. After the puritan rule in Britain was overthrown, the restrictive laws imposed on social life by the Puritan views were also dismissed. Quite contrary to the conservative values of puritanism, the restored period was marked by its pleasure-seeking ruler. 

    

                                       The king reopened theaters and abolished the strict laws that Cromwell had enacted to restrict the way people lived. deals with male-female relationships, libertinism and the carvinalesque. After the puritan rule in Britain was overthrown, the restrictive laws imposed on social life by the Puritan views were also dismissed. Quite contrary to the conservative values of puritanism, the restored period was marked by its pleasure-seeking ruler. The king reopened theaters and abolished the strict laws that Cromwell had enacted to restrict the way people lived. 

                                     Bringing freedom to the society, Charles II freely enjoyed mistresses and pleasure – hence his nickname “The Merry Monarch.” In the play, the parallels between the male characters and hedonistic court of the restored king are quite evident as the libertine lifestyle adopted by male characters is exposed and even criticized.  The play, also centres the themes of marriage, ideal love and vitality of female subjectivity in a patriarchal society in which females are seen as the objects or the other rather than being the subjects or parts of any social life. 

                                       Further, Behn focuses on the concept of de-masculinisation of sexual desires by men as she thinks that women should also have equality and freedom to express their desires and do what they want. This paper aims to discuss the ways in which the play mirrors the seventeenth century's displeased approach to female subjectivity in social life after the collapse of Puritan Protectorate and Behn’s harsh criticism of this approach by creating female characters that are witty, mentally strong and confident of their desires. 

                                  So , our society is somehow different from carnival life and sometimes similar also.

     5 )    Can you identify the mening

               5.1 )    Mask

               5.2 )    Gypsy

               5.3 )    Carnival

           How this words are use in this play.

         -:  1_  Mask  :-

                                 Masks are a running symbol throughout The Rover. They are a prop for the mistaken identities that drive the bulk of the plot. In addition, masks serve as an evocation of mischief and deception working both for and against the characters. 

                                                      When wilmore asks why they wear the masks, Belgie answers, "Because whatever Extravagances we commit in these Faces, our own may not be oblig'd to answer 'em." In some ways, the masks provide safety. The characters can revel, joke, flirt, court, and travel the street without worrying they will be recognized and their reputations endangered. In other ways, the masks expose characters to more danger. Without the protections afforded by their status and their social groups, the characters—especially the women—may become victims to the unkindness of others.

                                                  However, for all that the masks provide deception, they often reveal something true about the temperament of those wearing them. The wearers feel they are free to behave without fear of consequences. Of all the characters, it is only Willmore who goes consistently unmasked and showing everything he is on the surface.

          -:    2 _  Gypsy   :- 

                                                Gypsy means , "A person who roams about without a fixed route or destination."

               Rover is a synonym for gypsy in vagrant topic. In some cases you can use "Rover" instead a noun "Gypsy", when it comes to topics like nomad, traveller.

                In the story three women character are wandering as Gypsy . Willmore is representative of rover and same here girls are also have same meaning as they become gypsy and goes one place to other with hiding themselves.

                 -:   3 _    Carnival :- 

                                     Italian cities such as Venice and Naples (where The Rover takes place) were famed for their Carnivals, huge, city-wide festivals during which many of the rules of ordinary life were temporarily suspended. Within the play, Carnival symbolizes a world of inverted values and freedom in which noblewomen can roam the streets and impoverished cavaliers can court them and win their hands.

                                      Yet the world of the Carnival—a world without consequences—is not without its dark side. Predators such as wilmore and Blunt take advantage of the free-for-all atmosphere in order to accost and even assault women, while belligerent men often end up dueling each other on the streets. In depicting both the positive and dark sides of Carnival, Behn is displaying both the comic and the troubling aspects of the topsy-turvy, consequence-free genre of Restoration Comedy.

        6 )    According to your reading marriage or victimization of prostitution or women condition is important themes of this drama?

                                               Women in seventeenth-century Europe had few options in terms of marriage and courtship. They could not initiate relations with men, and often their parents made the final decision about whom they would marry. Families sometimes used marriages to seal business and political relationships, ignoring the daughter’s interests.

                              Aphra Behn's The Rover is the story mainly releted to controversy of marriage and women's victimization. There are many women characters including Florinda, Hellena , Valeria , Angelina etc. Among them Angelina is a prostitude who victimized by the persons for the sack of money.

                  There are also a controversy of marriage in the tale of Florinda , Valeria , and Hellena. These theme of marriage and victimization of women shows the real Social and political atmosphere of the novel and which later gain the attention of the early modern writers.

                Behn’s female characters strive for independence within the limitations of the English system of courtship and marriage. In The Rover, the three leading ladies are all capable and proactive young women who exhibit “the initiative and daring reserved for cavaliers” .Over the course of the play, each takes upon herself the position of active wooer. Maidenly Hellena openly vows to do “not as my wise brother imagines [for her future], …but to love and to be beloved” by reeling in a husband.Her virginal sister, Florinda, and the sexually liberated courtesan, Angellica Bianca, adopt similar goals in pursuit of passion. They are nothing like the subordinate females of Puritan propriety, but witty, competent matches for the men they meet.  

                     Through their strong personalities, Behn suggests at early British women’s potential to feel and act confidently on sexual feelings, thus “[demasculinizing] desire” and “[subverting] the construction of woman as a self-policing and passive commodity”

                    To wind up , we can say the these themes are intentionally used by the writes show the women status at that time and that's why it seems important because it throws some light on the condition of women at restoration time.

         7)    Is it historical drama? Illustrate with appropriate argument. If you are agree  with this statement.

                         Aphra Behn's The Rover engages with the social, political and sexual conditions of the 17th century, as well as with theatrical traditions of carnival and misrule. Elaine Hobby introduces Behn's play and explores how it was first performed and received.

                    The  Rover , in full The Rover or The Banish'd Cavalier comedy by Aphra Behn produced and published in two parts in 1677 and 1681. Set in Madrid and Naples during the exile of England’s King charles 2, the play depicts the adventures of a small group of English Cavaliers. The protagonist, the charming but irresponsible Willmore, may have been modelled on John wilmot Rochester, a poet in the inner circle of Charles II. The hero’s real-life counterpart may also have been John Hoyle, who was a lover of the playwright.

                           Somehow Aphra Behn depicted ther persons in the character as a character of the story , but among them some described the story of historical character like John Wilmot and John Hoyle. 

                 Aphra Behn is a first women  writer who emerging herself as a writer . She known for earning her life through the writing. At the time women are not free to writing and so that she wrote and published her work anonymously. She mainly wrote and choose the historical content for reducing the criticism. 

                The Rover is also related to the Charles 2 period who is the king at the time . At that time country celebrate perticullar function in the country wearing a mask. And the story also connect with that Cavaliers. Which shows the historical elements. 

                      If the story written in Charles 2 time and it's tells a story of Cavaliers and willmore who is the Rover of the story represents John Wilmot and protagonist represents Ben's own lover John Hoyle , it all content make us to believe that the the drama is historical in its way.

         

            8 )    In Carnival so many people have hidden their identity why? What they are hidding? What was the purpose behind that?

                  

                                            

                                             

          

                                 Carnival is an annual festival celebrated in many different ways in many countries around the world. Carnival is a festival that happens over a few days, usually just before Lent, in February or March. Because traditionally many people go on a fast during Lent, giving up meat, sugar or other foods and drink, carnival is an opportunity to enjoy these treats for the last time. It is a time to celebrate and party, with music and dancing in the streets. Some people believe that carnival is actually older than the Christian period of Lent, and that it started as the Roman festival of Saturnalia.

                                     Masks have always been an essential component of the Venetian carnival. Carnival started as a time for celebration where all social classes would mingle, and the fact of wearing a mask offered a unique possibility to remain anonymous, enjoying the advantages that such condition brought with it.

The main feature of the Venice Carnival has always been the stunning masquerade costumes and masks. Masks used to have symbolic and functional features. During the Venice Carnivals in the past the streets of Venice were full of the people wearing masks which allowed them to protect their identity and remove any social differences. Besides, masks allowed a wearer hide his identity during licentious and dissolute activities. The earliest documented mention of people wearing masks dates back to 1268 when masked people were banned from playing various games by law.

In that way mask are essential for the hiding people's identity in the function . So many people following this rule and hiding their identity wearing a mask . The main purpose behind that is to remove social defference and because of mask all people seem like same and all are equally enjoy the party . There is no class differences came and also the people who are hesitating to enjoy freely in public they can also enjoy with freedom only because of mask which hide their identity.

            Thank you...