The Development of the Rake- from Man of Mode

Nothing at Face Value: The Mask in Aphra Behn’s The Rover

Aphra Behn’s The Rover offers readers and viewers a play in which honesty and dishonesty are often one in the same. Thematically driven by masking, disguising, and misunderstanding, this dramatic “Comedy of Manners” employs thematic tricks to highlight the paradoxical nature of the ideas of honor, honesty and loyalty. Set in Naples during Carnivale, a time traditionally associated with shrouded mischief, The Rover clearly capitalizes on the symbol of the mask and its social implications, while still keeping fair distance from the society and court members it may be commenting on. The imagery related to the mask pushes both the characters and the audience to reevaluate the “veneers” which we credit as true, while simultaneously commentating on the sexual double standards of the eighteenth century. Masking oneself allows a very simple transformation, that is, to become another person. In this play however, the idea of the mask is embedded far deeper than this initial transformation. These “vizards” take the forms of masks, disguises, and even social statuses. Although Behn’s characters use masks and disguises in order to facilitate a plot development that, as viewers and readers, we may root for, the mask itself remains deceitful. In this way, the idea of honesty is indelibly tied to an initial degree of dishonesty. And even more puzzling, is the fact that some of the most honest characters, or at least most perceivably understood, “hide” in plain sight. When you take all of this obscuration and add in the hectic and lustful setting of Carnivale in Naples, the plot thickens tenfold. Although the frenzied, wanton nature of the setting further problematizes the truth, it also gives Behn a chance to play with the gender roles and double standards of the day, specifically by using the Neapolitan courtesans as “double agents”. Angellica, despite her questionable profession, is not a dishonest character. If