The Ravishing Restoration: Aphra Behn, Violence, and Comedy

British playwright Behn (1640-89) often portrayed rape or attempted rape and the ability of women to escape the situation, but because the plays are comedies, they perforce must end happily, which means in marriage and thus the continuation of patriarchal order. Therefore, some see Behn as a feminist and others as an anti-feminist. Steward (theatre, U. of Pittsburgh-Johnstown) deconstructs and analyzes both interpretations, working from patterns and evolutions in the plays, and argues that Behn presents a women's view of women in distress as vulnerable but not without recourse and resources, and as able to forgive the wrong done her and get on with life. Distributed in the US by Associated University Presses. Annotation c2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Ann Marie Stewart is currently a professor of theatre at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown. She holds a BA and a MA in Theatre and English from Michigan State University, and a PhD in Theatre History from the University of Colorado at Boulder. She has also taught and directed in theatre departments at the University of Notre Dame, the University of Colorado, and Olivet College. She has published articles on Renaissance and Restoration drama, and is interested in the dramatic evolution of playwriting by British and American women throughout the centuries.