Aphra Behn, c. 1675
The History of The Nun
Printed by A. Bakersvile in Essex-Street, London, Aphra Behn’s short fiction, “The History of the Nun, Or the Fair Vow-Breaker,” was written in the later part of 1688 and published in the early part of 1689, right around the time of the Glorious Revolution. It tells the story of an anti-heroine, Isabella, whose reputation for virtuousness and religious devotion ironically becomes her motivation for murder. While it isn’t easy to pinpoint the exact message Behn was hoping to convey with this story, “The History of the Nun” certainly showcases a complicated social psychology, and a surprising, darkly amusing plot.
As “The History of the Nun” begins, Count Henrick de Vallary, grief-stricken over the death of his wife, sends his daughter to a nunnery to be raised by his sister, the convent’s abbess. As the years pass, young Isabella quickly proves to be just as talented and pious as she is breathtakingly beautiful. Although everyone hopes for her to choose life as a nun, Isabella learns of the pleasures the outside world has to offer. At the age of thirteen, Isabella makes her debut in the town of Iper, during which she attracts several suitors, including the young Count of Villenoys. However, Isabella decides to dedicate herself to becoming a nun.
Villenoys is shattered by her decision, falling dangerously ill. He sends her correspondences, begging that she reconsider her decision, but Isabella’s responses instruct that he simply heal and move on. He does recover and joins the army, but his feelings remain. Meanwhile, another nun, Sister Katteriena, becomes Isabella’s bed-mate and best friend. Katteriena’s brother, Bernardo Henault, visits often, and falls in love with Isabella over time. Isabella, likewise, falls in love with him. She finds herself battling temptation, and despite ample resistance, she chooses to forsake her holy vows and risk the blow to her reputation by escaping the convent to be with him.
Although the abbess eventually pardon’s Isabella for her actions, Henault’s father disinherits him. Regardless, Henault marries Isabella and they build a life on a farm. Accustomed to a more lavish lifestyle, Henault grows disheartened. When his father offers to reclaim him under the condition that Henault join the army, he does so, but the decision devastates Isabella, who collapses and miscarries their child. Distraught, Henault still forces himself to go, and in the army, he serves beside Villenoys. The two bond over their love for Isabella and become fast friends. It is Villenoys, later on, who is burdened with relating Henault’s presumed death to Isabella. Tragic though it is, the news restores Isabella’s reputation. Villenoys continues to visit, eventually admitting that he is still very much in love with her. He proposes. Destitute, widowed, and without other options, Isabella grimly agrees, although not without requesting that he wait three years for her to grieve Henault’s death.
Time passes, and Isabella does marry Villenoys. With him, she lives the lavish lifestyle she once rejected, but while Villenoys is away on a hunting trip one day, she is surprised and disturbed to see Henault appear at her front door, disheveled but alive. He had escaped capture, injury, and slavery to return to her. She is shamed and confused when she realizes she is now an adulterer. In her panic, she smothers Henault with a pillow. Villenoys returns home, and Isabella convinces him that Henault had died of shock upon returning to see that she’d remarried. For love of her, Villenoys agrees to dispose of the body in the river. He requests a sack with which to carry out the deed.
Isabella brings it to him, but in fear of future criticism, she sews the sack to Villenoy’s collar. Then, when Villenoys tosses the body off the bridge, he is dragged down to drown with it. Isabella’s plot seems to succeed; when the corpses wash up on shore, they are identified as strangers, and Isabella’s good reputation absolves her of any suspicion. Unfortunately for her, a Frenchman arrives who served with Henault in the war and identifies the body. Based upon this new revelation, Isabella is questioned by the authorities. She quickly confesses to her crimes, and is sentenced to a beheading, a verdict that Isabella accepts with admirable resolution. Before her death, she gives a lovely, indomitable speech to the crowd about the dangers of vow-breaking, which wins her back the respect of the people. In some ways, she achieves a sort of martyrdom.
On the surface, Behn’s moral intentions for this story seem only cautionary, warning against vow-breaking in all its forms, sins that --according to the story’s dedication-- warrant the severe and “notorious Revenges of God.” (CITATION REQUIRED) Since religious tensions were mounting among the subjects of James II around the time “The History of the Nun” was written, Behn’s readers would likely find such a lesson valuable (Kastan). James II had favored the Catholics, so anti-Catholic sentiments were growing. Isabella, as a nun, appears to fulfil the stereotypical role of evil Roman Catholic woman. However, Isabella’s contradictory personal values somewhat subvert this role by making her into a character who is essentially blameless for her own crimes. Moreover, one could argue that there are also proto-feminist motivations behind Behn’s writing, as her narration examines the gap between the supposedly idyllic woman and that of women in reality. So, perhaps the message behind this story is not as straightforward) as it looks.
Upon first glance, “The History of the Nun” appears to fulfill all conventional male expectations for Restoration readers: Isabella’s female iniquity is satisfactorily punished and male stereotypes of women, particularly Roman Catholic women, are reinforced (Craft). However, in a time when women were often punished for situations beyond their control, Isabella is a character who takes control of her own situation. She is beheaded, but not without respectability; her final speech restores her social reputation. Even Behn’s narrator often offers subtle support for the actions of its powerful heroine, and in the end, the story of Isabella remains one of woman who successfully exacts revenge in a male-dominated, largely anti-Catholic society.
As “The History of the Nun” begins, Count Henrick de Vallary, grief-stricken over the death of his wife, sends his daughter to a nunnery to be raised by his sister, the convent’s abbess. As the years pass, young Isabella quickly proves to be just as talented and pious as she is breathtakingly beautiful. Although everyone hopes for her to choose life as a nun, Isabella learns of the pleasures the outside world has to offer. At the age of thirteen, Isabella makes her debut in the town of Iper, during which she attracts several suitors, including the young Count of Villenoys. However, Isabella decides to dedicate herself to becoming a nun.
Villenoys is shattered by her decision, falling dangerously ill. He sends her correspondences, begging that she reconsider her decision, but Isabella’s responses instruct that he simply heal and move on. He does recover and joins the army, but his feelings remain. Meanwhile, another nun, Sister Katteriena, becomes Isabella’s bed-mate and best friend. Katteriena’s brother, Bernardo Henault, visits often, and falls in love with Isabella over time. Isabella, likewise, falls in love with him. She finds herself battling temptation, and despite ample resistance, she chooses to forsake her holy vows and risk the blow to her reputation by escaping the convent to be with him.
Although the abbess eventually pardon’s Isabella for her actions, Henault’s father disinherits him. Regardless, Henault marries Isabella and they build a life on a farm. Accustomed to a more lavish lifestyle, Henault grows disheartened. When his father offers to reclaim him under the condition that Henault join the army, he does so, but the decision devastates Isabella, who collapses and miscarries their child. Distraught, Henault still forces himself to go, and in the army, he serves beside Villenoys. The two bond over their love for Isabella and become fast friends. It is Villenoys, later on, who is burdened with relating Henault’s presumed death to Isabella. Tragic though it is, the news restores Isabella’s reputation. Villenoys continues to visit, eventually admitting that he is still very much in love with her. He proposes. Destitute, widowed, and without other options, Isabella grimly agrees, although not without requesting that he wait three years for her to grieve Henault’s death.
Time passes, and Isabella does marry Villenoys. With him, she lives the lavish lifestyle she once rejected, but while Villenoys is away on a hunting trip one day, she is surprised and disturbed to see Henault appear at her front door, disheveled but alive. He had escaped capture, injury, and slavery to return to her. She is shamed and confused when she realizes she is now an adulterer. In her panic, she smothers Henault with a pillow. Villenoys returns home, and Isabella convinces him that Henault had died of shock upon returning to see that she’d remarried. For love of her, Villenoys agrees to dispose of the body in the river. He requests a sack with which to carry out the deed.
Isabella brings it to him, but in fear of future criticism, she sews the sack to Villenoy’s collar. Then, when Villenoys tosses the body off the bridge, he is dragged down to drown with it. Isabella’s plot seems to succeed; when the corpses wash up on shore, they are identified as strangers, and Isabella’s good reputation absolves her of any suspicion. Unfortunately for her, a Frenchman arrives who served with Henault in the war and identifies the body. Based upon this new revelation, Isabella is questioned by the authorities. She quickly confesses to her crimes, and is sentenced to a beheading, a verdict that Isabella accepts with admirable resolution. Before her death, she gives a lovely, indomitable speech to the crowd about the dangers of vow-breaking, which wins her back the respect of the people. In some ways, she achieves a sort of martyrdom.
On the surface, Behn’s moral intentions for this story seem only cautionary, warning against vow-breaking in all its forms, sins that --according to the story’s dedication-- warrant the severe and “notorious Revenges of God.” (CITATION REQUIRED) Since religious tensions were mounting among the subjects of James II around the time “The History of the Nun” was written, Behn’s readers would likely find such a lesson valuable (Kastan). James II had favored the Catholics, so anti-Catholic sentiments were growing. Isabella, as a nun, appears to fulfil the stereotypical role of evil Roman Catholic woman. However, Isabella’s contradictory personal values somewhat subvert this role by making her into a character who is essentially blameless for her own crimes. Moreover, one could argue that there are also proto-feminist motivations behind Behn’s writing, as her narration examines the gap between the supposedly idyllic woman and that of women in reality. So, perhaps the message behind this story is not as straightforward) as it looks.
Upon first glance, “The History of the Nun” appears to fulfill all conventional male expectations for Restoration readers: Isabella’s female iniquity is satisfactorily punished and male stereotypes of women, particularly Roman Catholic women, are reinforced (Craft). However, in a time when women were often punished for situations beyond their control, Isabella is a character who takes control of her own situation. She is beheaded, but not without respectability; her final speech restores her social reputation. Even Behn’s narrator often offers subtle support for the actions of its powerful heroine, and in the end, the story of Isabella remains one of woman who successfully exacts revenge in a male-dominated, largely anti-Catholic society.
Critical History
“The History of the Nun” was published once in 1689. Though it is not one of Aphra Behn’s most critically examined works, “The History of the Nun” is mentioned usually as supporting evidence of Behn’s feminist nature. The story did not get much critical recognition until several hundred years after it had been published. It was not until the turn of the twentieth century that Behn’s forward way of thinking, and her fight against the gender norms of her time began to be talked/written about. What set Behn apart was “[her ability] to produce narratives that seemed, at first glance, to be no different from the tales told by men; women's fictions however, often contained elements contradictory to and critical of the ideology which formed the standards and content of the main portion of the text” (Craft 822). Behn was writing during a time when most of the authors were men. She lived, and worked in a male dominated world. Even when her writing was published, it was still criticized and still required the approval of men” (Craft 822). Behn had to layer different ideals and meanings within her stories. She had to be “vulgar” enough to distract the critics so that they would get caught up with whether or not a woman could write about sexual feelings so that the critics missed the true meanings of her words (Craft 824-25).
Behn uses her wit and words to highlight the downfalls of the society in which she was raised and lived in, her “fictional worlds are inhabited both by exaggeratedly powerful and exaggeratedly powerless women, and she manipulates both images to allow her narrators to explore, and criticize, the conditions which they and their female creator share” (Pearson 179). It is not surprising that the narrator within “The History of the Nun” starts out as a powerless woman, but by the end of the short story she holds all the power. Isabella killed both of her husbands, and in the end she confesses to it. It is Isabella, and only herself, who controls her fate. This was a radical thought, especially during a time when woman were still thought of as possessions, best left on display to make a man look better. It was Behn's “fiction [that created] highly individualized [ … ] female narrators, and uses them to foreground issues of gender” (Pearson 184) . However, most importantly, Behn knew how far she could push certain issues. The “The History of the Nun” (delete comma) could have ended with “Isabella's successful appropriation of her husband's wealth, but in 1689 such an ending was not possible: it would have too starkly threatened the social order” (Craft 828). Being a widow was just about the only way a woman could gain control over property, and that was only if it was not already left to a male relative (Craft 827). Behn understood that Isabella could not escape without any consequences because it would have been much too obvious, and her story would never have been published. In all of Behn's stories, entertainment and female empowerment are seamlessly interwoven.
Behn uses her wit and words to highlight the downfalls of the society in which she was raised and lived in, her “fictional worlds are inhabited both by exaggeratedly powerful and exaggeratedly powerless women, and she manipulates both images to allow her narrators to explore, and criticize, the conditions which they and their female creator share” (Pearson 179). It is not surprising that the narrator within “The History of the Nun” starts out as a powerless woman, but by the end of the short story she holds all the power. Isabella killed both of her husbands, and in the end she confesses to it. It is Isabella, and only herself, who controls her fate. This was a radical thought, especially during a time when woman were still thought of as possessions, best left on display to make a man look better. It was Behn's “fiction [that created] highly individualized [ … ] female narrators, and uses them to foreground issues of gender” (Pearson 184) . However, most importantly, Behn knew how far she could push certain issues. The “The History of the Nun” (delete comma) could have ended with “Isabella's successful appropriation of her husband's wealth, but in 1689 such an ending was not possible: it would have too starkly threatened the social order” (Craft 828). Being a widow was just about the only way a woman could gain control over property, and that was only if it was not already left to a male relative (Craft 827). Behn understood that Isabella could not escape without any consequences because it would have been much too obvious, and her story would never have been published. In all of Behn's stories, entertainment and female empowerment are seamlessly interwoven.
Biography of Aphra Behn
Little is known about Aphra Behn’s personal life and what is known may not be accurate information. Her baptismal records from the church of St. Michael's in Harbledown indicate that she was born in 1640, near Canterbury, England and that her maiden name was Johnson (encyclopedia.com). Her father was probably a barber and her mother was likely a wet nurse. (oxfordnb) She left England with her family in 1663 when her father joined the military. His military post was in Surinam, South America, but he died on the journey there. Behn and her remaining family lived Surinam until 1664. (Encyclopedia).
Behn worked as a spy for Charles II in Antwerp, Netherlands from 1666 to 1667, but was not paid for her work. This resulted in her running up a debt, which getting thrown in debtor’s prison. After her year in espionage, she took up a career in acting. Her first performance was in The Forc’d Marriage (Jokinen).
Behn was believed to be married to a German merchant named Johan Behn, but whether or not she was ever actually married or if the marriage was fabricated remains unknown. Some believe that she was never married. There is no record of Behn’s wedding in London which could lead people to believe there was no wedding at all. However, this could mean she was married outside of England (Todd, The Secret Life of Aphra Behn).
Behn was in poor health for most of her adult life. In 1686 her health severely worsened. Although the details of her physical illness is still unknown today, people have speculated that she had pox or gout, a form of arthritis, on account of her deteriorating ability to walk and write. Although her health was deteriorating, Behn continued to write until her death. In her later life, Behn worked on French adaptations of older works, such as La Montre, a prose translation of “Balthasar de Bonnecorse.” However, Behn’s present reputation is largely dependent on the five short works of fiction that were published in the late 1680s right before her death: The Fair Jilt, Oroonoko, Agnes de Castro, The History of the Nun, and The Lucky Mistake. Behn also felt a deep loyalty to James II. She provided A Congratulatory Poem … on the Universal Hopes of All Loyal Persons for a Prince of Wales to spread the rumor that James’ wife was having a son. Behn’s assumption turned out to be correct and so she wrote A Congratulatory Poem … on the Happy Birth when James’ son was born. The poems stressed the “royal need to reward poets for their loyal efforts.” Behn died on April 16 1689 and was buried in the cloisters of Westminster Abbey. Her headstone reads “Here lies a Proof that Wit can never be Defense enough against Mortality" (Todd, "Behn"). To this day, Aphra Behn's publications are studied in scholarly settings. Along with Eliza Haywood and Delarivier Manley, Aphra Behn is a member of the Fair Triumvirate of Wit, a term coined by James Sterling to acknowledge the brilliance of three most influential female authors of the time (Kastan). |
"
|
Publications
Immediately after being released from debtor’s prison, Aphra Behn wrote and published her first text, The Forc’d Marriage – a play that debuted on the opening of the season at the Duke’s Company. The themes of legitimacy and marrying for love culminated through many of her subsequent works for the theater. She proceeded to write over nineteen more plays, the most successful of which was The Rover, or, The banish’t cavaliers. This comedy of intrigue had an extended runtime and enabled Behn to gain a substantial income. Throughout the political instability of the late seventeenth century, Behn remained loyal to the king and utilized her writing to question the legitimacy of the opposing party (The Whigs).
The most significant of Behn’s texts were her five prose fictions; The Fair Jilt, Oroonoko, Agnes de Castro, The History of the Nun, and The Lucky Mistake. These works, especially Oroonoko, provided Behn with a high reputation after most of her plays were denounced as bawdy and unladylike. Several of these stories are said to allude to King James II, to whom Behn was extremely loyal but whose poor management of the nation had already been detrimental.
Behn had also published several volumes of poems throughout the end of the seventeenth century. Her Poems Upon Several Occasions features forty-five poems while Lycidus and Miscellany are both collections of ten additional poems. Through these works, Behn urged that the aristocracy should support the monarchy and art. Her poem, A Pindarick on the Death of our Late Sovereign, was her first major public poem, and expressed concern about the passage of power from the deceased Charles II to a new monarch. Her subsequent poetic works argued that the coronation of James II only confirmed him a king, but did not make him one. The sophistication of her poetry made it less accessible and, therefore, less popular than her prose and theater. Nevertheless, Behn was praised by her cohorts for having the reason and skill of a male author, despite being a woman.
Her reputation as a writer was often criticized by many significant authors. Pope, Johnson, and Richardson accused her of being unfeminine. Her lewdness was castigated while her honesty was praised and she soon become lost in the greater part of the nineteenth century. Nevertheless, the famous female authors who took Behn’s place after her death acknowledge Behn as their debtor. It was only in the twentieth century when her works were revived in new volumes and Oroonoko was recognized as a work of the literary canon.
The most significant of Behn’s texts were her five prose fictions; The Fair Jilt, Oroonoko, Agnes de Castro, The History of the Nun, and The Lucky Mistake. These works, especially Oroonoko, provided Behn with a high reputation after most of her plays were denounced as bawdy and unladylike. Several of these stories are said to allude to King James II, to whom Behn was extremely loyal but whose poor management of the nation had already been detrimental.
Behn had also published several volumes of poems throughout the end of the seventeenth century. Her Poems Upon Several Occasions features forty-five poems while Lycidus and Miscellany are both collections of ten additional poems. Through these works, Behn urged that the aristocracy should support the monarchy and art. Her poem, A Pindarick on the Death of our Late Sovereign, was her first major public poem, and expressed concern about the passage of power from the deceased Charles II to a new monarch. Her subsequent poetic works argued that the coronation of James II only confirmed him a king, but did not make him one. The sophistication of her poetry made it less accessible and, therefore, less popular than her prose and theater. Nevertheless, Behn was praised by her cohorts for having the reason and skill of a male author, despite being a woman.
Her reputation as a writer was often criticized by many significant authors. Pope, Johnson, and Richardson accused her of being unfeminine. Her lewdness was castigated while her honesty was praised and she soon become lost in the greater part of the nineteenth century. Nevertheless, the famous female authors who took Behn’s place after her death acknowledge Behn as their debtor. It was only in the twentieth century when her works were revived in new volumes and Oroonoko was recognized as a work of the literary canon.
Works Cited
"Aphra Behn." Encyclopedia of World Biography. 2004. Web. 12 Nov. 2014
Cannon, John . "Behn, Aphra." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Web. 12 Nov. 2014.
Craft, Catherine A. “Reworking Male Models: Aphra Behn’s ‘Fair Vow-Breaker,’ Eliza Haywood’s ‘Fantomina,’ and Charlotte Lennox’s ‘Female Quixote’.” The Modern Language Review 86.4 (1991): 821–838. JSTOR. Web. 5 Aug. 2014.
Kastan, David Scott (2006). The Oxford Encyclopedia of British literature. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006. Web. Google Books.
Jokinen, Anniina. "The Life of Aphra Behn." Luminarium. 28 June 2006. Web. 12 Nov. 2014.
Todd, Janet. The Secret Life of Aphra Behn. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers UP, 1997. Print.
Todd, Janet. "Behn, Aphra (1640?-1689)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. 2004. Web. 14 Nov. 2014.
"Aphra Behn." Encyclopedia of World Biography. 2004. Web. 12 Nov. 2014
Cannon, John . "Behn, Aphra." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Web. 12 Nov. 2014.
Craft, Catherine A. “Reworking Male Models: Aphra Behn’s ‘Fair Vow-Breaker,’ Eliza Haywood’s ‘Fantomina,’ and Charlotte Lennox’s ‘Female Quixote’.” The Modern Language Review 86.4 (1991): 821–838. JSTOR. Web. 5 Aug. 2014.
Kastan, David Scott (2006). The Oxford Encyclopedia of British literature. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006. Web. Google Books.
Jokinen, Anniina. "The Life of Aphra Behn." Luminarium. 28 June 2006. Web. 12 Nov. 2014.
Todd, Janet. The Secret Life of Aphra Behn. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers UP, 1997. Print.
Todd, Janet. "Behn, Aphra (1640?-1689)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. 2004. Web. 14 Nov. 2014.