The Sexual Empowerment of Women
in Two of Aphra Behn's Poems

By Lisa Devine

"All women together ought to let flowers fall upon the tomb of Aphra Behn, . . . for it was she who earned them the right to speak their minds." (Woolf 91)

Born in 1640, Aphra Behn broke gender stereotypes when she undertook a thrilling (if unrewarded) life as a spy for the Crown, but it was her scandalous career as an author which truly achieved many firsts for women. She was the first woman to support hereself financially by solely relying on the profession of writing, and many readers argue that Oroonoko--her passionate tale about the institution of slavery--was the first English novel. She was certainly one of the first female authors to write candidly about sexuality: in fact, she both broke new ground and challenged conceptions of patriarchal power when she wrote about women's empowerment through sexuality. In her poems "The Willing Mistress" (from her play The Dutch Lover, 1673) and "The Disappointment" (1680), Behn creates situations of bold sexual mischief in which female characters are aware of, comfortable with, and even thrive off their sexuality.

Not only was it virtually unheard of for a woman of Behn's time to express herself openly as a sexual being, but it was also explicitly forbidden by cultural precepts for a woman to so aggressively take charge of her own physical desires and satisfaction, as Behn's characters do. Previously, men were in control of most sexual situations--both in real life and in literature. Behn, however, creates a playing field where the traditional roles not only do not apply but are subverted. Urged to seize the day, Behn's willing mistress does so, following her lover into the bushes and coyly closing out the reader from her moment of pleasure. Likewise pursued, in "The Disappointment," Behn's young virginal maiden takes her sexual destiny into her own hands (literally), leaving her would-be lover impotent, an outcast from what used to be his realm of power. Thus in "The Willing Mistress" and "The Disappointment," Behn confers power to women by creating an environment of sexual freedom in which female sexuality is natural, strong, comfortable, and driven by pure desire.

In the Middle Ages, if a woman wanted to express herself in writing, she was limited to expressions of religious faith, as were Julian of Norwich and Margery Kempe. Any rapture described in the literature of this period was usually reserved for Christ, prompted by the ecstatic realization of an eternal life. In the 16th and 17th centuries, women writers were still largely limited in how they were permitted to express themselves. While writing about love became more socially acceptable, most examples still presented a romanticized perspective in which passion was inextricably linked to emotional involvement. There are glimpses of sexuality, such as when Anne Bradstreet in "A Letter to Her Husband, Absent Upon Public Employment" refers to her children as "those fruits which through [her husband's] heat I bore" and yearns for him to return and warm her "chilled" limbs (Lines 14; 11). However, even this work is a celebration primarily of the emotional bond between a woman and her husband. Socially, medically and religiously, women were not considered as naturally sexual beings--to be sexual was unnatural, an aberration--and therefore little, if any, expressions of female sexuality can be found in the writings of the times. Men, however, were free to write tales of sexual escapades, a truth most evident in the works of a group of Behn's contemporaries, the Cavalier poets.

In the works of the Cavaliers, sexual euphemisms are abundant, and the sexual situations depicted share a common theme. The scenario is as follows: women adopt the traditional submissive roles of the sweet, demure maiden whose only duty is to protect her virginal honor. The man's natural goal as the sexual aggressor is to persuade the maiden to relinquish her self to him. Usually the woman resists, until she is so overwhelmed by her love for him--or the verbal pressure he has put upon her--that she finally surrenders to his desire regardless of her own. This role assignment negates any active role a young woman can take in her sexuality, for nowhere is there menion of her needs as a sexual being. She is simply a prize to be won, an object to pursue for recreation. The man is in control at all times. However, in "The Willing Mistress" and "The Disappointment," Behn subverts the Cavalier tradition.

With its major role-reversals, Behn's poetry signifies a transfer in sexual power: she writes of women who are active participants in erotic scenes. The poems have a tone of sexual abandonment in which the women feel comfortable with and are entitled to their sexuality. They are not afraid to take charge and admit that they feel desire, just as man often does. In fact, the very title "The Willing Mistress" reveals that this maiden will not resist, for she seeks satisfaction as equally as does her partner. The reader is invited into the grove with the couple, where the scene unfolds through the words of the young maiden. Her willingness is confirmed for the reader when she admits that "[a] many kisses did he give [a]nd I returned the same / Which made me willing to receive [t]hat which I dare not name" (Lines 13-16). She is as physically aroused as her lover, and she is willing and prepared to receive her share of pleasure from the encounter. The man, whose traditional role is to pursue and dominate, finds there is no need to make an attempt on her virtue because she is freely offering it to him. She is, as Behn notes, "already fired" and together, equally, they play "a thousand amorous tricks" (19; 11). By agreeing to slip with him into the hidden grove, "secured from human eyes," the maiden effectively takes the decision out of his hands, and he loses his identity as the sexual aggressor. There is no demand for aggression here--either physical or verbal--, for she offers no fight. Thus, he loses control over the encounter, and she is empowered by it. In fact, as easily as she has invited the readers into the grove, as their lovemaking begins, Behn's willing mistress rather unceremoniously ejects the onlookers, therefore making the scene entirely her own.

The traditional roles are likewise reversed in "The Disappointment," the very title of which suggests that the encounter does not transpire smoothly. Here the young woman, Cloris, revels in her sexuality, which makes her would-be lover at first uneasy--and then ultimately unable. The lovely young virgin allows her senses to be seduced, and she begins to feel "new desire" (36). Behn leaves no mystery to her willingness when she writes: "Her hands his bosom softly meet, / But not to put him back designed, / Rather to draw 'em on inclined" (15-17). She is not content to take a submissive role, but meets her lover's advances and encourages him. When it comes time for the actual consummation, Cloris gives herself as freely and fully into the moment as does Lysander, her lover: "Abandoned by her pride and shame / She does her softest joys dispense, / Offering her virgin innocence" (65-67). But Cloris's sexual responsiveness is unnerving to Lysander, for the traditional sexual power struggle can leave only one victor.

The fact that Cloris's newly-awakened and independent sexual spirit cannot be fully possessed leaves Lysander confused and "unable to perform the sacrifice" (71). Cloris's ability to experience passion and pleasure in their romantic interlude is not anticipated by Lysander and seems to be even unwanted, as he believes this "[e]xcess of love his love betrayed" (88). Cloris, "finding that god of her desires / Disarmed," with "both disdain and shame expressed / And from Lysander's arms she fled, / Leaving him fainting on the gloomy bed" (112-113; 118-120). Thus, it is is the woman who leaves the man behind to ponder his regret and shame while she flees in disgust. Although "[h]e cursed . . . the shepherdess' s charms, / Whose soft bewitching influences / Had damned him to the hell of impotence," the reality is that, confronted by an unexpected sexual desire equal to his own, he has lost his power (137-140). He is a "disappointment" in his, in Cloris's and in Behn's eyes.

Traditionally, the act of consummation takes place in the context of a great romantic love and is performed ritualistically on the virgin's wedding night. The male receives physical satisfaction, while the female receives pleasure in pleasing her husband and thus strengthening their emotional bond. It is not expected that the act of sex is for her benefit, for as a woman, she is supposed to endure it because it will bring her closer to her husband and result in the birth of children. Thus he holds the power to her happiness. This, however, is not the case in either of Behn's poems. Nowhere is there mention of a great love that sweeps the maidens off their feet--or in fact any sign of emotional involvement. The women are driven purely by physical desire, and the only reason they yield to their lovers is because they too seek pleasure--in other words, they behave like men who stereotypically place lust before love.

There is no doubt that in these poems the motivation is neither romance nor matrimony but simple sexual desire. In "The Willing Mistress," the maiden reveals her arousal: "On her that was already fired, / 'Twas easy to prevail" (19-20). Similarly, in "The Disappointment," Cloris finds that with "[e]ach touch her new desire alarms" as Lysander "[k]isses her mouth, her neck, her hair" (34-35). There are no proclamations of undying love or eternal bliss. In fact, Behn offers no excuses for these women's actions, and the only regret mentioned belongs to Lysander, who cannot fulfill his amorous duty. Behn introduces the idea that women can be equal sexual partners and also enjoy their sexuality, even if it is with someone with whom they are not emotionally or romantically involved. Just as every man is not interested in conquests, not every woman is interested in matrimony, or even romance. No longer is the woman ignored in the sexual power struggle or subservient because she is bound by emotional ties. She is the ultimate woman, with a "shape designed for love and play," but on her terms ("The Disappointment," 64).

Behn's belief in the pursuit of equality in the sexual realm is apparent in each of her poems, as she assembles scenes of overt sexuality in which the struggle for power gradually rewards the woman--or at least shows her assuming a position of power. "The Willing Mistress" and "The Disappointment" are pivotal poems for women because they reverse the ancient stereotypical roles: the man as the aggressor who must conquer, the woman who must submit. In these poems, there are no "spoils and trophies of the enemy," as mentioned in "The Disappointment" (40). Instead, the woman finds she is empowered enough to give herself freely, without recrimination or fear. She yields to her desire for the first time in centuries.

The strong, independent women created from Behn's mind refute her era's consensus that ... Behn conveys that women can control their own destiny; they can hold the power. Although these sentiments were certainly ahead of their time, they did help pave the way for future generations of women to express themselves honestly, sexually or otherwise. For that, all women are indeed eternally indebted to Aphra Behn.

Works Cited

Behn, Aphra. "The Disappointment." The Norton Anthology of Literature by Women. 2nd ed. Eds. Sandra Gilbert and Susan Gubar. New York: Norton, 1996. 112-115.

---. "The Willing Mistress." Norton. 111.

Bradstreet, Anne. "A Letter to Her Husband, Absent Upon Public Employment." Norton. 89.

Woolf, Virginia. "Aphra Behn." Excerpted from A Room of One's Own. Reprinted in Virginia Woolf: Women and Writing. Ed. Michele Barrett. New York: Harvest, 1979. 89-91.