Spoken By Aphra Behn

Spoken by Virginia Wolfe, this quote immaculately captures the overall importance of Aphra Behn to women everywhere. A British playwright, poet and novelist, Aphra Behn was a woman amongst men. Though there has been no shortage of speculation regarding the facts surrounding her birth and parents, it is widely accepted that she was born to Bartholomew Johnson and Elizabeth Denham on July 10, 1640 just outside of Canterbury, UK. The first of many strides towards breaking down the walls of gender stereotyping occurred when Behn took on a job as a spy for King Charles II—a job previously uncharacteristic for a woman to have. She was also known to be the first woman to ever be able to support herself finically solely from the earnings of her writings. Though these were indeed strides in
In a time where women were limited in what was acceptable for them to write about, it was a virtual impossibility for a woman to express herself as a sexual being. Seeing the story through the eyes of Cloris allow me to see just how diligently Behn worked to go against the typical and accepted conventions. Men, with their strength and bravado were normally always seen as the ones in charge of sexual situations. Here you see Behn subtly change that. Though it appears that Lysander is indeed in charge, Behn found a way to give Cloris an otherwise unconsidered role of leadership. Cloris initially rejects Lysander’s attempts, but after a while, she accepts, and deems herself “ready to taste a thousand joys” (Behn, line 71). It was in this newfound acceptance of her sexuality that made Lysander uneasy, and this transfer in sexual power is what ultimately made Lysander unable to perform. Lysander’s impotence leaves Cloris disappointed, not only in him, but in the fact that she was not able to experience the satisfaction of the newfound feelings that were awakened in