Skip to main content

The Jury's Still Out on Aphra Behn

 Between Oroonoko and The Fair Jilt, I'm entirely puzzled by Aphra Behn as an author. In an entirely Swiftian manner, I simply cannot decipher if her writing is meant to be a commentary on unsatisfactory happenings or if she is actually racist and sexist. If you've read my previous blog on Behn, I further explained this situation in relation to The Fair Jilt and the different lenses it can be viewed through. Where Oroonoko is concerned, she could either be explaining the issue of the noble savage concept or genuinely have a type of savior complex by inserting herself into the narrative and humanizing a brutal story. I would be very interested to read different analyses of her works to see if there is an answer hiding in all of this.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

My Thoughts on ASL and Deaf Culture

 This semester, I am taking a course in American Sign Language. I've wanted to learn ASL for years but never had the opportunity before now. Taking this class, I have generated several opinions that I will now share. 1. The amount of facial expressions required in ASL is utterly impressive. I can't lie, I'm extremely timid with my expressions as I'm in an online class with about fifteen people that I've never met signing for the first time in our lives. However, it truly is astounding the difference that facial expressions make. Like the intonation of someone's voice, they can indicate a question, emotion, sarcasm, etc. Watching experienced people sign is mesmerizing, and I think that someone that signs well will always impress me. 2. Learning to sign is criminally underrated. ASL is a language, so of course it takes some practice to learn. That doesn't mean that we shouldn't be learning it. In the U.S., approximately 600,000 people are deaf and only abo...

The Fair Jilt: Feminism or Misogyny?

 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 fem...