The Shakespearian Behn

Reformation dramatist Aphra Behn drew influence from William Shakespeare’s works to not only improve the quality of her early play The Forced Marriage, but to

express shared ideas of gender and sexual politics

Who is Aphra Behn?

For more information, refer to Janet Todd’s The Secret Life of Aphra Behn

First woman playwright Somewhat mysterious life

Lived in during the 1600s, died in 1689 Went to Surinam as a child

Married a Dutch merchant After his death, she was poor

Spied for the English government

Thrown into jail for unpaid fines

Started writing plays in order to

support herself Women playwrights and actresses were a novelty

For marketability, Behn draws influence from a

popular playwright: William Shakespeare

Found shared beliefs about gender, love, and marriage

The Forced Marriage Characters

Erminia: protagonist, forced to marry Alcippus, but secretly engaged to Phillander

Alcippus: warrior, husband to Erminia Phillander: Prince of France, loves Erminia Galatea: princess of France, loves Alcippus

Erminia loves Phillander, but wants to stay faithful to both men

Meanwhile, both men accuse her of cheating Because of this jealousy, Alcippus kills Erminia

However, Erminia’s servant revives her, and therefore Erminia goes to her love, Phillander She pretends to be a ghost, and convinces

Alcippus to not only null the marriage, but marry Galatea

Influence from Shakespeare’s works

Behn is inspired by several of William Shakespeare’s plays when writing her play, The Forced Marriage Taming of the Shrew

Evils of forced marriage Domestic violence from husbands

Macbeth Women domineering men

Othello Jealousy

Murder of wives The Winter’s Tale

Uses death to teach a lesson

Connections with Taming of the Shrew

Evils of forced marriages Neither Erminia nor Katherine want to be married Both Alcippus and Petruchio recognize their wives

unhappiness

Domestic violence from husbands Petruchio

Starvation and sleep-deprivation “For I am he am born to tame you, Kate/ And

bring you from a wild Kate to a Kate/ Conformable as other household Kates” (2.1. 268-270).

Alcippus Literally strikes Erminia “Recal that folly, or by all that’s good,/ I’le free

the soul that wantons in thy blood” (2.3. 68-69).

Connections with Macbeth

Women domineering over men Erminia over Phillander

Phillander to Erminia: “Life of my soul, retire, I cannot hear that voice and disobey” (2.7. 64-65)

Lady Macbeth over Macbeth “Hie thee hither [Macbeth], That I

may pour my spirits in thine ear/ and chastise with the valour of my tongue” (1.5 23-25)

Both women use this dominance to gain political power for themselves Erminia can manipulate a prince Lady Macbeth can become queen

Connections with Othello

Jealous Othello is jealous of Cassio for sleeping with

Desdemona However, Cassio never sleeps with

Desdemona! Alcippus thinks Erminia’s slept with

Phillander Erminia’s never slept with Phillander!

Phillander thinks Erminia’s slept with Alcippus Erminia’s never slept with Alcippus!

Murder of wives Othello kills Desdemona for cheating on

him Alcippus kills Erminia for cheating on him

Connections with The Winter’s Tale

Wives use death to teach a lesson Hermione uses her death to teach

Leontes not to be overly-suspicious Leontes: “Both your pardons,/ That e’er

I put between your holy looks/ My ill suspicion” (5.3. 148-150).

Erminia uses her death to teach Alcippus a lesson about true love Forces Alcippus to realize what he did

was wrong, and thereby null the marriage between himself and Erminia, then marry Galatea

So What? Shows the influence of William

Shakespeare throughout the years Still popular during the Reformation

Even great dramatists like Aphra Behn needed to draw influence from other great dramatists to master their craft Later on, she would write great works,

including the play The Rover and the novel Oronooko

Writers today should not be embarrassed to borrow ideas and themes from works of writing/art/ect. that they love, as that’s how we learn Pablo Picasso: “Good artists borrow,

great artists steal”

Works Cited Behn, Aphra. The Forced Marriage. The Works of Aphra Behn. Ed. Janet Todd. Vol. 5. London: Pickering & Chatto,

1996. 1-82.

Duffy, Maureen. Introduction. Five Plays. By Aphra Behn. New York: Phaeton Press, 1990. ix-xiii.

Ferguson, Frances. “Envy Rising.” ELH 69.4 (2002) 889-905.

Gill, Pat. “Aphra Behn: Desiring Women II.” Interpreting Ladies: Women, Wit, and Morality in the Restoration Comedy of Manners. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 1994. 137-157.

Green, André. The Tragic Effect: The Oedipus Complex in Tragedy, trans. Alan Sheridan. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1979.

Lim, Walter S. H. “Knowledge and Belief in The Winter’s Tale.” SEL Studies in English Literature 1500-1900. (2001): 317-334.

Malcolmson, Cristina. Rev. of Fantasies of Female Evil: The Dynamics of Gender and Power in Shakespearean Tragedy, By Cristina León Alfar. Shakespeare Quarterly, 56.1 (2005): 110-112.

Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. The Norton Shakespeare. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2008. 2579-2632.

---. Othello. The Norton Shakespeare. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2008. 2119-2191.

---. Taming of the Shrew. The Norton Shakespeare. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2008. 169-228.

---. The Winter’s Tale. The Norton Shakespeare. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2008. 2892-2961.

Todd, Janet, and Derek Hughes. “Tragedy and tragicomedy.” The Cambridge Companion to Aphra Behn. ed. Derek Hughs and Janet Todd. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004. 83-97.