Aphra Behn, as the first woman to earn her living as a writer in English, known for her bold and controversial treatment of the subjects of sexuality and desire in her works, plays a narrative important female voice in literary history. In The Fair Jilt, Behn creates feminine imagery contrary to that of the society she knows. In Behn's imaginary world, femininity takes over from masculinity, moving from the status of object of male desire to that of subject who desires; femininity also becomes ambitious and triumphant, wielding power through its sexuality. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay In The Fair Jilt, gender roles between femininity and masculinity are presented as often reversed. This short story tells the story of Miranda, a conniving and ruthless woman born with a fatal beauty who takes pleasure in conquering men. Unlike the usual case in which women are seen as objects of male sexual desire, Miranda instead adopts the role of a desiring subject: she becomes the sexually aggressive one, seducing men into falling in love with her and take the initiative of the courts. Her adoption of the masculine role of sexual aggressor is most pronounced in her obsessive love for Father Francisco. of her the beautiful form that he tried to cover. She watched him as he bowed before her, and waited for her charity, until she saw the charming brother blush and looked down. " Through the inversion of the male gaze, here Miranda covets Father Francisco with her feminine gaze, reducing him to a sexually desirable object in her eyes, until he blushes and looks down at the ground. He thus becomes the male, instead of the female, who shows signs of shyness and passivity Miranda continues to try to seduce Father Francisco into succumbing to her beauty and breaking his vow of chastity by any means possible, but. all fail. Out of anger and desperation, she threatens to “ruin” him and attempts to rape him, as Toni Bowers suggests, “in Miranda’s reverse rape of the priest, Behn mocks patriarchal scenarios of love. as rape… which invariably depicted men as lustful brutes and women as sexual prey.” Here, however, Miranda adopts the masculine role of “lustful brute” and applies the verb “ruin,” a word normally used for women. in reference to their loss of virginity or purity, to Father Francisco, making him his “sexual prey”. While Jorge Figueroa Dorrego interprets that Miranda has "an unconventional approach to sexuality challenging established notions of female passivity and chastity", through Miranda's characters and the men she seduces, swapping the roles of gender between femininity and masculinity, Behn challenges and mocks. the gender roles established in their society. Femininity is also presented as ambitious and powerful. Unlike the fact that women's desires are "indescribable" in Behn's world, according to Ruth Salvaggio, Behn's creative world is a fantasy of female power and triumphant desires. Miranda is well aware of the power of her sexuality and gender role, so she knows how to exploit her charms and beauty to manipulate men and get what she wants. Her attempts to seduce Father Francisco are in vain, but she succeeds in taking revenge by making the authorities believe that she is the victim, taking advantage not only of her beauty, but also of the general belief that women tend to be sexually passive and innocent. She then moves on to her second love, Prince Tarquin, whom she manages.260