Aphra Behn

Aphra Behn was a pioneering English writer during the Restoration era.

She worked as a playwright, poet, prose writer, and translator. Behn was one of the first English women to earn a professional living through her writing. This achievement broke significant cultural barriers for women in the 17th century. She became a vital literary role model for future generations of female authors. Her life was marked by a unique blend of literary success and political adventure.

Much of Behn's early life remains a mystery due to a lack of clear records.

Some accounts suggest she was the daughter of a barber named John Amis. Other sources claim her parents were named Cooper or Johnson. A contemporary named Anne Finch recorded that Behn was born in Wye, Kent. It is possible she received her education through self-tuition. This was a common practice for European women who were often denied formal schooling. She likely learned by copying poems and other written works.

Behn's life involved high-stakes political work and travel. She may have traveled to the colony of Surinam as a young woman. This journey likely provided the inspiration for her famous work, *Oroonoko: or, the Royal Slave*.

During the Second Anglo-Dutch War in 1665, she served as a political spy. King Charles II recruited her to work in Antwerp. She used the pastoral pseudonym Astrea as her code name. Her mission involved attempting to turn William Scot into a double agent. However, the mission was not profitable, and she faced significant financial difficulties.

Financial necessity drove Behn toward a professional writing career. After returning to London, she faced debts that may have led to a stay in a debtor's prison.

She began writing for the King's Company and the Duke's Company to earn a livelihood. Playwriting became her refuge from poverty. Her first play, *The Forc'd Marriage*, was staged in September 1670. It ran for six nights, which was a successful start for an unknown author. She later wrote other notable plays, such as *The Rover*.

Behn's writing often reflected the turbulent politics of her time. She was a staunch supporter of the Stuart line and a Tory. This political loyalty sometimes caused her legal trouble. During the Exclusion Crisis, she wrote a prologue and epilogue that resulted in legal issues. Because of these complications, she devoted much of her later work to prose and translations. She also famously declined to write a welcoming poem for King William III. Her work often explored complex themes, including social attitudes toward marriage and love.

Behn's legacy is recognized by major literary figures. The writer Virginia Woolf famously praised her in *A Room of One's Own*. Woolf argued that Behn earned the right for women to speak their minds.

Behn is buried in Westminster Abbey, a place of great honor. Her grave is located in the East Cloister near the church steps. While she is not in Poets' Corner, her presence in the Abbey is significant. She remains a symbol of the struggle for female intellectual independence.

Today, scholars view Behn as a complex figure who used many "masks." Biographer Janet Todd noted that her life was a combination of secrecy and staginess. She moved between the worlds of the royal court and the professional theater. Her ability to navigate these different social spheres allowed her to survive as a professional woman. Her work continues to be studied for its historical importance and its role in the development of English literature.