If you order your paper from our custom writing service you will receive a perfectly written assignment on Afra Benn. What we need from you is to provide us with your detailed paper instructions for our experienced writers to follow all of your specific writing requirements. Specify your order details, state the exact number of pages required and our custom writing professionals will deliver the best quality Afra Benn paper right on time.
Our staff of freelance writers includes over 120 experts proficient in Afra Benn, therefore you can rest assured that your assignment will be handled by only top rated specialists. Order your Afra Benn paper at affordable prices!
This essay will compare and contrast the way in which one male and one female writer of Restoration comedy represents the theme of marriage for love within their plays. The essay will be structured as follows - the plays and their writers will be introduced with some extra background information; the theme will be discussed and analysed and finally there will be a conclusion provided. At the very end of the essay will be a reference and bibliography provided.
The Restoration period began around 1660 with the Restoration of the monarchy under Charles II. During this period, the first actresses started to appear on the English stage and the theatres themselves had developed and were different to those which Shakespeare and Jonson would have been familiar with. There was a greater use also of modern theatre techniques, which involved the movement, and use of scenery.
The two plays and playwrights, which are going to be examined in this essay, are Aphra Benns The Rover and Sir George Etherages The Mad of Mode. First some brief background about the two playwrights. Very little is definitely known about Aphra Benn (c. 1640-8) and her life, although it is known she was a spy for Charles II in Antwarp, but ended up in debtors prison shortly after she returned home in 1667. She became a professional writer shortly afterwards with The Rover being first performed in 1677 and presented as if written by a man.
Sir George Etherage (165-161) was one of the earliest of the writers to practise the style of comedy of manners, although he only actually wrote three plays. Etherage is reported to have been so vain that some of his contemporaries have compared him to the character of Sir Fopling Flutter in The Man of Mode. Certainly, in the later part of his life, he seemed to live a similar life to the one that he created for his characters in the play. Etherage earned 6 pounds a year from property he owned in Kent, which is partly why writing was not a profession to him. The Man of Mode became a great success in 1675. Etherage was knighted in 167 and married a rich widow.
Of the two plays examined here, The Man of Mode is the older of the two, being first performed on 11th March 1676, while The Rovers first recorded performance was just over a year later 4th March 1677.
It is widely known that Aphra Benn was against forced marriage, which was still a custom in the late 17th century. In her book about women playwrights Nancy Cotton writes of Aphra Benn and her feelings towards marriage as follows
The serious tone of these complaints [referring to plays], made in what is essentially a farcical comedy, shows the earnestness of Behns feeling that love should be the basis for marriage. New Comedy in general depicts the witty stratagems of young lovers who outwit their elders and thus escape unwanted arranged marriages. Behn goes beyond this to attack the arranged marriages as an institution.
Although these comments were directed, more at Behns play The Lucky Chance, they are still very relevant to the plot and circumstances in The Rover. Arranged marriages were a way for men to gain status and wealth. In act, one of The Rover Don Pedro tells, his sister, Florinda
I have a command from my father have to tell you you ought not to sepise him, a man of so vast a fortune, and such a passion for you.
It is, this approach which appears throughout The Rover. The power which men, and in particular fathers have over their daughters, can be seen in the opening scene where Florinda and Hellenas father has already decided upon their destinies. Florinda is to marry Don Antonio, the Viceroys son, while Hellena is to enter the convent.
It is very clear that Florinda does not like the idea of marrying Don Antonio and neither does she love him. In Act one, Scene one Florinda tells Don Pedro, a noble Spaniard and a friend of Don Antonio, that she hates him (Don Antonio)
I have Vincentro, Sir, and I would not have a man so dear to me as my brother [Don Pedro] follow the ill customs of our country and make a slave of his sister.
Within the course of the conversation, Florinda admits that she likes Belville, an English Colonel who is in love with her. Don Pedro also admits that Don Antonio is not as young or attractive as Belville, but looks merely at the wealth, which he processes
Yes, pay him what you will in honour, but you must consider Don Vincentios fortune, and the jointure hell make you.
This is proof that it was about wealth and status and was about politics in the family rather than love and those involved in the marriage. Helena spends a great deal of the rest of the first scene arguing with Don Pedro and defending Florinda against having to marry Don Antonio. Later in the play Angellica Bianca is introduced to reinforce this idea of Aphra Benn and speak out against forced marriage. Angellica Bianca, a famous courtesan, believes that there is no such thing as love the current society, but sees love as a form of business for her
…I have had no time for love; the bravest and noblest of mankind have purchased my favours at so dear a rate…
According to some, Benn through the character of Angelica suggests that as a prostitute she temporarily marries the man for a price, which is just the same as what happens in an arranged marriage, except the woman does not see any of the money. Therefore, Behn continues her argument by using Angelica as a weapon in her thematic attack on mercenary marriage
Pray tell me sir, are not you guilty of the same mercenary crime? When a lady is proposed to you for a wife, you never ask how fair, discreet, or virtuous she is, but whats her fortune which, if but small, you cry She will not do my business, and basely leave her, though she languish for you. Say, is not this as poor?
The end of the play is a happy one. for Florinda gets to marry Belville instead of Don Antonio even if she has to run off with him first, while it looks as if her sister is going to marry Willmore, the rover of the play.
There are a large number of similarities to be found relating to the theme of marriage for love between The Rover and The Man of Mode. There is the happy ending which appears in both of the plays where the constant lovers eventually get married, despite some hostility from one or another of their family so that they can live happily ever after. In The Rover and The Man of Mode it looks like the central characters are not going to be able to marry and live happily ever after, circumstance change to allow them to.
In The Man of Mode, Young Bellair is in love with Emilia, but his father wants him to marry Harriet Woodvill. Old Bellair, Young Bellairs father and Lady Woodvill, Harriets mother end up scheming together to get the two together because they were both interested in other people. Similarly in The Rover there are parents who are against their children marrying other suitors than those which they have already selected for them. With the use of masks and other disguises or simply running they are able to persuade the parents to approve of the ones they are in love with.
In both plays the use of masks is made, a technique, which was common during restoration theatre. The uses of masks with in the plays allow the characters to outwit authority and make sure that there is loyalty in their opposites. Both of the plays have very similar plots to each other and the rivalry created between the men and women characters, particularly in respect to the relationships.
Just as in The Man of Mode, where Harriet Woodvill is given the three requisite attributes for a Restoration heroine (lovely, witty and rich) and is pursued by Dorimant so is Hellina pursued by Willmore in The Rover. Other similarities in the two plays include creating jealousy for effect.
It would appear that there are more comparisons, which can be made about marriage for love in The Rover and The Man of Mode than contrasts. One of the first differences, which can be seen in the two plays, is the idea that the men should have mistresses. In The Man of Mode, Dorimant feels that a man should have a mistress and this is socially excepted, even when they are married, compared to The Rover where it is more openly frowned upon.
Although at the end of The Rover Willmore and Hellena agree to get married we have already seen that Willmore does not truly love his women, but uses them only for his own pleasure. This can be illustrated where he sees two different women on the same day. It would appear that Willmore is marrying Hellena, more because it is the only way that he get what he wants - consummation. In Act 5, Scene 1 he says
Marriage is as bane to love as lending money is to friendship
Clear evidence that there is no real love in this relationship, when compared to some of the other ones in the two plays. It is more likely for instance that Dorimants and Harriets relationship (in The Man of Mode) will be more successful because it is, meant to be, based on real love. In Act 5, Scene Dorimant sums up his feelings for Harriet, indicating perhaps that he is not going to go off, but will be come a one woman man and that he really is in love, by saying
I have always my arms open to receive the distressed. But I will open my heart and receive you where not yet did ever enter. You have filled it with a secret, might I but let you know it.
The original question of this essay was to compare and contrast the two plays and playwrights. It is possible to say that both plays are very similar in the way they develop the theme of love and marriage. In the end it is this romantic image of marriage and love which is used and not people being forced into a marriage they do not want. Although this is not necessary the only view which is presented to the audience. It is possible to see some of the bias and character of the playwright in the plays. In one of the sources used for this play there is a very good summary, which generally sums up the answer to this question
Within the complex plot of The Rover is the underlying argument against forced marriage. The play shows a general opposition to forced marriage by exposing the abuse of male authority, portraying marriage as a business deal, and using the female characters to directly argue against the ill custom. The complexity of the plot itself, and the role of deception, is the final, subtle argument against forced marriage. Aphra Benn cleverly fuses these elements together to show that living happily ever after in a world dominated by men was not easily possible. The unfavourable customs could only be overcome by extra effort, some strategy, and a bit of chance.
Even in The Man of Mode, this is true, despite the difference stance which was taken on it. In summary then it is clear that there are a number of comparisons and contrasts to be made between the two playwrights and their plays in relation to the theme of marriage for love.
Please note that this sample paper on Afra Benn is for your review only. In order to eliminate any of the plagiarism issues, it is highly recommended that you do not use it for you own writing purposes. In case you experience difficulties with writing a well structured and accurately composed paper on Afra Benn, we are here to assist you. Your paper on Afra Benn will be written from scratch, so you do not have to worry about its originality. Order your authentic assignment and you will be amazed at how easy it is to complete a quality custom paper within the shortest time possible!