Oroonoko: Or the Royal Slave by Aphra Behn | Characters, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. Oroonoko was a short novella, a work of prose fiction by Aphra Behn that she wrote in 1688, that is, 31 years before Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe. On many accounts, Behn’s Oroonoko can be termed the first English novel that proved to be her best and most popular work. It is a romantic tragedy. Oroonoko is a story of an unfortunate prince, who not only loses his kingdom, but also his wife, and his life.

The protagonist of the prose-fiction is a black African prince who is deceived and enslaved by a British trader. This makes Oroonoko not only the first novel but also the first fiction that described a black African man as the protagonist. The novel shows all the African slaves sympathetically and is considered the earliest protest against slavery.

Characters of Oroonoko: The Royal Slave

Oroonoko is an African prince of Coramantien. He is deceived and enslaved by a British slave trader and brought to Surinam, where in time he leads a slave revolt and then dies. As a slave, he is named Caesar. Aboan is Oroonoko’s true friend in Coramantien. Imoinda is the daughter of the general of Coramantien who sacrifices his life while protecting Oroonoko. Oroonoko falls in love with her. Imoinda is also enslaved and is named Clemene as a slave. Onahal is one of the many wives of the King who tries to help Oroonoko. The narrator is a young English woman based on Aphra Behn herself. Her father was going to be the new lieutenant-general of the Suriname colony but he dies on the voyage from illness. Being a woman, the narrator is helpless and powerless much like the slaves with no say against what she finds wrong in Surinam. Trefry is the overseer of Parham Plantation where Oroonoko is enslaved and kept. He is friendly towards Oroonoko and attempts to free him and return him to Africa. Tuscan is another Suriname slave who first helps Oroonoko in raising the revolt but then betrays him for his own profit. Willoughy is the lord governor of Surinam, who owns Perham plantation and never arrives to free Oroonoko. Byam is the historical deputy governor of Surinam who betrays Oroonoko by having him whipped and put to death.

Summary of Oroonoko:

The novel is written in the first-person and third-person narrative in parts. The narrator leaves London and moves to Suriname with her father and family as her father is being appointed as the new lieutenant-governor of the Suriname colony in America. However, her father dies of an illness during the voyage. The narrator and her family are kept in the finest house on the Parham plantation. She then starts learning about the people in the colony and knows more about slavery and slaves. Then she begins the story of one of her favorite slaves that she met in Suriname. His name is Oroonoko whom everyone knows as Caesar in Suriname.

The King of Coramantien is over 100 years old and has many wives. All of his sons died in battles and the only heir he has is Oroonoko, his grandchild who is a trained soldier and at the age of 17, becomes the captain of his army. Oroonoko is not just a great warrior, he is a man of arts too. During his meets with English and French traders, he learns English and French. During a war, the general sacrifices his life to save Oroonoko as he takes the arrow aimed at him. After his general’s death, Oroonoko takes the responsibility for the general in grief. Oroonoko decides to meet the family of the general to offer them condolences and the Trophies of his victories. Imoinda is the only surviving daughter of the general. When Oroonoko meets her, she is impressed by his humility. Oroonoko proposes marriage to her which she accepts. The King hears about the beautiful daughter of the late general who is now an orphan. He feels lust for her. While the King tries to control his lust as he knows Oroonoko loves Imoinda, he fails to quench his temptation and sends a royal veil to Imoinda which forces her to be his wife and join his Otan (harem). Imoinda unwillingly accepts her fate. Oroonoko is heartbroken but his friend Aboan consoles him and says that the King is too old and will die soon and then, he can marry Imoinda. Onahal, one of the favorite queens of the King is approached by Oroonoko with a request for help in meeting Imoinda. Onahal arranges a meeting of him with Imoinda in the Otan. As Oroonoko reunites with Imoinda, they consummate their marriage. While Oroonoko is making love, the King arrives in his Otan and catches Oroonoko taking the virginity of Imoinda. Oroonoko soon flees from Otan while the king punishes Imoinda and Onahal by selling them in slavery to Englishmen. Later on, the king feels guilty about his action. When Oroonoko questions him about Imoinda, he says that Imoinda committed suicide to avoid the disgrace of being sold as a slave. Oroonoko is in great grief but Aboan manages to raise his morale again.

Oroonoko goes to another tribal war and after returning, receives an invitation from an English trader on his ship. When Oroonoko and his men visit the ship, the English trader deceives them by giving them doctored alcohol to drink. As all of them get unconscious, he shackles them and takes them to his ship to sell as slaves. The ship reaches Suriname where Oroonoko is sold to Trefry, the overseer of Parham Plantation. Trefry is impressed by the looks and build of Oroonoko and soon he learns that Oroonoko is well-versed in English and French. He befriends him. At the plantation, Oroonoko meets the narrator who is also surprised by Oroonoko’s ease with English. Oroonoko shares his ordeal with Trefry and the narrator. They promise to request the lord governor Willoughy to free the prince.

Oroonoko is certainly of higher social status and superior education than any other slaves on the Plantation and soon he gains the respect of all the slaves. He is never sent to work as a laborer and is fondly named as Caesar by Trefry. One day, While walking with Trefry, Caesar meets Imoinda who has been named Clemene in Suriname. She is working as a slave on Parham’s plantation. Oroonoko recognizes her and embraces her as his wife. They start living as a married couple in one of the slave’s cottages on the plantation. Soon Imoinda gets pregnant.

Oroonoko feels that it is a must for him to get rid of his slavery before his child takes birth as he won't wish his child to be termed as a slave’s child. Trefry writes again to Willoughy but doesn’t receive any response. Oroonoko decides to rebel against the enslavers. Tuscan, another slave on the plantation helps him gather the African men who accept him as their leader. Soon begins an uprising against the English establishment. Oroonoko and his followers decide to run away on the eve of Sunday when all Englishmen are drunk. They plan to make another settlement near the shore and manage to capture a ship through which they may return to Africa.

Deputy governor Byam is given the charge of suppressing the rebellion. His army encircles the rebels. He manages to have a talk with Tuscan and wins his confidence. He sends a message to Oroonoko to accept all his demands if the rebels come to accept the terms of peace. Byam further promises amnesty to all the slaves and that he will ensure that Oroonoko and his family are freed and returned to Africa. Oroonoko agrees to surrender. However, Byam orders the arrest of Oroonoko as soon as he surrenders and orders Tuscan and other men of Oroonoko to whip their leader brutally if they have to gain amnesty. Tuscan willingly beats Oroonoko, tied to a post, and then they pour pepper on his wounds.

Oroonoko succeeds in rescuing himself and running away. He meets Imoinda in the woods and tells her that there is no way to freedom except death. He says that his only desire is to take revenge against Byam who deceived him and ridiculed him in front of his men. Imoinda accepts the situation. She doesn't wish to give birth to a child as a slave and requests Oroonoko to kill her by his own hands and then he will be free to take his revenge against Byam. Oroonoko accepts and cuts the throat of Imoinda, his dear wife. He plans to kill Byam afterward but he is too grief-stricken after murdering Imoinda and his own child in her womb. He keeps weeping for seven days alongside the dead body of Imoinda. He is too weak now and realizes that he cannot take revenge. Meanwhile, Byam’s soldiers notice the foul smell while pursuing Oroonoko. As they inspect, they find him. As they prod him, Oroonoko stands stoically smoking his pipe while they chop off his nose, ears, and one leg. Then he falls down dead, and they quarter his body before disposing of it. The executioners cut Caesar's body into quarters and send the body parts to other plantations in Suriname.

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.

Alison’s House by Susan Glaspell | Characters, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. Susan Glaspell was one of the most appreciated playwrights of modern American literature who won the Pulitzer prize for her drama Alison’s House in the year 1931. The play was first performed on December 1, 1930. The hundredth anniversary of the birthday of Emily Dickinson was to be celebrated on the 10th of December 1930 and Alison’s House was a great tribute by Susan Glaspell to the extraordinary American poet. The play is set on the last day of 1899 as the nineteenth century is coming to a close and a new, more materialistic world is emerging. The play is loosely based on the life of Emily Dickinson. Initially, Susan Glaspell wished to use Emily’s name for her play but she was denied permission for the use of Dickinson’s name and work by the late poet’s heirs. The Dickinson family prohibited Susan to use Emily’s name or to quote her poetry. As a result, Susan created a fictional Stanhope family and utilized poetry from Ralph Waldo Emerson, whom Dickinson admired.

Susan Glaspell was an early feminist writer who carved and shaped American feminism. To cultivate and defend one’s freedom in a man’s world was a continual theme for her that she continued to pursue in her dramas and writings. Obviously, Susan took the feministic point of view out of Emily Dickinson’s life to strengthen her call for early 20th-century feminist politics. The other question raised through this drama was how the lives of artists become fodder for a voyeuristic public. The drama shows how the competing demands of celebrity and privacy have and have not shifted in the 93 years between its first performance and today.

Characters of Alison’s House

Alison Stanhope is the titular character of the play who never appears on the stage because Alison Stanhope died 18 years before the day depicted in the play. Alison Stanhope was the country’s foremost poet. The character is based on Emily Dickinson. Many mysteries about Alison Stanhope have been kept secret by her siblings for the sake of her privacy and family reputation. John Stanhope is the elder brother of Alison who is 63 years old. John Stanhope wishes to sell the house but he is worried about his and Alison’s elder sister Agatha, who lives in the house alone with the housekeeper, Jennie. Ann Leslie is the family secretary. Richard Howels is a prying reporter for the Chicago Record-Herald who visits the house to find out some story of the famous dead poet. Ted is John’s youngest son who was two years old when Alison died. Eben is the elder brother of Ted and Louise is Eben’s wife. Elsa Stanhope is John Stanhope’s daughter and sister of Ted and Eben. Bill is the man whom Elsa loves.

Summary of Alison’s House

Alison’s House is a 3-Act play that begins in the library of Stanhope’s home on the last eve of 1899. John Stanhope is considering the option of selling this old house on the banks of the Mississippi where he spent his childhood days with his elder sister Agatha and younger sister Alison Stanhope. Alison died 18 years ago and now Agatha lives here alone with the housekeeper Jennie who takes care of her. John’s elder son Eben is a practicing lawyer who wishes to become a poet like his late aunt Alison. His wife Louise is a housewife. Ted is his younger brother who is being forced by John to pursue his studies to become a lawyer but he is not interested. Elsa Stanhope is the only daughter of John but he doesn’t talk to her much.

Ann Leslie is a young woman who is the secretary of John’s family and fortune. She is cataloging and safekeeping the books of Alison. The whole family got together to celebrate the upcoming new year, and the new 20th century. John and Ann Leslie talk about her late mother whom John once loved but never revealed his love for her because he was already a married man and a father. He cares for Ann like his own daughter, while he is angry with Elsa, his daughter.

While John is determined to sell the house to Mr. and Mrs. Hodge, the potential buyers, he is worried about Agatha who never left this house and doesn’t wish to leave it before her death. Agatha is not happy about John’s decision to sell the house as she feels she and Alison are being kicked out of their house. She feels Alison’s soul still linger in the house.

Eben is not happy as a lawyer and wishes to take a leave and try as a professional writer and poet. He is leading an unhappy married life with Louise who doesn’t appreciate his poetic mind and is more materialistic. Louise doesn’t like the fact that Elsa has also joined them for the celebrations of the new year as she doesn’t like her at all. She claims that Elsa is just like her late aunt Alison. Elsa fell in love with a married man and eloped with him. That married man is Bill, the husband of one of Louise’s close friends. Louise complains to Eben that such adultery is in their blood as Alison also fell in love with a married man and tried to run away with him but her brother stopped her from doing so. John failed to stop Elsa and thus, he is angry with his daughter.

On the eve of the last day of 1899, a reporter Richard Howels arrives at Stanhope’s house in hope of finding some interesting material to write a story about Alison Stanhope. He tries hard to pry at the family members to gather some information. Louise is not comfortable with his presence. She worries that he will stir up gossip and stories about Alison’s past and which will ruin the family’s reputation further and will harm her husband’s and children’s present.

There is a room in the house that always remain locked. It is Alison’s room. Agatha keeps a guard in the room to protect her memories and reputation. While all the family members are on the ground floor, Jennie calls for help as she observes smoke coming out of Alison’s room. John and Eben run upwards and see Agatha trying to burn some papers. However, she is hesitant to throw the papers in the fire as if she is in two minds. They put an end to the fire.

John and Ann talk about Agatha and wonder what she tried to burn and what was in those papers that Agatha denied sharing with anyone. Knowles wonders if the family found any other papers left by Alison. John strictly tells him to go away and he takes his permission to visit the house once more at the appropriate time. Before he goes, he offers Ann a paper with a poem written by him.

Mr. and Mrs. Hodge arrive at Stanhope's house to finalize the deal. Mr. Hodge says that they are planning to paint it bright yellow, cut up the big rooms to make smaller ones, and make it a home for summer boarders. The deal is finalized as John decides to sell the house to Mr. Hodge.

The family members all gather in the library and John talks about his dead mother and sister. Ted tries to look for some books by Alison as he is writing a paper for his University to get better grades as his professor is a huge fan of Alison. He declares that he doesn’t want to become a lawyer and would join the rubber tire business. Eben says that he is planning to take a leave for a year and will work on his poetry. John doesn’t approve of their ideas. Louise announces that she cannot live with Elsa under the same roof but Eben takes Elsa’s side. John interrupts Eben and says that he is angry at Elsa because unlike her, he and Alison were responsible and didn’t run off with the people they fell in love with.

Richard Howels returns at the same time and asks Ann to go for a walk with him. Ann looks towards John for permission and he nods to give his approval. As Ann and Richard go away, John starts reading some poems of Alison. They hear the footsteps of Agatha coming downstairs. Agatha comes and offers a leather portfolio to Elsa and says that it is a gift for Elsa from her and Alison and soon she dies.

After some time, all gather again. Ann and Elsa talk about their love life and Elsa informs how happy she is with Bill. Ann says that Richard has proposed to her and she has accepted his marriage proposal. Eben talks about his childhood memories with Elsa at the old house. Elsa then decides to open the portfolio given to her by Agatha. It contains a huge amount of unpublished poems by Alison. John wants to burn them while Ted wants to sell them. Eben persuades his father to let Elsa have her right to the poems. Stanhope finally agrees to let Elsa keep the gift from Alison’s century to the people of Elsa’s century as the clock strikes 12 O’Clock midnight. Stanhope embraces Elsa, forgiving her as the play ends.

So this is it for today. We will continue to discuss the history of American English literature. Please stay connected with the Discourse. Thanks and Regards!

Lal Singh Trilogy by Mulk Raj Anand | The Village, Across The Black Waters, The Sword and The Sickle

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. Mulk Raj Anand published The Village in the year 1939 and its sequel, Across the Black Waters, was published later in the same year. The two novels describe the life and journey of Lal Singh, or Lalu as a nonchalant son of a well-to-do farmer from the village of Nandpur in Punjab to the battlegrounds of World War I. The third part of Lalu’s trilogy was The Sword and the Sickle which was published in 1942. As Lal Singh returns alive from Europe, he jumps into the freedom struggle of India as a common peasant and faces the duplicity of political leaders who hardly understand the troubles of poor farmers while trying to use them for their political gains. Mulk Raj Anand was a staunch socialist who often disagreed with Mahatma Gandhi on many issues and openly rebuked and ridiculed Gandhian stance of Non-violence as the solution to every problem faced by Indians. These three novels are about the Indian peasants and the troubles they faced because of imperialist government and social conventions. Lal Singh or Lalu of Mulk Raj Anand represents Everyman of India. Through this Trilogy, Mulk Raj Anand exposes and ridicules the hypocrisy of urbanites, politicians, intellectuals, and imperialists alike while telling a fictional story of the establishment of Bhartiya Kisan Sabha.

Characters And Summary of The Village:

The village is set in the autumn of 1913.

Lal Singh or Lalu is the central character. Like Bakha (Untouchable) or Munnu (Coolie), Lalu is an adolescent kid of age 16 or 17. Unlike Bakha and Munnu, he is not uneducated and downtrodden. He belongs to a middle-class peasantry family trapped in the clutches of the landlord, the moneylender, and the priest, who are the living representatives of a fading, old order. Nihal Singh is his father who, like Gangu (Two Leaves and a Bud) is facing the burden of debt, yet he is stable. Lalu’s elder brother is about to marry while his eldest brother is struggling to pay the loan back to the moneylender. Lalu is a revolutionary kid who dares to challenge the norms and hence, faces troubles at each step. He sees the discrimination between castes and religion but doesn’t approve of it. He freely plays with kids of other castes. One day, when he decides to take some sweets from a Muslim man's shop, he is reprimanded by the priest of the village and he gets a haircut as a punishment. At his elder brother’s engagement, Lalu is falsely accused of molesting a girl and again he is punished as his face is blackened by the villagers and he is made to parade on a donkey. Lalu realizes that he can take no more and decides to run away and escape from the scene to avoid this disgrace. After running away from his family, Lalu faces the same difficulties as faced by Munnu, but unlike Munnu or Gangu, he decides to join the British Army instead of becoming an indentured laborer or coolie. Bakha had no education and was placed lowest in the caste hierarchy, there was no way he could revolt. Munnu was too young and too weak to act against the oppressive system that crushed him. Gangu was too old and fatalistic to rebel. Unlike Bakha, Munnu, or Gangu who raise our pity but fail to win the reader’s praise, Lalu is brave enough to win his battles. He learns that the British government is willing to offer free farmland to soldiers ready to go to Europe and fight for England against the Germans in World War I. He thinks that on returning, he will get his own farmland and will be able to help his family return their debt, and thus, decides to go to fight for the Allied forces. At the village, his family has succumbed to the burden of debt. Most of his kinsmen have lost their small landholdings to the landlord and the moneylender. His eldest brother was charged with murdering the landlord’s son and was hanged. Nihal Singh, who couldn’t bear the loss died of heart failure. The only surviving member of Lalu’s family is his middle brother who was to have married when Lalu left home. He couldn’t bear the ruin and turned ascetic and left the village. Lalu is unaware of all this as he prepares to go to Europe.

Characters and Summary of Across The Black Waters

Across the Black Waters is the only Indian English novel set in the period of World War 1. It is the autumn of 1914 as Lalu reaches Marseilles with his regiment. Lalu and his comrades are from the Himalayas who never came out of India ever before. However, they find a similarity in France. They observe the poor french people living in slums and french women washing their husband’s clothes on the river banks. Like Indian wives, the french women say goodbye to their sons and husbands before they go to war and this offers Lalu a sense of familiarity. Unlike the British rulers, the French people are not discriminating against Hindus and Laly observes that the French people cheer Indian soldiers with shouts of ‘Vivleshindou!’ Indian soldiers are welcomed in French bars and coffee shops with no discrimination and this lets Lalu understand the British apartheid in India. Unlike British memsahibs in India, French women are friendly, open, and respectful. Lalu feels like home. The Indian soldiers wonder ‘where is the war?’

Lalu makes friends with a French soldier Andre and his sister Marie. He finds the Allies are not united and the British armies are discriminated between the angrez sahibs and the Indian sepoys. The sepoys themselves are not unified, there are many disrupted members among them. Soon Lalu learns that the European war is much deadlier than any war the Indian soldiers ever faced. Indian soldiers are sent to war trenches to face the German soldiers. Indian soldiers are mostly bigger than the British soldiers and the trenches were tailor-made for British soldiers. Indian soldiers find the trenches uncomfortably small – just one of how they do not quite fit in. Still, they accept their orders and their fate in this alien war, and ‘smothered any fears they had in a collective effort to prove true to the salt of the Sarkar’. While Indian soldiers face heavy bullet fire from their opponents, they hardly have any meaningful weapons. Two elderly soldiers Uncle Kirpa and Daddy Danoo explain the war laws to Indian soldiers which Lalu understands as ‘the Indian law of chivalry’. In crucial respects,, British and Germans mostly follow the principle of ‘live and let live’. The British officer Owen Sahib is a kind and paternalistic man whom everybody likes. Major Peacock can speak Hindustani but he is discriminatory against Indian soldiers and is less liked. Lalu sees the death of many of his friends on the battlefield and also through suicide. The hardship turns the young Lalu into a mature man. However, he still remains a son of an Indian farmer, and a farmer himself. At the end of the novel, Lalu is captured by the German soldiers and faces extreme torture as the captive soldier.

Characters and Summary of The Sword and The Sickle

The Sword and The Sickle is the last part of the trilogy. Initially, Anand chose the title ‘All Men’s Are Brothers’ for the third part but he changed it to The Sword and The Sickle at the suggestion of George Orwell. The title 'The Sword and Sickle' is taken from a poem by William Blake and represents the struggle of the oppressed against the oppressor.

As the war ends, Lalu is freed by the German army and he returns to India in 1918. He is hopeful of getting the gift of farmland and pension as a reward from the British government but he is ridiculed and dismissed without them. Anand published The Sword and The Sickle in 1942. The broken promise to Lalu, therefore, becomes a warning of what might happen after the end of the Second World War, and the plot of land not given to Lalu becomes a symbol of the land of India. The cruelty of the British government forces many peasants to penury. As a farmer, Lalu understands the plight of farmers and decides to join the Indian Freedom Struggle. Like many others, he is influenced by Mahatma Gandhi’s efforts but finds his concept of non-violence unworkable. Lalu meets many leaders but realizes that none of them actually understands the helplessness and issues of poor farmers and can hardly help them. Lalu completely repudiates Gandhi’s view of non-violence and ridicules Gandhi’s idea of bringing Swaraj by wearing Khadi and fasting. He believes that the destiny of Indian peasants is tied to the working force of the world. (All Men are Brothers). Lalu claims, “When the Videshi state goes, there will be a Swadeshi state – a mere change of names and labels. I believe they will use the same police, which now beats them with staves, and the same regulations by which they are put in goals, to suppress those whom they don’t like.”

Lalu opts for another path. He commits himself passionately to the task of organizing the peasants by joining the insurrectionist group led by Count Rampal Singh. This pursuit lands him in prison, but the vision of the revolution still tempts his soul. The organization symbolizes the beginning of Bhartiya Kisan Sabha a revolution in itself. Lalu commits himself completely to the reformation of peasants and attempts for bringing rural reforms from within the community.

So this is it for today. We will continue to discuss the History of Indian English Literature. Please stay connected with the Discourse. Thanks and regards.

The Rover by Aphra Behn | Characters, Summary, Analysis

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, 2^nd 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.

Trifles by Susan Glaspell | Characters, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. Susan Glaspell was an American playwright, novelist, short story writer, journalist, and actress. She took birth on July 1, 1876, and died on July 28, 948. She married George Cram Cook who was a drama producer, playwright, novelist, and poet in 1913. Along with George Cram Cook, Susan Glaspell established the Provincetown Players on Cape Cod which was considered the first modern American theatre company independent of Broadway. Glaspell joined the feminist group Heterodoxy founded by Merry Janie Howe whose other members included Emma Goldman, Charlotte Perkins Gillman, Ida Rauh, Alice Kimball, Alison Turnbull Hopkins, Doris Stevens, and Paula Jakobi. Heterodoxy was a major important group that offered a platform for Americans not only to debate the basic women’s rights of suffrage and women’s club but also the other aspects of feminine individuality and freedom. Heterodites were considered important for the origins of American feminism. Glaspell’s work offers an insight into early feministic ideas at a time when American women were still struggling for the right to suffrage and women were not allowed to be members of any jury considering a criminal case.

In 1914, Susan Glaspell co-wrote a drama titled Suppressed Desire along with George Cram Cook that was based on Freudian psychological principles. George Cram died in 1924 and after that, Susan started working as a journalist for Des Moines Daily Newspaper in Iowa. She covered the murder case of John Hossack whose wife informed the police that an unknown person murdered her husband with an axe at night while she was sleeping beside him. Hossack’s wife Margaret was arrested for his murder. Initially, Susan Glaspell strictly wrote against Margaret, depicting her as the possible murderer. However, after visiting Hossack’s house, her attitude turned soft towards Margaret and she wrote many articles describing Margaret as a fine woman, mother, and lady unable to commit such a heinous crime. Later on, she resigned from her job and decided to begin her career as a fiction writer. In 1916, her first play solely written by her was performed by the Provincetown Players and it was titled Trifles. Trifles is a one-act play that was loosely based on Susan’s experience of the John Hossack murder case. Women were not supposed to be a part of any jury listening to a criminal case. Because of this aspect, a truly fair trial by a jury of one's peers, as promised by the American Constitution, was impossible for a female defendant. Susan Glaspell published this drama Trifle as a short story titled A Jury By Her Peers to highlight the discrepancy between the law and the Constitution.

Characters of Trifles

George Henderson is the county attorney with the charge of investigating the case of John Wright’s murder and will probably act as the prosecution advocate in case of a trial. He is a young and disciplined professional with a typical male attitude who won’t give too much importance to the female interest. Henry Peters is the local sheriff assisting George Henderson in the investigation of John Wright’s murder. He is a dominant married man who keeps his wife under his control, not allowing any individual identity of her except as his wife. Thus, his wife is known as Mrs. Peters, with no first name ever mentioned throughout the play. Mrs. Peters accompanies Henry Peters to Wright’s house for investigation because John Wright’s wife has been imprisoned for her husband’s murder and she demanded a change of clothes, a shawl, and a pleated apron that Mrs. Peters could easily gather from her house. Lewis Hale is the neighbor of the late John Wright who visited Wright’s house to meet him but was informed by his wife that he had been strangled to death while she was sleeping. He informs the local sheriff about the murder. He is also a dominant married man who says "Women are used to worrying about trifles." Mrs. Hale is the wife of Lewis Hale. Like Mrs. Peters, her first name is never revealed in the play as her own identity means little or nothing in the men’s world that recognizes her as the wife of Mr. Hale. She knew John Wright’s wife even before their marriage. She remembers how bubbly, enthusiastic, and optimistic she used to be. She complains about how lonely, troubled and cynical she turned after her marriage and regrets not having come to visit Mrs. Wright to alleviate her cheerless life. John Wright was a farmer, commonly considered a good dutiful man. However, he was a strict husband with no consideration for his wife. He wouldn’t allow his wife to mingle with neighbors or sing. For him, his wife had no right as an individual as she existed only as his wife. Mrs. Minnie Wright is the suspected murderer of her husband John Wright. She is the only woman whose first name is mentioned in the play, indicating that she somehow struggled and maintained her individual identity.

Summary of Trifles

Lewis Hale was going to the town to sell his sack of potatoes when he thought of asking John Wright, his neighbor if he would like to acquire a telephone at his farmhouse. However, when he entered Wright’s house, he saw Mrs. Minnie Wright sitting on her rocking chair in a disheveled and disturbed manner. She informed him that John Wright is lying dead on his bed with a rope around his neck. She says that some unknown person strangled him while he was asleep and she didn’t notice it because she “sleeps sound.” Lewis Wright informs the local sheriff Henry Peters and Minnie is arrested as a suspect in John Wright’s murder. Later on, county attorney George Anderson visits Wright’s house for investigation. Henry Peters accompanies him along with Lewis Hale as he is the first witness who informed the police about the murder. Lewis Hale says that though John Wright was a good dutiful man, he was a bit rough towards his wife. However, Henderson stops him from speaking about Mr. Wright’s roughness and non-consideration of his wife. Along with the three men, two women, Mrs. Peters, wife of the sheriff, and Mrs. Hale, wife of Lewis Hale also accompany them at the crime scene to collect some essential items (a change of clothes, a shawl, and a pleated apron) demanded by Mrs. Minnie Wright who has been arrested.

Henderson suggests that the men should investigate the house for some vital clues. Sheriff Peters says that they shouldn’t waste their time searching the room where Lewis Hale found Minnie as according to him, there is “nothing here but kitchen things.” Obviously, he considers women’s work of little or no importance. The other men agree. However, Mrs. Hale doesn’t like their insinuation. Mrs. Peters apologizes for her husband’s statement by claiming that he is merely doing his duty. The men decide to search the bedroom and the barn. As they go through the kitchen, Henderson opens up a cupboard and sees preserves that have frozen and broken their jars. Mrs. Peters remarks that Mrs. Wright was correct to worry about and anticipate this happening when the gas fire went out, and Henry sarcastically marvels at Mrs. Wright’s frivolity amid facing a murder charge. George replies, “Well, women are used to worrying over trifles”. Yet, it suggests how attentive and dutiful Minnie is for her domestic work, also, the sign was for women. The men notice that things are not properly arranged in the bedroom and the barn and Henderson comments that Mrs. Minnie Wright isn’t very good at housekeeping skills. Mrs. Hale defends Minnie saying that she worked at the farm too and farms require a lot of work. She further says that John Wright had no homemaking instinct and suggests that homemaking instinct is one's ability to make a home warm and comforting emotionally.

Henry Peters then suggests that they should investigate the bedroom upstairs while the women may collect the essentials for Mrs. Minnie Wright.

As the women are alone, they start talking about Mrs. Minnie Wright while checking her clothes which appear to be old, dull, and shabby. Mrs. Hale sighs and says that before marriage, Minnie used to wear nice, attractive, and pretty clothes. She suggests that John Wright was a cruel dominant man who changed Minnie completely and ruined her inner self. He forced her to wear dull clothes and depress her individual beauty. Mrs. Peters listens to her carefully and feels the pain of Minnie as her own situation is no different than hers. The two women then further notice any such signs suggesting the unhappy and disturbed condition of Minnie as they see the bread left out to get stale, the table only half-cleaned, and a quilt with crooked, erratic stitching that reflects Minnie’s mental state.

Mrs. Hale says that her husband is confounded that there was a gun in the house that went unused during the murder. Mrs. Peters remarks that George needs “a motive; something to show anger or—sudden feeling” Now the women know that situations weren’t great between the couple and Minnie was obviously the victim of her dominant sadistic husband.

Soon they find out the most important clue, a broken birdcage. John broke that cage. Mrs. Hales says that Minnie had a canary as her pet, her only friend in her lonely life. She regrets that she did not come by to see Mrs. Wright more often to reduce her depression and loneliness. This bird was symbolic of Minnie herself, who used to sing in the town’s choir before she married. Looking further, they find a sewing box of Minnie and as they open it, they see the dead canary. John killed her loving pet, and Minnie had revenge to take. Mrs. Peters remembers how she was willing to kill the boy who once killed her pet cat during her childhood. The two women keep mum about it and decide to hide the evidence they have found as to Minnie’s motive. Unsurprisingly, the men take no notice, thinking of these items as mere “trifles.”

So this is it for today. We will continue to discuss the history of American literature. Please stay connected with the Discourse. Thanks and Regards.

Two Leaves and a Bud by Mulk Raj Anand | Characters, Summary, Analysis

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. Two Leaves and a Bud was a novel by Mulk Raj Anand that was published in the year 1937. It was his third novel after the huge success of Untouchable, and Coolie in which he depicted the oppression of the poor section of India under the British government. Mulk Raj Anand was a lifelong socialist and in this novel, he raised the issue of Indian indentured labor. It is a proletariat novel that ends in a tragic clash of interests and destinies while exploring the extent of exploitation and oppression of Indian common people under the burden of colonialism.

Characters of Two Leaves and a Bud

The title Two Leaves and a Bud represents Gangu, a Punjabi farmer, forced to work in a tea plantation in Assam as an indentured laborer, his wife Sajani (the two leaves), and their young, adolescent daughter, Leila (the bud). The fourth member of the family is Budhu, the young son of Gangu who is a little kid. Gangu is a farmer in Hoshiyarpur, Punjab. Because of drought and illnesses in the family, he is burdened with the debt of Seth Badri Das, a corrupt money lender. A tout barber named Buta traps him in false promises. Buta is the Sardar who transfers ill-fated Indians to Tea Plantations in Assam as indentured laborers. Buta suggests Gangu move to a tea plantation in Assam to work there as life is much easier and more prosperous. He further says that if he goes to Assam, he will be offered nice accommodation, high wages, and free land of his own to farm. Narain and Neogi Gurkha are other workers among many. Babu Shashi Bhushan Bhattacharya is the supervisor of the tea plantation and works under Mr. Croft Cooke, the manager of the Macpherson Tea Estate. Croft Cooke doesn’t even consider Indian indentured laborers as human beings. Mrs. Croft Cooke is no better in her attitude toward the native Indians and considers them born liars. Barbara is the daughter of Croft Cooke who is the same age as Leila. Unlike her parents, she is humble and soft towards Indian laborers. Reggie Hunt is the assistant manager of the tea plantation who is much more vicious and cruel than Croft Cooke. He prefers to be addressed as ‘Raja-Sahib’ by the laborers. Reggie is a sadist who is always drunk. He represents untamed animality and unmitigated evil. He treats all Indian indentured laborers as inferior and flogs them at his will. But his preferred prey are women, wives, daughters, and mothers of indentured laborers at the plantation. Reggie keeps three Indian women forcibly at his bungalow. Reggie exercises illegal power and cast his lustful eyes on the young coolie’s women’s half-naked body—vaguely covered with tattered clothes. Doctor John de la Havre is the physician at the tea plantation who is the only philanthropist who remains ready to help Indian laborers at difficult times.

Summary of Two Leaves and a Bud

The novel begins with the philosophic note “Life is like a journey.” The tragic journey of a hapless peasant Gangu – the protagonist, starts with the naturally beautiful Assam from a village near Hoshiarpur in Punjab. At Hoshiyarpur, Gangu had some farmland. However, drought and illnesses in the family forced him to take debts from local moneylender Seth Badri Das who had an eye on Gangu’s land. The interest on loans is continually increasing and Gangu has no way to pay it back. A barber named Buta approaches Gangu with a helping hand and suggests he try his luck in Assam at some tea plantation. He says that Assam is a land of plenty where he will be paid high wages and good accommodation. Buta has taken many other people to Assam as laborers in past. He says that Gangu will get some free land as a gift to farm if he agrees to work at the tea plantation. Gangu knows that the tea plantations of Assam are managed and controlled by the British people, so he asks whether the Sahibs of the estate are kind, Buta replies, “Just like mai-bap (mother and father)”. Gangu decides to move to Assam with his wife Sajani, young adolescent daughter Leila, and son Buddhu.

Gangu finds himself at Macpherson Tea Plantation in Assam and soon he realizes that his life is doomed forever. From the exploitative clutches of Seth Bari Das, he takes his family to the iron grip of the British imperialist machinery of Tea Plantation. Buta introduces Gangu to Shashi Bhushan, the supervisor who appears greedy and corrupt. Soon he sees Croft Cooke, the manager of the tea plantation who rudely shouts at the laborers. However, the tension erupts as assistant manager Reggie Hunt arrives at the plantation as every worker becomes extra cautious and alert. Gangu sees Reggie beating a plantation worker mercilessly for a minor mistake. Gangu is offered a hut on the plantation which has been constructed without any heed to the hygienic requirements of the occupants. He meets Narain, his neighbor who tells him about life on the plantation. Narain was brought to Assam on a three-month contract but he failed to return to his home for the last 12 years. Narain tells Gangu that it is like a prison with no bars, but is unbreakable. Gangu learns more when after working for the whole week along with his wife and daughter Leila, he is offered eight annas, which is not even enough to manage two-time meals for a family of four. Excessive heat, lack of fresh air in the hut, inadequate food, scarcity of drinking water, and filthy living start breaking Gangu and Sajani but they decide to fight back.

Doctor John de La Havre meets Croft Cooke and informs him about the increasing mosquitoes and unhygienic conditions in the coolie’s lanes and huts and asks him to provide mosquito nets for the coolies so that they may avoid malaria that may turn into a pandemic. But Croft Cooke isn’t ready to spend even a penny for the Indian coolies, who for him, are no more than animals. Mrs. Croft Cooke retorts to John de La Harve’s sympathy towards Indian laborers and says that Indians are born liars and thieves. She informs how a girl of laborers tried to steal a flower from her garden. Doctor John informs Cooke about the contaminated water and asks him to arrange for the supply of clean water in coolie’s lane. He offers a researched survey for the expenditure and says that it would cost around one and a half lakh for the provision of clean and healthy water but Cooke ignores him. Doctor John warns him of impending cholera in the coolie quarters.

Narain realizes that Gangu is finding it difficult to stay at the plantation but he informs him that there is no escape. He says that more than 3000 Indians are waiting at the station but no train will take them. He informs how chowkidars check every hut at night to ascertain that no laborer is missing. Gangu observes a pandamonium among the working women at the plantation. Two women were arguing and started to fight. Gangu learns that Reggie Hunt abducted an Indian woman and took her to his bungalow. When her husband NeogiGurkha approached the bungalow to take his wife back, Reggie denied letting his wife go back and offered him five acres of land and some money for his wife. Neogi Gurkha had no other option but to take the money as he couldn’t fight Reggie, nor he could complain to anybody about it as the police and plantation management work together. However, this caused other women of coolies to feel jealous and they are arguing now. Earlier that day, Gangu saw Reggie chasing a woman who was feeding her baby, she was later raped by bim. Narain informs him that the coolies get land from Reggie Hunt to farm for offering their wives to him. This reminds Gangu of Buta who promised free land as a gift from Sahib and his heart fills with hatred for Buta. He promises himself to save his wife Sajani and daughter Leila against any such onslaught. Meanwhile, the argument between women turns into a quarrel. Reggie decides to end the argument by directing the chowkidars to beat the women laborers. Some of them run to Doctor John’s clinic to save themselves who intervenes and stops chowkidars from beating the laborers. He asks the coolies to go to Croft Cooke to ask for justice. Reggie isn’t very happy about this interference in his work and he decides to complain against Doctor John to higher officials. Doctor John is soon dismissed from his job.

Meanwhile, there is a burst of cholera among the coolies and Gangu finds his wife Sajani terminally ill. He tries to find some help but Doctor John has been dismissed and transferred somewhere else. Gangu himself suffers from high fever as he is a victim of malaria. Gangu roams in the whirlpool of his destiny and passes through various moods from theism to atheism, godlessness to a god-fearing attitude, acceptance to realization, selfishness to sacrifice, and from illusion to reality. He sees his beloved wife Sajani dying in her arms as he fails to find any help to cure her cholera. He is ill but he has the burden of responsibility for his daughter Leila and son Buddhu, and he has to arrange for the cremation of his dead wife whose body is lying in the small hut. He has no money for the red cloth and wood for cremation. He tries to get money from Narain and other workers but nobody has any money as they hardly earn anything. This reminds Gangu of Buta and he goes to him to ask for help. Buta says that Gangu may get a loan from Croft Cooke if Babu Shashi Bhushan requests him to help Gangu. Gangu promises to give a part of the loan to Buta, Shashi Bhushan, and the Sikh chowkidar of Croft Cooke if they help him in getting a loan from Croft Cooke. However, when Gangu goes to Croft Cooke’s bungalow to demand money, he orders his chowkidars to throw him away as he fears Gangu will spread cholera as his wife died of cholera. Gangu then goes to a local Bania to ask for money on interest to complete the last rites of Sajani and does so.

Meanwhile, Leila finds it difficult to see Buddhu crying for food and decides to go and work on the plantation while others are still suffering the attack of cholera and malaria. She starts collecting tea leaves to get some money. Reggie sees the young beautiful adolescent girl plucking leaves alone and he feels extreme lust. He goes to Leila and tries to seduce her and asks her to come to his bungalow. Leila is still a kid but knows the worth of the beauty and sanctity of her body. She saves herself and runs towards her hut. Reggie fails to control his lust and decides to chase her and rape her. As Leila enters her hut, Reggie tries to breach the hut. Buddhu, the young brother tries to stop Reggie but he is no match. Buddhu runs to find his father to save his sister. Reggie enters the hut but finds it unhygienic. He drags Leila out to rape her. Meanwhile, Buddhu finds Gangu and informs him about Reggie. Gangu runs with all his might and despite his illness and weak body, he faces Reggie, implores him, and begs him to let his daughter go. Leila too resists Reggie strongly. But Reggie is mad with his lust. He takes his pistol out and shoots Gangu, and he dies. Gangu's death brings Reggie to his senses. He leaves Leila and runs away. Gangu is no more, but his daughter is out of the clutches of the hawk. Murder is a greater crime, so, the police are forced to investigate. This follows the three-day trial. A jury of seven European and two Indian members finds Reggie not guilty on the charge of murder of Gangu despite the statements of Narain, Leila, and Buddhu as witnesses and he is discharged.

Mulk Raj Anand expressed the drastic situations of Indian indentured laborers, the coolies in a heart-wrenching manner. The novel shows colonizers exploiting the colonized. However, some of the colonized are no less exploiters. Seth Badrinath first robs illiterate Gangu and then Buta deceives him to get some profits. Later on, Gangu is even forced to offer bribes to Buta, Shashi Bhushan, and the Sikh Chowkidar for the loan that he needs to perform the last rite of his dead wife. Gangu gets some relief in the company of Narain. Doctor John tries to help coolies and he is dismissed by High Excellence while Reggie and Cooke keep robbing the coolies of their labor.

So this is it for today. We will continue to discuss the history of Indian English literature. Please stay connected with the Discourse. Thanks and Regards.

Aphra Behn | Life and Works | Summary of The Forc’d Marriage; or, The Jealous Bridegroom

Hello and welcome to the Discourse. Aphra Behn was an English playwright, poet, and translator during the Restoration period. She was the first English woman who earned her living by her writing. She was born on 14 December 1640 and died on 16 April 1689. A few of her most famous and successful playwrights include The Forc’d Marriage; or, The Jealous Bridegroom which was first performed in 1670 at Lincoln’s Inn Field, and The Rover; or, The Banish’d Cavaliers which was performed in 1677. Apart from that, she was a successful prose writer too and her most famous work is the prose-fiction Oroonoko; or, The Royal Slave which is also called an early novel.

Aphra Ben was married to John Behn in 1664 but her husband died in 1665. She was a devoted supporter of King Charles II who appointed her as a political spy in 1665 during the Second Anglo-Dutch War. She was recruited as a political spy of England in Antwerp where her main job was to develop intimacy with William Scott, who was the son of regicide Thomas Scott. Thomas Scott was executed in 1660. William Scott was supposed to be a member of the exiled group that was plotting against King Charles II. She was assigned a code name Astrea as a spy that she continued to use as a playwright after her return. In Antwerp, she succeeded in maintaining intimacies with William Scott and tried to make him a double agent. However, William Scott ditched her with the Dutch forces.

She somehow saved herself but failed to get any monetary support from England and as a result, it became difficult for her to return to London. She took some debt to return to London that she couldn’t pay back and in the end was imprisoned in a debtor’s prison. During her stay in the debtor’s prison, she realized that she need to have a profitable vocation to earn money. She was already writing poetry and decided to write plays under the pseudonym Astrea. English poet Lady Elizabeth Cary had already published her play The Tragedy of Mariam in 1913. Katherine Philips, also known as The Matchless Orinda published her translation of Comellie’s Pompey in 1663 which was performed in Dublin and London. Aphra Behn was the first female writer who wrote to earn a living.

Women had been excluded from performing on the public stage before the English Civil War, but in the Restoration period, professional actresses played the women's parts. Aphra Behn enthusiastically started writing dramas. King Charles II supported the English theatres against the prevailing Puritan ethics. King Charles II openly supported some of the playwrights including Libertine John Wilmot Earl of Rochester, George Etherege, and others. Aphra Behn soon got included in the same coterie of John Wilmot. Her first play was The Forc’d Marriage in which she attacked the tradition of arranged marriages. The play became a success. Her second play The Amorous Prince was also successful. However, when her third play The Dutch Lover premiered in 1673, which was a comedy, critics sabotaged the play while attacking the writer for being a woman. Aphra Behn faced the critics strongly and answered them in Epistle to the Readers in which she commented that women had been held back by their unjust exclusion from education, not their lack of ability. However, her argument was overlooked because of her close relationships with the libertine Earl of Rochester and lawyer John Hoyle who was bisexual. The Dutch Lover failed and Behn took a break from her writing career for three years. In 1676, she published three comedies Abdelazer, The Town Fopp, and The Rover. The Rover became a huge hit. It was based on Thomas Killgrew’s play Thomaso, or the Wanderer.

John Dryden reviewed The Rover by Aphra Ben and commented that it "lacks the manly vitality of Killigrew's play, but shows a greater refinement of expression." During the early 1680s, England faced the Exclusion crisis, and London got divided into two political factions, Tories and Whigs. Aphra Behn supported the Tories against the Whigs and in 1681-82, she produced five plays showing her opposition to the Whigs. She used to openly attack the Whigs in her writing. In 1682, she wrote the prologue and epilogue of an anonymous play Romulus and Hersilla in which she criticized James Scott, The Duke of Monmouth who was the illegitimate son of King Charles II. As a result, an arrest warrant was issued against her. James II succeeded King Charles II in 1685 and the popularity of her plays began receding. Her plays faced strong criticism for sexually explicit subjects and dialogues. It was a period when women were not supposed to sell their pens to earn income and were often compared with prostitutes. Among her critics of the 18^th century, William Wycherley and Alexander Pope were prominent. Most of her work was marginalized and disregarded by critics for more than 200 years. Though many others supported and cherished her work too. In 1745, Jean-Jaques Rousseau mentioned the French translation of her novel Oroonoko; Or, The Royal Slave in his Discourses of Inequality.

In 1929, Virginia Wolf mentioned Aphra Behn in her essay In A Room Of One’s Own and commented, “All women together, ought to let flowers fall upon the grave of Aphra Behn... for it was she who earned them the right to speak their minds.”

Summary of The Forc’d Marriage:

The subtitle of The Forc’d Marriage is ‘The Jealous Bridegroom’. It was the first play by Aphra Behn which was first staged in 1670. It is a five-act play in which Aphra Behn attacked the tradition of Arranged marriages. The play begins with a prologue in which an actress appears on stage and acknowledges that the play is written by a woman and appeals to the audience to give the play a good reception.

The play contains many love triangles, the primary of whom is that of Prince Philander, his friend turned foe Alcippus, and Erminia, the daughter of the former General of France. Prince Philander and Erminia are in love and want to marry each other. However, her father general Orgulius isn’t convinced that the King will accept his daughter’s marriage to the Dauphin of France. In a recent battle, Philander, Alcippus, and Orgulius fought together. While all of them fought bravely, Alcippus made a name for his valor on the battlefield. The King decides to award Alcippus for his bravery and announces that he will be the new general of his army as Orgulius has asked for retirement. Alcippus is surprised by this decision but accepts the responsibility and asks for Orgulius’s daughter Erminia’s hand in marriage. Alcippus and the King are unaware of the love between Philander and Erminia. The King announces the marriage of Alcippus with Erminia and her father doesn’t object to it.

This saddens Philander and his sister Galatea who wishes to marry Alcippus. Pisaro, a friend of Alcippus mollifies Philander and his friends against Alcippus and says that Alcippus didn’t know that Philander loved Erminia. He further says that Erminia doesn’t return his love and thus, their marriage can be stopped.

At home, Erminia cries and objects to her father and claims that she only loved Philander. She says that she has always seen Alcippus as her brother and she cannot marry him. Orgulious says that she should accept marriage with Alcippus as her duty as the King has offered her to Alcippus as his wife. Erminia meets Galatea who is her friend and Galatea soothes her and says that she is equally as she loves Alcippus. She says that she has the plan to avoid Erminia’s marriage with Alcippus.

Philander tells to his friends that he is going to discuss the matter with the king to stop the marriage of Erminia and Alcippus and if that doesn’t solve the issue, he will settle the matter with the sword. However, neither his nor Galatea’s efforts prove fruitful and Erminia is married to Alcippus. On their wedding night, Erminia strongly repulses Alcippus and says that though she married him, she will not share the bed with him because she loves Philander. Alcippus gets angry but resists violence and says that his love will win her over with time. Meanwhile, Pisaro, the friend of Alcippus watches the wedding ceremony with keen eyes to avoid any mishap and observes that Galatea is in love with Alcippus and she is saddened by his marriage to Erminia. This breaks his heart as he wishes to marry Galatea.

Philander and his friends decide to attack Alcippus and abduct Erminia. However, Pisaro and Alcippus are alert. Philander reaches Erminia’s chamber and sees her in her nightgown. She asks Philander about Alcippus as she is worried about him. Philander accuses her of betrayal in love to which she claims that she is truthful to him and hasn’t allowed Alcippus to share her bed. Alcippus returns to Erminia’s room at the same time and accuses Erminia of adultery. This enrages Philander and both start fighting. Philander gets wounded and Alcippus takes Erminia away.

Pisaro informs Aclippus why Philander attacked them. Aclippus hints to him about his suspicion of Erminia but Pisaro says that he doesn’t believe that Erminia has done anything wrong till now. He further informs him that princess Galatea is in love with him and she is also sad about his marriage with Erminia. Alcippus is surprised by this. He fails to understand the situation and asks Pisaro what should he do. Pisaro says that Alcippus should leave Erminia and embrace the love of Galatea as that will also offer him the right to inherit half of the kingdom.

Meanwhile, Erminia is shifted to Galatea’s camp for protection. Galatea tells her that Philander loves her and she should submit to him. But Erminia says that she is married to Alcippus and cannot be disloyal to him. Galatea says that she will arrange for a proper solution. Alcippus enters her camp at the same time and accuses Galatea of turning Erminia as cruel as she is. Galatea denies the charge and subtly signs Erminia to soften her attitude towards Alcippus. Alcippus notices the change and apologizes to Galatea. She leaves Alcippus and Erminia alone and Erminia weeps at her situation in front of Alcippus. Alcippus thinks that this is a chance for him to win her love but she clearly states that she always considered him a friend, a brother and that when they meet again, it must be as friends, not lovers.

Philander meets Galatea and asks her to let him meet Erminia. Galatea tries to stop him but he insists and she lets him in. Erminia is surprised at seeing Philander. He says that he is too sick and just wished to see her. Erminia takes him to the inner room so that he may rest. Meanwhile, Alcippus tells Pisaro that he is disheartened because Eminia will never love him. He says that he will return to Erminia’s camp to talk to her again. When Erminia sees Alcippus again, she gets worried because of the presence of Philander in the inner room. Alcippus notices the sword and hat of Philander and accuses Erminia of treachery. Philander comes out at the same time and takes his sword in his hand. Before Alcippus and Philander could attack each other, Erminia comes in between and tells Philander to go away. Philander leaves and Alcippus accuses Erminia of adultery and strangles her. Erminia gets unconscious and Alcippus throws her on her bed, believing he killed her. The servants notice it and spread the news of Erminia’s murder.

Galatea is surprised by the news while Orgulius meets the king and demands revenge against Alcippus. Galatea announces that if they harm Alcippus, she will commit suicide because she loves him. King is surprised by all this and when he comes to know that Philander and Erminia were in love, while Galatea loved Alcippus, he regrets his decision. Meanwhile, Galatea visits her camp to examine Erminia’s death and finds her unconscious. She treats her and gets her back to consciousness. However, she tells her to hide the fact that she is alive. Erminia agrees to her plan. Erminia then disguises herself as a soul and visits Alcippus, making him regret his decision. She says that she was always pure and never indulged in adultery, though she always loved Philander and always considered Alcippus as his friend, and a brother. She also makes him regret Galatea who actually loved him.

At the time of her supposed funeral, Alcippus reaches her coffin when there is no one else and starts weeping for killing Erminia. Philander reaches at the same time and attacks Alcippus for murdering his love. As both men engage in a fight, Galatea approaches them and reprimands them. She mentions that both were close friends and fighting for each other just a few days ago and now they are sworn enemies. Philander complains about the death of Erminia to which Galatea says that Erminia is alive. Soon Erminia arrives there along with the King and Orgulius. The King nullifies Erminia’s marriage to Alcippus and offers Galatea’s hand to Alcippus. Philander asks Orgulius for his daughter’s hand in marriage and Orgulius accepts the proposal. The king makes a final speech in which he wishes the new couple long and happy lives. The play ends with an epilogue in which an actress speaks self-deprecatingly on behalf of her sex, admitting the superiority of men as far as wit is concerned and saying that women can conquer only through their beauty.

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!