The Rover Summary

Introduction

The Rover by Aphra Behn explores the social, political, and sexual climate of the 17th century as well as carnival and misbehavior-themed theatrical traditions. Behn's play is introduced by Elaine Hobby, who also examines how it was initially staged and received.

The Rover was most likely the most popular in her era. In the first part of the 18th century, it was often resurrected and repeatedly reproduced. The play depicts the supposed exploits of a band of "banished Cavaliers" to its 1677 audience and is set during funfair season in Naples in 1656.

The performance would have evoked constant recollections of the civil conflict of the 1640s, that had led to Charles I's execution in 1649, by transporting its audience to the globe of Royalist continent exile. Many of the king's supporters?the Cavaliers?had then emigrated to mainland Europe. The play also examines the heroines' attempts to influence their fates in conversation with this.

About The Author

Aphra Behn, the first English woman to support herself through writing, was a renowned playwright, novelist, and writer who wrote in a variety of genres. Her roots and early life are largely unknown. She is thought to have been born in 1640, and her father, Francis, Lord Willoughby (c. 1613-66), was related to a guy by the name of Johnson.

In 1664, Behn wed Johan Behn, a businessman from the Netherlands. The following year, her husband passed away and the two divorced. Behn joined the British secret service and went to the Netherlands to work as an agent for King Charles II. She borrowed money to pay for her travel because Charles II failed to deliver her promised money for her return trip.

She was incarcerated in England due to debt. Behn started writing for a living after being released from prison because she had no choice but to support herself.

Theme Of the Rover

The characters in The Rover generally follow the gender roles that were prevalent in Restoration comedies at the time: dishonorable men like Willmore seek pleasure; honorable men like Belvile seek to safeguard women; honorable women like Florinda seek marriage; and dishonorable women such as Angelica and Lucetta seek to trap men.

The characters in The Rover are always attempting to tell the difference between love and desire. Although the distinction between the two is hazy, it is a crucial one for the play. Each character's response to these two emotions can be used to characterize them. In general, men favor lust while women look for love, but the story makes things more complicated.

The Rover is set around Carnival and is rife with masks and disguises, such as the gipsy costumes worn by Hellena, Florinda, and Valeria, the comedy of errors between Don Antonio and Don Pedro, and Lucetta's heist of Blunt. Interestingly, the drama fails to take a position on morality regarding disguise because both decent and immoral people utilise it.

Summary Of the Rover

In the 1650s Spain-ruled Naples, it is Carnival. The "rover" of the play's title, an English commander named Willmore, meets up with Belvile, Frederick, and their buddy Blunt in the hopes of briefly falling in love before sailing back to the ship. The young Spanish noblewoman Florinda, with whom Belvile is deeply in love, reciprocates his feelings but her father wants her to wed a wealthy older Spaniard she despises. After the festivities are over, her sister Hellena is supposed to join the nunnery. Hellena is determined to avoid becoming a nun or, at the very least, to find love in the process.

Don Pedro, the brother of Florinda and Hellena, attempts to safeguard Florinda by hastily arranging for her to marry his affluent and influential buddy Don Antonio, while Florinda only has feelings for Belvile. Florinda, Hellena, & their sister Valeria use the masks as cover while attending Carnival.

While Hellena, concealed behind a mask, fell in affection for Willmore, who is attracted to her but also easily sidetracked, Florinda covertly notifies Belvile of the getaway plan. Angelica, a well-known and costly courtesan who has never before permitted herself to fall in love, has her heart lightly stolen by Willmore. The cautions of his friends that Lucetta is a sexual slave are ignored as Blunt fell in love with her.

Everything quickly goes awry. While intoxicated, Willmore finds a woman in her garden and makes an effort to rape her without realising that she is Florinda waiting for Belvile. The couple's plan to flee is thwarted, and Willmore makes amends by fighting Don Antonio, who is vying for Florinda's hand. Blunt is coerced into stripping naked by Lucetta, who then steals everything he owns. Blunt, indignant and humiliated, swears vengeance on all women. Belvile wins Florinda's hand in a duel after being mistaken for someone else, but Don Pedro rejects the engagement.

Florinda manages to get away and ends up in Blunt's home. Blunt intends to rape and abuse Florinda to vent his resentment at Lucetta. Because they believe Blunt had a sex worker, Frederick and Willmore also want to participate. Blunt hesitates when Florinda offers her a ring which Belvile gives her as protection because he is now doubtful of Florinda's social standing. Belvile is unable to expose Florinda's identity in front of Don Pedro without giving him away when he arrives with him.

Everything is resolved after Don Pedro leaves, and the men apologise to Florinda. A priest marries Valeria to Frederick and Florinda to Belvile. Arriving, Angellica nearly shot Willmore before Don Antonio came in and stopped her. Willmore and Hellena also choose to wed. Don Pedro has no choice but to send everyone his best wishes.

Conclusion

The Rover is a gloomy comedy that combines comic buffoonery with elements of prostitution and rape. The drama articulates the author's disapproval of how vulnerable women are in Restoration culture. Perhaps ironically, by placing women in morally dubious circumstances, it also caters to the audience's voyeuristic impulses.