Carnıval, lıbertınısm, sexualıty, and the representatıon of the restored kıng ın aphra behn’s the rover

Abstract

AphraBehn’s The Rover or the Banished Cavaliers, one of the prominent plays of the Restoration comedy, deals with male-female relationships, libertinism and the carvinalesque. After the puritan rule in Britain was overthrown, the restrictive laws imposed on social life by the Puritan views were also dismissed. Quite contrary to the conservative values of puritanism, the restored period was marked by its pleasure-seeking ruler. The king reopened theaters and abolished the strict laws that Cromwell had enacted to restrict the way people lived. Bringing freedom to the society, Charles II freely enjoyed mistresses and pleasure – hence his nickname “The Merry Monarch.” In the play, the parallels between the male characters and hedonistic court of the restored king are quite evident as the libertine lifestyle adopted by male characters is exposed and even criticized. The play, also centres the themes of marriage, ideal love and vitality of female subjectivity in a patriarchal society in which females are seen as the objects or the other rather than being the subjects or parts of any social life. Further, Behn focuses on the concept of de-masculinisation of sexual desires by men as she thinks that women should also have equality and freedom to express their desires and do what they want. This paper aims to discuss the ways in which the play mirrors the seventeenth century's displeased approach to female subjectivity in social life after the collapse of Puritan Protectorate and Behn’s harsh criticism of this approach by creating female characters that are witty, mentally strong and confident of their desires. Keywords: libertinism, carnival, sexuality, restoration comedy of manners, AphraBehn, Restoration, Charles II, power struggle, female subjectivity