Aphra Behn: The First Professional Woman Writer in English Literature

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Introduction

Aphra Behn (1640–1689) holds a unique place in English literary history as the first woman in England to earn her living by writing. Living during the Restoration period, she broke social and cultural barriers at a time when women were rarely allowed into the public literary sphere. Behn wrote plays, poetry, novels, and prose fiction, and her works reflected both the wit and the controversies of her age.

She is best remembered today for her novel Oroonoko (1688), a tragic tale of slavery and colonialism, often seen as an early precursor to both the novel form and anti-slavery literature. Her Restoration comedies, such as The Rover, are lively explorations of love, gender, politics, and sexuality, full of wit and sharp social commentary. Aphra Behn’s career paved the way for later women writers like Mary Wollstonecraft, Jane Austen, and Virginia Woolf, who admired her as a pioneer.

Early Life and Background

The details of Aphra Behn’s early life remain uncertain, partly because women’s lives were rarely recorded with care in the 17th century. She is thought to have been born in 1640 in Canterbury to Bartholomew Johnson and Elizabeth Denham. Some records suggest that as a young girl she may have traveled to Surinam in South America, an experience that deeply influenced her later writing, especially Oroonoko.

She married Johan Behn, a Dutch or German merchant, though the marriage was brief, and she was soon widowed. Afterward, she was recruited as a spy for King Charles II in Antwerp during the Anglo-Dutch wars, an adventure that later contributed to her independent and unconventional reputation.

Literary Career

Aphra Behn began writing in the 1670s, a period when the theatres had just reopened after the Puritan ban. She quickly became one of the most successful playwrights of the Restoration stage. Over the course of her career, she wrote more than 15 plays, several volumes of poetry, translations, and prose fiction.

Plays

Her comedies reflect the spirit of Restoration theatre: witty dialogue, bold characters, and themes of love, desire, and power. Among her most important plays are:

  • The Forc’d Marriage (1670) – her first play, staged with success.
  • The Rover (1677, 1681) – her most famous play, set in Naples during Carnival, exploring themes of love, freedom, and women’s desire. It was hugely popular and revived many times.
  • The Feign’d Curtezans (1679) and The Lucky Chance (1686) – comedies that critique marriage, gender roles, and social hypocrisy.

Poetry

Behn also wrote a large body of poetry, often exploring themes of love, passion, betrayal, and female desire. Unlike many poets of her time, she openly expressed female sexuality, which shocked some readers but also gave her poetry a striking originality.

Prose Fiction

Her most enduring prose work is:

  • Oroonoko (1688) – a tragic novella about an African prince who is enslaved and taken to Surinam. The story combines romance, politics, and criticism of slavery and colonial exploitation. It is considered one of the earliest English novels and has been admired for its sympathy toward enslaved people, though modern critics also note its complexities and contradictions.

Themes in Aphra Behn’s Writing

  1. Love and Desire – Behn’s plays and poems often explore the dynamics of passion, attraction, and betrayal, from both male and female perspectives.
  2. Women’s Freedom – She challenges social restrictions on women, giving her female characters wit, independence, and agency.
  3. Politics and Power – As a former spy and royalist, Behn weaves politics into her works, often supporting monarchy but critiquing corruption.
  4. Slavery and Colonialism – Oroonoko offers one of the earliest English literary treatments of the cruelty of slavery, presenting enslaved people as dignified and heroic.
  5. Satire and Wit – Like other Restoration writers, she uses sharp humor to critique hypocrisy in marriage, religion, and society.

Style and Technique

Aphra Behn’s writing is characterized by:

  • Boldness – She spoke openly about female sexuality, a rarity in her time.
  • Wit and Comedy – Especially in plays like The Rover, her sharp dialogue keeps audiences entertained while exposing social truths.
  • Blending of Genres – She moved easily between drama, poetry, and fiction, experimenting with narrative voice and form.
  • Realism with Romance – In Oroonoko, she combines romantic heroism with realistic depictions of slavery and colonial life.

Reception and Legacy

During her lifetime, Behn was both celebrated and criticized. Her plays were popular on stage, but many critics dismissed her work because she was a woman writing about subjects like love, sex, and politics. She often faced attacks for being “unwomanly,” yet she never apologized for her boldness.

After her death in 1689, Aphra Behn was buried in Westminster Abbey, a sign of recognition, though she was not fully appreciated until centuries later. In the 20th century, writers like Virginia Woolf reclaimed her legacy, with Woolf famously writing in A Room of One’s Own (1929):

“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.”

Today, Behn is seen as a pioneer of women’s writing, a founder of the English novel, and an important Restoration dramatist.

Conclusion

Aphra Behn’s life and career represent a bold challenge to the conventions of her time. As a poet, playwright, novelist, and political thinker, she used her pen to carve out a professional career, becoming the first English woman to live by writing. Her works, especially The Rover and Oroonoko, continue to be studied for their exploration of love, gender, politics, and colonialism. By refusing to remain silent, Behn laid the foundation for later generations of women writers, ensuring her place as a trailblazer in English literature.

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