Aphra Behn deliberately set The Rover in a carnival scene, this theme of disguise enables the characters of the play to become less constrained by their identities and have a more relaxed attitude to love, sex and marriage.
The Rover was set in the 1650s; this is particularly interesting because the characters seem more futuristic, as the women in the play are resisting the constraints of a patriarchal society. Behn was introducing controversy by having two women as main characters to the play, particularly having these women then rebelling against the demands of their father and brother. Behn was a radical feminist and I believe she is trying to display her strong views to love and marriage through Florinda and Hellena. A quite obvious contrast of attitudes to marriage is seen through Florinda and her father. Her father wants Florinda to marry the Rich, old Don Vincentio He has no care for her beauty, birth and fortune and has designed for her to marry someone who is of obvious wealth. Florinda openly displays her distaste for the intended marriage and rebels against her fathers decision. How near soeyer my father thinks I am to marrying that hated object, I shall let him see I understand better whats due to my beauty birth and fortune and more to my soul, then to obey those unjust commands. She is besotted by the brave colonel Belvile after he threw himself into all dangers to save her honor.
After Don Pedro is introduced it becomes apparent that Belvile has no fortune to offer, banished his country, despised at home, and pitied abroad It is obvious that Don Pedro shares much as the same misogynistic views as his father; The girls mad. It is a confinement to be carried into the country, to an ancient villa belonging to the family of the Vincentios. However he is slightly more manipulated by Florinda I will not have a man so dear to me so as my brother follow the ill customs of our country and make a slave of his sister. Although Don Pedro is never convinced that a marriage to Belvile is proper for a woman of her status he does agree with his kind hearted nature, however he does it in a more mocking way. Tis true, hes not so young and fine a gentleman as that Belvile but what jewels will that cavalier present you with? Those of his eyes and heart? which is ironic because this is all that Florinda appears to be interested in, she has no interest in marrying a man for money.
Hellena seems to have the same attitude to love and marriage as Florinda. She immediately leaps to her sisters defense against Don Pedro, resulting in witty sarcastic banter. She also is resisting the will of her father to be bred for a nunnery she is young, nave and desperate to love and be married; Tis true, I never was a lover yet-but I begin to have a shrewd guess what tis to be so, and fancy it pretty to sigh, and sing, and blush and wish, and dream and wish, and long and wish to see the man. Later on in the play the carnival theme enables Hellena to, in disguise, flirt and propose a relationship to the pervy, misogynistic Willmore, who objectifies women as though it were a sport. This is an obvious contrast to views of love. Behn displays the different connotations of the word love through the context in which it is spoke, when Hellena and Florinda discuss love they mean a meaningful relationship between two people, when the mean of the play discuss love they mean sex. Love and mirth are my business here in Naples.
Although friends, Belvile and Willmore have obvious opposing attitudes to love, Willmore only wants sex whereas Belvile is interested in love. Do not profane- the maid is nicely virtuous. As Blunt is introduced he is obviously the young, idiotic rich man. Who is in the play purely for comical purposes, though he seems to have the same views to love as Willmore and is also quite derogatory to women. heartlikins, what have we here! Having said that both Willmore and Blunts attitudes to love seem to change once they meet Hellena and Lucetta. Blunt exclaims How I have laughed at the colonel when he sighed for love! But now the little archer has revenged him! He goes on to say how in love he is with the fair, young, brisk and kind Lucetta. Willmore, meanwhile, is stating I cannot get her out of my head while discussing the masked Hellena.
Frederick seems to have a very mixed attitude towards love. While he can easily entertain the idea of meaningless sex like Willmore, he is also quite respectful of Belvile and Florindas love. Statements such as Faith, love has kept us honest and Let her alone for that; your womans wit, your fair kind woman, will out trick a broker or a Jew lead us to believe that Frederick is open to the idea of love however he does have some more vulgar derogatory comments such as Pox, tis a common whore on my life!
In conclusion Belvile, Florinda and Hellena all share an attitude of love is pure, in contrast to that Willmore and Blunt as they seem to have a view that love is a means of fornication, nothing more, although they both do, later change their minds. Frederick seems to be more open to the idea of love however he is still quite derogatory to women. Florindas father and Don Pedro seem to have a more common view of love and marriage as expected of the 1650s, you marry, for money.
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