In Defence of Absolutes: The Evolution of Aphra Behns Political Views

The evolution of Aphra Behns political views is a point of scholarly contention. The analysis of her dramatic works starts with her early tragicomedies, like The Young King and The Amorous Prince, and continues through her well- known Exclusion Crisiss sexual comedies, like The Roundheads and Sir Patient Fancy. This paper argues that Behns on- stage royalism was considerably diverse, reflecting various degrees of support for the monarchy. Behn altered her political positions in response to the development of the fierce rivalry between different political parties. Following her concerns and discontent about the kings ability to rule the country in her early plays, Behn developed a remarkable tendency for supporting Charles II and created an image of an impeccable king beyond any criticism. The results suggest that Behn’s Toryism did not reflect an unwavering and unchanging support for the newly restored monarchy, as was assumed previously

From the Private Submissive Sphere to Public Intellectual Resistance: American Female Playwrights’ Contributions to Dramaturgy and Feminism

This article joins a vibrant conversation in American literary studies about the contribution of female playwrights to dramaturgy as well as the feminist movement in the early twentieth century. In addition to assessing their contribution to American drama, the article extends the discussion to study how these female dramatists reflected the status of women in contemporary societies. We argue that the selected works of Susan Glaspell’s Trifles (1916) and Bernice (1917), Lorraine Hansberrys A Raisin in the Sun (1959), and Rachel Crothers’ A Mans World (1910) reveal a process, a transformation, a theatrical presentation of the development of female awareness about the self, the masculine, and the community. The analysis of these plays reveals recurrent patterns of resistance and recreation that witness the development and advancement of American feminism into three stages – namely, resisting masculine exclusionist ideologies through instinctual, unintellectual means, recreating and maneuvering self-actualization while compromising agency, and adopting social activism to expose the private oppression of women. The analysis of these plays shows that these patterns are not just recurrent and repetitive; it also shows the response to these patterns as productively evolving. These examples of drama show the progress of American theater in general and connect the discussion to larger cultural perspectives about American feminism