The dramatic works of Aphra Behn: A comparison/contrast of her views of women and their interaction with Restoration society with that of her male contemporaries.
Item
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Title
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The dramatic works of Aphra Behn: A comparison/contrast of her views of women and their interaction with Restoration society with that of her male contemporaries.
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Identifier
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AAI9218260
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identifier
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9218260
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Creator
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Prescott, Anne.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Judith Milhous
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Date
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1992
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Literature, English | Women's Studies | Theater
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Abstract
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This dissertation analyzes the plays of Aphra Behn in relation to those of the male Restoration playwrights. In order to achieve insight into Behn and her beliefs, it is her work which must be given primary attention. Unfortunately, there have been moments in scholastic history when Behn's work has been jettisoned as a viable means of determining her value and contribution as a dramatist. The overall result for Behn and her work has either been relegation to the periphery of the literary world, or worse, the denial of her participation in that world. This dissertation advances the notion that she engaged with her society as a playwright working within literary conventions, and yet shattering the boundaries thereof.;Behn shared playwriting elements with her male counterparts. The Restoration conferred certain literary obligations on a dramatist. I contend that in following the literary rules, Behn was able to insert serious social messages suggesting that women--and men--were oppressed by her male-dominated society. And perhaps the message was all the more potent because it was included in so many of her comedic works. Humor can conceal and reveal.;The crux of my dissertation is that Behn's true significance consists in her approach to typical Restoration characters, and the way she employed them to reflect her concerns about how women were viewed and treated. Behn does not, like most of the men, condemn the prostitute, the unchaste woman, the older, learned woman, and the female warrior. For Behn, the first two women/characters are victims, and the last two are not always absurd, as tradition would have it. It is society that stands condemned, for it is society that is responsible for the devastating economic circumstances which produce such women as the prostitute and the unchaste woman.;I argue a cautious feminism in my approach to Behn and her plays. It is critical to realize that Behn, in her comprehension that women were oppressed, did not advocate the oppression of men. This dissertation culminates with the firm conviction that Behn, a multi-dimensional woman and writer, did not believe that prevailing inequities could justify new ones. (Abstract shortened with permission of author.).
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
