Abstract
Lauded as perhaps the first woman to support herself almost entirely from her writing, Aphra Behn, (born at some point in the 1640’s to 1689) was a poet, playwright, translator, novelist and, at one point in her career, even an English spy. A proponent of “style” and “theatricality”, Oroonoko is one of her most sensational stories that captured the attention of English audiences who longed for exotic descriptions of the New World and the titillating, ethnocentric, voyeurism in explanations of “the other”. In this short story, just like most of her other writing, Behn crafted a presumed “authenticity” in her work, oftentimes relying on a female narrator’s voice for social commentary; and it was through these literary “avatars”, if you will, that Behn publicly aired her views on sex, sexuality and eroticism. This paper critiques Aphra Behn’s most famous short story Oroonoko, about the betrayed, enslaved African King and Behn’s semi-autobiographical musings about love, sex, pain, revenge, class, gender and enslavement embedded in this sensational work. Referencing the work of Michel Foucault, this paper looks at Aphra Behn’s life and work in contrast to the political economy of sex, eroticism, discipline and punishment. In the 1600’s. Aphra Behn’s writings, like Oroonoko made her, both, the “toast” and vilified “harlot” of the English literati.
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
The Arts in Social, Political, and Community Life
KEYWORDS
Colonialism,Slavery,Fiction,Literature,Tragedy
