Aphra Behn's The Fair Jilt details young, beautiful Miranda's exploits as she ruins people around her to fit her fancy. At the beginning of the work, Miranda is portrayed as a frivolous girl with simply far too many options to settle down. Cupid supposedly curses her to fall in love with someone she simply cannot have as a punishment. However, this "punishment" barely phases her. She puts in some work and is still kindly denied, so she ruins Henrick's life. He remains composed and does not even attempt to rectify is wrongful imprisonment. When Van Brune is put to death because of her, he is apologetic for failing his assassination rather than devastated that he was about to die. No matter what Miranda did, Prince Tarquin stayed at her side. Miranda was constantly in the wrong, and no one ever seemed to hold it against her. Was she entirely wrong, though? Truthfully, she did not force anyone's fate except for the friar. Was she a ruthless gold digger or a feminist icon? The lens used in analyzing this work can severely affect the story's meaning.
Miranda, in all fairness, is a badass, especially for her time. She might be a terrible person, but she also does whatever is best for herself in a world where everyone is looking out for themselves above anything. This work was published in 1688 London, where women were treated like absolute garbage. Poor women were essentially forced into prostitution and then called whores and sluts by the wealthy people that paid them for sex. Wealthy women were cheated on by their husbands and expected to look the other way. For Miranda to have independent wealth and refuse to settle down was an entirely foreign concept. Grabbing life and forcing it to work to her benefit, even while her methods were extremely unethical, is honestly somewhat impressive. Almost every man in this work was effectively destroyed in her path, and she made it out without much damage to herself. Granted, she nearly faced a much worse fate than the one she ultimately did. Comparatively, though, she did quite well for herself.
Conversely, it is undeniable that Miranda made some terrible choices that negatively impacted every person that she got involved with. All of the men in this story are portrayed as kind men that are desperate to make her happy even if it hurts them; they are selfless and noble. "Francisco" kindly turns her down and chooses to maintain his vocation. Van Brune gave his life in an attempt to make hers better. The prince ignored all of the people that told him she was no good and stuck by her through everything. Miranda is seen as a sort of tyrant that abuses the effect she has on men to get what she wants. Readers are not made aware of any feelings of regret or sorrow that she might feel; she simply uses someone and moves on when they are no longer useful. The men are the victims, even when they are the instruments of their own demise.
How did Behn intend for this to be read? We cannot be sure. However, it is interesting to wonder if this fluidity of meaning was intentional or accidental. I myself change my own mind each time I consider one argument or the other. Is Miranda the hero or the villain? Was the jilt indeed fair or rather patronizing? Did Cupid intend for all of this to happen when he released that arrow?
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