The Rover by Aphre Behn
Introduction:
The Rover, published and first produced in 1677,was Aphre Behn's most successful play. The original full title, The Rover,or The Banished Cavaliers, indicates that the play was tribute to the formerly exiled cavalier and newly reinstated King Charles ll. The Rover is a dark comedy that mixes themes of prostitution and rape with comic buffoonery. The play expresses is author's objection to the vulnerability of women in Restoration society. Perhaps ironically, it also appeals to puritan interests of the audience by putting women ironically, compromising situations. Based loosely on her contemporary Thomas killigrew's 1564 Thomaso; or, The Wanderer Behn's play is leaner, less lewd, and more profound. The plot follows the fortunes of opposing lovers, one a woman of quality masquerading as a courtesan and one a wandering rake whose philandering days end when he falls in love with her. Several near- rapes and the tragic case of a jilted courtesan,another character in the play, balance the comic treatment of sexual politics in the seventeenth century. The Rover of the title in Willmore, an exiled English sea captain on shore leave to enjoy the carnival,or Hellena, a young woman hoping to experience life and the love before being committed to a convent by her brother. These two lovers- Willmore and Hellena- fall in love amid witty debates and sexual maneuvering. Willmore has many parallels to Charles ll, whose exploits during his twenty- year banishment from England were well known. Charles ll enjoyed the play so much that he commissioned a private viewing. Let's discuss the characters analysis.
Willmore :
An upper-class soldier called a cavalier, Willmore is loyal to the English monarchy, and has therefore been exiled from his homeland.He comes to Naples excited about the free-for-all atmosphere of Carnival. A classic rake, and the Rover of the play’s title, he is called so not just because of his travelling, but also because of his roving eye. He constantly lusts for women, and seeks out different ways to seduce them, leaving a trail of broken hearts wherever he goes. Reckless and rash, Willmore often quarrels with other men, and is quick to draw his sword. During the play, he wins the love of both the noble, unladylike, intelligent Hellena and the high-priced courtesan Angelica. Witty and charming, Willmore also has a dark side, which becomes obvious when he almost rapes Florinda, the beloved of his friend Belvile. Although he eventually vows to marry Hellena, his intellectual equal, it is difficult to believe that wedding vows will end Willmore’s promiscuous behaviour.
" Love and Mirth are my Business in Naples;
and if I mistake not the Place,
here’s an excellent Market for
Chapmen of my Humour."
Hellena:
The strong, witty, brave heroine, and sister to Florinda and Don Pedro, Hellena starts the play determined to venture out into the Carnival and fall in love, although her brother Don Pedro wishes for her to become a nun. When she meets Willmore, she is entranced by his wit and charm, and seemingly unafraid of his flirtatious, promiscuous ways. As the plot progresses, she repeatedly uses different masks and disguises in order to ensnare her faithless beloved, even as she repeatedly fends off his attempts to seduce her and take her virginity. At the play’s end, Hellena has apparently gotten what she wants-Willmore’s hand in marriage. Their bantering and bickering, however, along with their vows to be unfaithful to each other, makes it clear that they will have, at the very least, an interesting union.
"I am resolv’d to provide myself this Carnival,if there be e’er a handsomeFellow of my Humourabove Ground, tho I ask first."
Angelica:
A beautiful and wealthy courtesan, Angelica is desired by all men in Naples, including Don Antonio, Don Pedro, and Willmore, all of whom duel over her at various points throughout the play. Although she initially vows to charge one thousand crowns a month for her company and sexual favors, putting out pictures of herself to display her own beauty, she succumbs to Willmore’s charms, and ends up falling in love with him and giving him money. When she finds that Willmore has been courting Hellena, the humiliated Angelica vows revenge, almost shooting her former lover with a pistol.
Florinda :
The sister of Hellena and Don Pedro, Florinda is ladylike and modest, in contrast to her sister’s nontraditional forwardness. She is in love with the cavalier Belvile, who saved her from rape at the hands of soldiers during the Spanish civil wars, but has been forbidden to marry him by her father (who wishes her to marry the elderly Don Vincentio) and by her brother (who wants to wed her to his highborn friend Don Antonio). Florinda shows bravery as she tries to reunite with Belvile using various masks and disguises, but is constantly menaced by men like Willmore and Blunt, who repeatedly attempt to rape her. Despite these obstacles, she does end the play happily married to her beloved.
Belvile:
A dashing cavalier, and the epitome of a gentleman, Belvile is in love with Florinda, a noblewoman whom he met during the Spanish civil wars. Belvile’s attempts to reunite with Florinda, who has been forbidden to marry him by her family, are repeatedly foiled by his indiscreet companions, especially the foolhardy Willmore. After a series of misadventures, during which he is mistakenly forced to fight Florinda’s brother Don Pedro, Belvile is at last joined in matrimony with Florinda.
Don Pedro :
Don Pedro is a hot-headed Spanish nobleman. Though he is not technically the head of his household, he commands his sisters and the servants as if he were. He intends to marry Florinda to his friend rather than their father's choice. He desires Angellica, and he challenges his friend Don Antonio to a duel over her as much as over his sister's honor. Though he is watchful and suspicious, both Florinda and Hellena are able to fool him and pursue romances of their own choosing. Don Pedro is sensitive of slights to his honor and quick to call a duel. However, honor in others impresses him, and Belvile's conduct in their duel raises him in Don Pedro's estimation. Likewise, Don Antonio's disregard of honor is a major factor in Don Pedro approving of Florinda's marriage to Belvile. The other factor is Willmore's threats. For all his talk of bravery, Don Pedro can be intimidated
The main antagonist of the play, the rigid and controlling Don Pedro wishes for his sister Florinda to marry his friend Don Antonio, and for his sister Hellena to become a nun, in order to safeguard their virtues. He, hypocritically, desires the beauteous prostitute Angelica, and eventually quarrels with both Antonio and Willmore over her affections. After being tricked and threatened by the Englishmen, Don Pedro is forced to allow his sisters to marry Belvile and Willmore - but only after, at one point, he unintentionally menaces the disguised Florinda, unaware that she is his sister.
Frederick:
An English gentleman who is good friends with Willmore and Belvile, Frederick is the common sense of the group, often trying to get his friends out of scrapes and duels. Even he, however, can act impulsively and maliciously, as when he almost helps the oafish Blunt to rape Florinda . His romance with Valeria, Florinda’s and Hellena’s cousin, is one of the subplots of the play, and he ends up marrying her at its end.
" I begin to suspect something;
and ’twou’d anger us vilely to
be truss’d up for a Rape upon
a Maid of Quality, when we only
believe we ruffle a Harlot."
Ned Blunt:
An English gentleman like Frederick, Blunt is an oafish idiot, mocked and disdained by his friends, and valued only for his money. During the play, he believes himself in love with lucetta, a prostitute, who tricks him out of his clothes and money with the help of her pimp Sancho and her lover Philippo. Humiliated and naked, Blunt attempts to revenge himself on the female sex by raping and beating florinda but, upon learning that she is of noble birth and Belvile’s beloved, begs her forgiveness.
Don Antonio:
Although Don Pedro wishes for Antonio, the highborn son of a viceroy, to marry his sister Florinda, Antonio only has eyes for the seductive prostitute Angelica. He pays her thousand-crown price, and even duels for her, although he is wounded in the process, and ends up asking Belvile to fight in his place. In fact, his devotion to Angelica is part of the reason that an angry Pedro finally stands aside and allows Florinda to marry Belvile.
Minor Characters :
Valeria :
Cousin to Florinda and Hellena, Valeria is braver than the former, but more ladylike than the latter. Providing her relatives with masks and helping them in their romantic schemes, she eventually finds herself in love with Frederick, and marries him in a double ceremony with Florinda and Belvile.
Lucetta:
The prostitute who tricks Blunt out of his clothes and money, Lucetta is a scheming, wily, and seductive woman; exactly the kind of woman whom the men of the play fear and loathe.
Moretta :
The elderly servant of Angelica, and a former prostitute herself, Moretta hates all men, and is dismayed when her mistress succumbs to Willmore’s charms.
Callis:
The softhearted governess of Florinda and Hellena, Callis initially allows them to go out to the Carnival, despite Don Pedro’s orders to the contrary. Later in the play, when she tries to stop the girls from leaving, Valeria locks her in a wardrobe.
Don Vincentio:
Although he never appears onstage, Vincentio is the wealthy but elderly man whom Florinda’s father wishes her to marry.Hellena repeatedly mocks both his age and his dark complexion.
Officers and Soldiers:
During a duel outside Angelica’s house, these keepers-of-the-peace part the fray and mistakenly arrest Belvile.
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