Sex and sexuality as historical constructs acquired new meanings under the Restoration, becoming essential components of the exchange economy. In the midst of libertine popular culture, ideals of love, virtue and above all, the image of women is being reshaped, their sexuality and the autonomy that results from it are redefined. A hesitant ambiguity reigned over the question of ownership of a woman's body, whether virgin or whore. Power structures within Restoration society were gradually changing due to the highly influential commercial economy and transformed “gaze.” This essay will attempt to analyze how the “repressive hypothesis”, as Foucault calls it, ends up inciting a discourse centered on sexuality, supported by the changes in “the gaze” and therefore the resulting ethos. Libertine culture contributed greatly to the rise of prostitution as an active economic activity. With this in mind, the essay will attempt to trace how constructions of gender and sexuality in a market economy, firmly rooted in power structures, determine a woman's identity, sexuality and autonomy. . Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essaySexuality in the 17th century constantly oscillated between free expression and forceful repression, rooted in volatile power structures. It has been argued that this period saw the rise of repression against sexuality, against a backdrop of the rise of capitalism. The nature of sex changed from a potentially productive activity to a pleasurable commercial activity, which supported the trade economy. Repression also sparked productive discourses on sexuality, which Restoration theater faithfully exhibited. Most Restoration plays, whether comedy or tragedy, border on morbid obsession with sex and sexuality. Early Restoration plays speak of libertines and their excessively sexual and ecstatic lives. However, it is not as if excessive display of sexuality on stage or moral diatribes against such excesses suddenly arise. The presence of these contradictory forces can be attributed to the court politics of Charles II, the cheerful Restoration monarch. His revelry was faithfully imitated by many of his disciples, who lived their lives like Willmore, the Rover. Needless to say, such a pleasant existence was looked down upon by many citizens, mainly due to its immorality and extravagant spending of public funds. There was indeed a violent reaction against the libertine values ​​of the Restoration, the most popular (perhaps puritanical) tirade against it being that of Jeremy. Collier's A Short View of the Immorality and Profaneness of the English Stage in 1698. Collier denounces “their filthiness of expression; Their swearing, their profanity, and their obscene application of Scripture...the fact that they make their main characters libertines and give them success in their debauchery...the crude and indecent character of their language. talk about sex, but in a controlled manner. There is a gradual transition in the way the discourse on sexuality functions, moving from a focus on its productive role[2] to a profitable and commercial role. Although this is not the focus of our discussion, it is important to note that at this point, categories of sexuality opened up and many deviant types were readily accepted into today's spectrum. Sexuality as a term can be defined as sexual receptivity or sexual receptivity. interest of an individual. It is interesting to note thatthe 17th century seems to have had no moral qualms, since it displayed a reasonable frankness regarding the sex and sexuality of its society.[3] Even if The Rover does not once mention the word "Sex" meaning copulation[4], the idea is quite warmly "in the air", and returns to everyone's minds, whether it is the characters, actors or spectators themselves. Indeed, the Restoration stage was quite familiar with illicit gestures, revolutionary transgressions and freer speeches. The “bodies” on stage would be exposed as a seductive act. As the “sexual” act was integrated into circuits of profit and production, the prostitute occupying the threshold space began to actively participate in the economy. Sexuality as a construction of power dynamics linked to money evolves around the prostitute, the client and the pimp and around the lover, the beloved and the attached goods. Angelique selling herself for a thousand crowns and Hellène offering to use her money to marry threaten to erase all difference between them. The same goes for the incident concerning Willmore and Florinda, when he considers Florinda a prostitute and therefore pays her a pistole as an advance for the services she will render. For Willmore, any woman must be taken and exploited if she “seems available”[5] and can be financially remunerated. The “repressive hypothesis”, as Foucault calls it, constitutes the fundamental link between power, knowledge and sexuality. Suppression of all expression causes a reverse reaction in the form of controlled rebellion. This is evident in the lives of Florinda and Hellena in The Rover and how they attempt to achieve a certain freedom, although the nature of this freedom achieved is debatable. The play begins with Hellena being denied any knowledge of the lovers' lives, simply because she is going to enter the convent. She persists, negotiating discursively with Florinda and actively participating in a discussion about marriage and its consequences, savoring every detail.[6] Furthermore, Hellena is determined to fall in love and get married, without wasting her treasures in the convent. When she meets Willmore, Hellena is sure of the power she exercises over him; she won him over with her blossoming sexuality, but that wouldn't sustain their relationship. Willmore, being a Rover, would certainly take the opportunity to jump on another ship whenever possible. The only way she discovers to keep him attached is to marry him, although this remains a permanent and valid solution.[7]If we think about the nature of the repression visible in the text, it is mainly in terms of suppressing women's freedom and exploiting their sexuality. We combat this repression by talking about it, thereby challenging authority and hoping for freedom in the future. In Act I of the play, Hellena's erotically charged diatribe against Florinda's marriage to Don Vincentio, old Sir Fifty for a mere union, is met with nonchalant but stifling responses from Don Pedro. Despite everything she says against the match, Don Pedro just responds with "Very good" and "Have you ever done it?" »[8] Finally, he calls her a wild cat and orders her to be locked up until the end of Carnival. Hellena, ignoring the convent, looks forward to sexual freedom and autonomy in the near future. For this specific purpose, his dialogues are largely embellished with erotic connotations and implicitly implied carnal pleasures. She thus attempts to establish herself beyond the reach of power, while being the one who holds the power in any relationship. However, for the hegemonic and masculinist forces operating in the room, it is essential to rein in such attempts atfreedom. For this very purpose, they begin to subjugate the ideal of freedom at the level of language, controlling free speech and easy claims to autonomy or even self-identity.[9] Willmore's meeting with Florinda in Act III would be a good example of this. Florinda appears in the garden in a little dress, waiting for Belvile; Willmore enters the garden first, drunk and mistakes Florinda for a whore, with whom he can sleep. Despite her protests, he is determined to take advantage of her right then and there. Her threats to call for help or report rape are ignored, as Willmore emphasizes the pitiful situation she finds herself in. At this point, she is not Florinda, but a woman holding the door open was clearly inviting customers to come in.[10] Willmore discursively erases Florinda's identity as a chaste woman and gradually pushes her toward the position of a whore, which can be bought for a pistole. While the dichotomy between repression and expression is explored through multiple heated exchanges in the play, it ultimately evokes an intensified, often optimistic, form of revolutionary discourse. It relies on reason and the fierce expression of implicit autonomy. This is evident in Act V when Hellena defends her choice to refuse the divine convent and choose a debauched life. She advocates devoting her inheritance of three hundred thousand crowns to her love life rather than to a lifeless religion.[11] She thus attempts to express her autonomy in a hostile climate of repression. The Restoration saw many changes occur in terms of gender and the resulting power dynamics. A clearer distinction developed between men and women and their roles in the public and private spheres. At this point, men began to view themselves as a group "as men", paralleling a gradual shift from Renaissance paternal patriarchy to fraternal patriarchy.[12] Male authority has undergone structural changes, shifting from the man as the figurehead of the family to the man as the power-sharing leader. Gender categorization has led to the development of a homosocial group[13], further leading to the domination of masculine figures in the public sphere and the push of the feminine into the private domain. Perhaps this is why most women of this period were inherently (and rightfully) obsessed with access to the public domain. Under the Restoration, the comic genre also developed around sexuality, with an unusual fascination with prostitution. The sexual intrigue is at its best, as the construct of masculine and feminine shatters into multiple, varied identities. The Rover itself is constructed from these multiple identities of men and women and the way in which these identities are often blurred. Willmore is perhaps the most constant Constant[14] as he himself proclaims, remaining the libertine that he is until the end of the play. Belvile remains the quintessential and benevolent lover of the Renaissance while Blunt, the stupid and believing countryman realizes that he has been deceived due to his naive character, and thus begins to suspect every woman.[15] Among the women, it becomes difficult to distinguish the virgin from the whore as the play progresses. Florinda is twice mistaken for a prostitute, while Angelica desires to rise beyond the status of a whore, after losing her heart to the English Piccaroon. The different models of sexuality in the play are quite evident in the way they are visually represented on stage. It became important that certain characters were richly dressed, to allow spectators to focus on their bodies, whichis a role reserved for most women. They had to try to be the center of the “view,” to be seen as marketable and to have profitable value. It is the role of the prostitute, whose portraits hang in front of her apartment, to attract customers. The portraits are in Simulacrum, acquiring their own identity in relation to the original copy, the prostitute herself. Customers will decide whether the thousand crowns should be paid, depending on the attractiveness of the portraits. As we have noticed, both Willmore and Pedro are attracted to the portraits, willing to pay the required amount.[16]The way the actors[17] are dressed or positioned on stage decides their image and hence , their sexuality. Florinda's identity as a chaste woman is erased when she is undressed[18], or when she is masked[19], pushing her to the position of a whore. Both Willmore and Don Pedro seek access to her body, even though it may be against her will. Another noteworthy example of how sexuality is expressed visually would be the Fop in any Restoration room. He is usually dressed extravagantly, with many embellishments, as courtiers in old Renaissance plays dressed.[20] The Fop is often associated with an outdated model of masculinity and a current form of femininity since it desires to attract "the eye", which is the only role of any woman in the exchange economy. On the other hand, the other “masculine” men appear dressed simply, even for a carnival. There is a progressive emasculation of the Fop, which separates him from any other male character. In The Rover, Blunt is very fascinated by her physical appearance and is flattered when he assumes that Lucetta has fallen in love with him. Blunt desires to be looked at rather than to stare, which has long since become a clichéd feminine quest.[22]The "gaze" in the Restoration, as well as its power dynamic, is closely linked to the actress's induction onto the stage .[23 ] Any actress or even playwright was considered to possess a freer sexuality. For the playwright, publishing her work in the public domain and engaging in it commercially was tantamount to selling out. If the author was married and writing, this amounted to adultery, since she was sharing what was her husband's private, albeit intellectual, property. [24]In most cases, the playwright would be placed in a position equal to that of a prostitute. Likewise, even actresses have often been attacked with vitriol for their sexuality, labeled as openly promiscuous and unapologetic whores. Even men who acted out were suspected of compromising their sexuality. [25]The gaze as a gendered construction is a heritage inherited from the Renaissance; however, there was a transition in the position of the object of the gaze, from a masculinist position to a feminized position.[26] During the Renaissance, boy actors played the female characters in the play, with the audience aware of this fact, but comfortably ignoring it. Theater used to focus on what the body produces, in terms of expressions and emotions. Since it involved a boy actor pretending to be a woman, less attention was paid to physical attributes; It is difficult to find sexual and materialistic descriptions of men or women. Even the most sexualized characters of the Renaissance, like Antony's Cleopatra and Cleopatra, are minimally described (physically), with negligible materialistic and sexual overtones. However, as we move into the Restoration, we see a deluge of physical representation, focusing on what the body is [27] and removing the abstract. This is more applicable to women, as there is a fetishizationprogressive and intensified visual of the female body. The women in The Rover are visually objectified, in terms of their physical attributes and the pleasures they could possibly engender for men. They are apparently valued by their “exchange” and “use” value. Angellica and her portraits are at the extreme end of the spectrum, with intense visual objectification and an indication of active participation in the commercial economy. Furthermore, the transition of the “gaze” has both resulted in a different identification of masculine and feminine, but has consequently blurred internal contradictions. In the play, Angellica is the unattainable prostitute, but once she begins to love Willmore, which is highly unusual for women in her profession, Willmore becomes the unattainable lover. There is an active reconfiguration of the scopic economy in the play, as Angelica attempts to reach Willmore by conquering him with her love. Furthermore, if we try to answer the question of the alleged excess of sexual demonstration on the Restoration scene in relation to the Repressive Hypothesis, we can possibly connect it to the detailing of the female actress's body. In line with the progressive commodification of sexuality, the materiality of the female body is emphasized, to perhaps emphasize the authenticity of the actress who plays the role.[29] Also, the sexuality of the actress is closely linked to her professional identity. Thus, the emergence of the female actress on stage as well as the progressive materiality of sexuality help to trace the transition of the “gaze” as a gendered construction. The Rover as a play thrives primarily on the economy of exchange, with sexual relations as its central element. legal commercial currency. Set in the middle of a carnival, the play functions with men as traders, bargaining intelligently to get the best deal possible, while the women function and rebel to avoid being the object of scrutiny.[30] However, these positions are fluid enough to create a chaotic plot, with multiple constructs defined and redefined. The traditional rhetoric of love is gently undermined, without being completely ignored, while desire[31], associated with a profitable exchange, is brought to the fore as a factor of influence. Although Belvile and Florinda plead their loyalty to being quintessential Renaissance lovers, their relationship would be considered outdated. Belvile's nuanced thoughts regarding Florinda and her supposedly romantic antics would likely amuse the audience but not create an emotional connection with them. Florinda's emphasis on chaste love encompassing all considerations of money[32] in a purely commercialized market would be considered immature.[33] In the Restoration, material and sexual considerations emphasized the ethereal qualities of love.[34] Willmore is the expert gambler, eschewing marriage, advocating temporary liaisons that prove profitable and include choosing the right woman because of her strong financial background.[35]The Power Dynamics in Banking Economics exchange on two social institutions, prostitution and marriage. Both men and women were seen as a means to support themselves economically, as Florinda must be betrothed for a joint while Willmore is all the more attracted to Hellena after learning that she is worth two hundred thousand crowns. [36] Much like Willmore, libertines, with their extravagant sexual tastes and lifestyles, would often find themselves at the lower end of the economic spectrum. To improve their financial situation and further finance their sexual exploits, they seek outwomen to have a relationship with. In a fit of love, Angellica provides Willmore with five hundred crowns, which he presumably spends on other women, but does not reciprocate for the love he receives from her. As Moretta dryly observes, Willmore would have remained chained to Angellica if he had remained poor. However, after receiving enough funds, he moves on to the next woman. The other institution that supported the exchange economy was prostitution, as a thriving profession and trade. She was mainly attached to the sale of the woman's body and the pleasures attached to it. Although prostitution as a trade had been widespread for centuries, the Restoration saw it evolve as one of the important economic activities, perhaps due to the increase in the number of libertines. The increase in rakes was perhaps linked to the increase in prostitutes, who could be liked for money and yet did not carry horrible relationship baggage. In the exchange economy, the prostitute functions as the main commodity, until for commerce, her identity being relegated to the background. Her image is constructed by men, her clients and herself; from the contradictions between the two arises the true money-minded prostitute. Clearly, she is a woman, receptive to the lascivious approaches of men, provided that they can pay the announced price. Her identity as a woman is non-existent, as we see in the encounter between Willmore and Florinda.[38] Willmore sees her as a woman who has kept the door open and therefore, she is susceptible to being caught, even though Florinda claims to be virtuous and not a whore. The mention of rape aggravates the situation, because it essentially means that the woman's desire, whether she prostitutes herself or not, does not matter to the libertine if he can pay for the sexual services she provides. .(Perhaps not all prostitutes can afford to choose their clients the way Angellica does.) This complicates the idea of ​​ownership of a woman's body and the autonomy that Behn's heroines attempt to achieve. express throughout the piece. The Restoration stage had problematized the ideals of "virtue" and "chastity", the identity of a woman virgin or whore was always ambiguous, always being on the periphery of one or the other category. Furthermore, it may be possible to move from one category to another, but not without massive repercussions. Angellic[39]a, despite being a prostitute, professes her love for Willmore, a bizarre and dangerous characteristic for any woman of her profession. This renders her powerless and robs her of the power she previously used over Willmore and the other men. As she leaves the position of the object of gaze, her market value continues to decline. The end of the play suggests no worthwhile existence for Angellica, with Antonio declaring his desire for her and him likely as her next lover, while she pines for Willmore. It seems that the prostitute in an exchange economy can only exercise power, although easy in a libertine culture if she manages to remain sexually desirable, emotionally distant, and economically astute. She will then be able to choose her own clients and set her own rate. However, this is rather a hypothetical power, perhaps far from reality. The play and the Restoration scene itself seem to suggest that she becomes a free-floating commodity, losing her autonomy as she commits her body to the marketplace for sale and circulation. Her life is reduced to moving from one lover to another, clinging to a male figure for her economic and physical existence. If this is her pitiful existence, always absorbed by tightrope walkers, prostitutionis it then an act of role-playing? The “Finis” of the piece questions and contradicts the very economy of exchange through which it operates. At first, most of the characters swear to be Homo Economicus,[40] rational humans intensely pursuing their ends in the economy; whether it be Angellica, Willmore or even Hellena. But as the curtain falls, the situations are reversed. Although she had been a shrewd prostitute, Angellica fell in love with Willmore, thus cheapening her own market value. Rejected by this libertine, she leaves with Antonio, one of her lovers and will probably subsequently live as a parasite in many areas.[41] Willmore chooses Hellena for her money and agrees to be bound by the institution of marriage, perhaps without considering whether it would hamper his libertine existence.[42] Having wanted to wander through life[43], Hellena chooses as her companion Willmore, this fickle libertine, who does his best to avoid any institutionalization of their relationship. It is agreed that persuading Willmore to marry her is a masterstroke, one that perhaps assures her a secure future, but her choice itself may not necessarily be the wisest. The Rover as a play is therefore riddled with many complications arising from active engagement. with the exchange economy. Constructions of sex and sexuality evolved and took on new identities under the Restoration. Added to the incitement to discourse on sexuality is the intense repression of it, albeit through the market. The women in the play attempt to explicitly express their desires and struggle to be autonomous. But if you analyze it closely, it's a farce. Women's sexualities are brutally exploited, their bodies detailed by "the gaze" and their identities obliterated beyond recognition. Furthermore, the solutions adopted by women actually subvert their autonomy. The supposed repressive assumption and strong influence of a materialist economy evoke the active stimulation and voracious exposure of bodies[44], while obscuring identities and pushing power structures into total disarray. The conclusion of the play leaves us with multiple questions, concerning the social position of the woman, either as a virgin or as a whore and her autonomy as well as the nature of sexuality itself. The economy of exchange appears to juggle power structures while engaging closely with the “gaze” and the very nature of the commercial market when aligned with sexuality. Ultimately, it becomes difficult to extract anything from the chaos that ensues, since nothing seems to be constant like Willmore is. (4880 words) Notes ·Behn, Aphra. The Rover. Worldview, 2016. Print. · Foucault, Michel and Robert Hurley. “We, the Other Victorians,” The History of Sexuality. New York: Vintage, 1988. 1-14. Printed.· Foucault, Michel and Robert Hurley. “The repressive hypothesis”. The history of sexuality. New York: Vintage, 1988. 15-50. Print. · Corman, Brian. "Comedy." The Cambridge Companion to English Restoration Theatre. By Deborah Payne Fisk. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge UP, 2000. 52-69. Print.·J. Owen, Suzanne. “Sexual Politics and the Party in Aphra Behn. Plays of the Crisis of Exclusion.” (1994): 37-47. Print. · Novak, Maximillian E. “Libertinism and sexuality”. A Companion to the Restoration Drama. By Susan J. Owen. Oxford, UK: Blackwell, 2001. 53-68. Printed. · Rosenthal, Laura J. “Masculinity in the Restoration Drama.” A Companion to the Restoration Drama. By Susan J. Owen. Oxford, UK: Blackwell, 2001. 92-108. Print.. Fisk, Deborah Payne. “The Restoration actress.” A Companion to the Restoration Drama. By Susan J. Owen. Oxford, United Kingdom:… ».