Hello and welcome to the Discourse. The Rover was a restoration comedy written by Aphra Behn that was first performed in 1677. It proved to be the most successful drama by Aphra Behn. The play was a revision of Thomas Killigrew’s play Thomaso or The Wanderer. Aphra Behn was praised by John Dryden for this play who said that the play "lacks the manly vitality of Killigrew's play, but shows greater refinement of expression."
The subtitle of The Rover is The Banish’d Cavaliers which is a reference to the exile that the Cavalier forces experienced during the English Interregnum.
Characters of The Rover:
Willmore is the titular character, the Rover who spends most of his days on a ship captained by him. He is a Royalist as it is implied that King Charles II is also present on the ship (during Interregnum). He is a womanizer, an inconstant character who commits to a woman and then moves to the next very soon. The character of Willmore appears to be inspired by John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester. He is disloyal to women and he is a hotheaded and rash person. Angelica Bianca is a courtesan, a former mistress of a deceased Spanish general who visits the carnival in Naples to sell herself at a high price of 1000 crowns a month. Don Pedro and Don Antonio both are willing to pay her price but she falls in love with Willmore. When she comes to know that Willmore is cheating on her, she draws her pistol at him to shoot him. Colonel Belvile is an English colonel who falls in love with Florinda who is a Spanish noblewoman and sister of Don Pedro. Belvile is generally calm and genuine. He remains loyal to Florinda who dearly loves him. Despite being a poor exiled foreigner, he wins her love while competing against a wealthy friend of Don Pedro. Don Antonio is the son of the Viceroy of Naples who is a friend of Don Pedro. Pedro engages Florinda with Don Antonio but he is more interested in Angelica Bianca. Blunt is a foolish English countryman with irrational motives and cruel intentions. He is fooled and robbed by Lucetta, a Spanish whore. Hellena is Florinda and Don Pedro’s younger sister. Don Pedro wishes her to join a nunnery. Callis is the governess of Florinda and Hellena. Valeria is a kinswoman of Florinda and Hellena who falls in love with Frederick, a friend of Belvile.
Summary of The Rover; or, The Banish’d Cavaliers
The Rover is a five-act play. In the prologue, a female actress appears and claims that neither established writers nor critics give a fair chance to an unknown new author. But, the established writers who mock the new writers are often bores and plagiarists. She then asks the playwright if she has to say something to the audience to which a voice answers that people come to theatres to have a good laugh at wit and debauchery. The play begins with the introduction of two sisters Florinda and Hellena along with their brother Don Pedro and a cousin Valeria. There is tension between Don Pedro and his sisters as Pedro wishes Florinda to get married to his friend Don Antonio while he wants Hellena to join a nunnery. Florinda doesn’t like Don Antonio, who is the wealthy son of the viceroy of Naples. Rather she is in love with a poor Englishman Belvile. Hellena also wishes to marry an Englishman. Valeria helps them in sneaking out to the carnival to have some fun.
Meanwhile, Belvile, Fredrick, and Blunt are preparing to visit the carnival. They meet Willmore, a fellow Englishman and a captain of a ship. Together they go to the carnival where they see Florinda, Hellena, and Valeria disguised as gypsies. Belvile fails to recognize Florinda while Hellena flirts with Willmore. However, this gypsy girl gives a letter to Belvile with a message to meet Florinda at ten that night and elope with her. Blunt gains the attention of a local whore Lucetta and leaves with her. Florinda, Valeria, and Hellena notice Don Pedro coming in the same direction and they run away.
The English Cavaliers inspect the carnival and soon are attracted by a poster of Angelica Bianca who is charging 1000 crowns a month for living together. Willmore and Frederick claim that the price is genuine to be with her, but they are penniless. Blunt returns and claims that he is in love while it is obvious that he is being duped. Angelica believes that she will easily get her price and soon she gets two masked willing visitors. One of them is Don Pedro and the other is Don Antonio but none of them could recognize the other. Antonio sees the poster of Angelica and mumbles if it is possible for him to sleep with Angelica while still marrying Florinda who is also beautiful. As Don Pedro listens to his sister’s name from the masked competitor, he recognizes him as Antonio and this angers him as it is an insult to his sister. He starts quarreling with Antonio and challenges him to a duel the next day. Meanwhile, Willmore tries to steal a smaller portrait of Angelica. Angelica catches him and calls him inside her tent. Willmore goes in and tells her to reduce her price. He tries to sleep with her free of cost. Angelica is impressed by his witty attitude and feels she is in love with him. She decides to sleep with him while her servant comments that love brings ruin to all prostitutes.
Hellena confides to Florinda that she found Willmore pretty attractive. Florinda is shocked at Hellena’s lack of virtue as she is supposed to join a nunnery. Hellena decides to pursue the Cavaliers to know more about Willmore and eavesdrop on them. Willmore meets the Cavaliers and brags about how he succeeded in sleeping with Angelica for free. This angers Hellena and she confronts Willmore. Willmore turns his attention towards Hellena and promises that he will not see Angelica ever again. Blunt decides o go to meet Lucetta. Valeria finds Frederick attractive and starts flirting with him. Florinda also tries to flirt with Belvile in her gypsy disguise to check his loyalty but he ignores this stranger girl.
Blunt gets deceived by Lucetta who robs him of everything but his underwear with the help of her servant. Blunt is too angry and vows revenge against all women. At night, Beliville goes to meet Florinda but Willmore reaches before him and in his drunkenness, tries to rape Florinda. Florinda cries for help and Belvile and Don Pedro both reach for her to help. Belvile rages Willmore to fight who is too drunk and refuses to fight and goes away while Don Pedro takes Florinda to safety. Willmore reaches Angelica’s room again where Don Antonio is trying to woo her. Willmore and Antonio engage in an argument and Willmore draws his sword and attacks Antonio, wounding him. People cry that Antonio has been killed and soldiers rush toward him while Willmore runs away. Belvile, who was pursuing Willmore to fight him is arrested by soldiers for attacking Antonio. As Antonio’s right arm is wounded, he cannot fight the duel the next day. He asks Belvile to fight in his place in return for freedom. Belvile despises Antonio but agrees to fight. The next day, Belvile disguises himself as Antonio and engages in a duel with Pedro. He easily defeats Pedro and as he is about to kill him, Florinda comes forward and begs for her brother’s life. Belvile stops and drops his sword at her feet. Don Pedro still believes that he was defeated by Antonio and he claims that Antonio is the perfect match for Florinda and they should marry right now. However, Willmore comes again and removes the disguise of Belvile and spoils the good luck.
Angelica confronts Willmore about Hellena while Hellena visits Angelica’s room in a boy’s disguise. She sees Angelica arguing with Willmore and tells a lie that Willmore is in a relationship with a fictional noblewoman. Willmore recognizes Hellena and abuses her for telling lies and Hellena runs away. Angelica tells Willmore to remain away from that girl but she doesn’t trust him anymore and decides to take revenge if he proves disloyal. Meanwhile, Florinda is in the safe custody of Calis, the governess. Valeria helps her in getting out. Both of them go to the Cavaliers' rooms where they find Blunt. They ask him to shelter them and show him their ring to prove that they are noble women. Blunt locks them and invites Frederick to rape Florinda and Valeria. Initially, Frederick is willing but soon he surmises that one of the girls is the love of his friend Belvile and informs Belvile that Blunt has kept Florinda captive. Belvile, Frederick, and Don Pedro knock and force Blunt to open the door. Blunt claims that he has a noblewoman as a captive. Belvile knows that she is Florinda but cannot reveal it in front of Pedro. Valeria manages to free herself and distracts Pedro in another direction. Soon Belvile forces the door open and Florinda is freed. She forgives Blunt and goes away with Belvile to marry him. Meanwhile, Valeria also proposes to Frederick who agrees and goes away with her. Willmore is singled out. Soon Angelica confronts him with her pistol and claims that he has been disloyal to which he agrees and says that he is unable to remain loyal. Angelica is sad at her loss but forgives Willmore and goes away. Hellena appears and Willmore tries to seduce her to sleep with him but she remains confident and asks him to marry her first. Willmore accepts defeat and agrees to marry Hellena who asks Don Pedro for his wishes. Don Pedro is not happy about it but agrees reluctantly and the play ends. In the epilogue, the actresses mock the audience and criticize the leaders who want to censor the plays again and claim that these plays are the true friends of common poor folk as they offer them a reason to laugh.
So this is it for today. We will continue to discuss the history of English literature. Please stay connected with the Discourse. Thanks and Regards.
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