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The Feigned Courtesans
Behn's Restoration comedy of mistaken identities, women wearing breeches, convoluted and crisscrossing love intrigues, and ridiculous characters.
91 pages, Unknown Binding
First published January 1, 1679
17 people want to read
About the author
Aphra Behn
322 books249 followersAphra Behn, or Ayfara Behn, of the first professional women authors in English on Britain wrote plays, poetry, and her best known work, the prose fiction
Oroonoko
(1688).
Aphra Behn was a prolific dramatist of the Restoration and was one of the female. Her contributed to the amatory genre of literature. People sometimes refer to Delarivier Manley, Eliza Haywood, and her as part of "the fair triumvirate of wit."
In reckoning of Adeline Virginia Stephen Woolf, more important total career of Behn produced any particular work. Woolf wrote, "All women together, ought to let flowers fall upon the grave of Aphra Behn … for it was she who earned them the right to speak their minds." Victoria Mary Sackville-West called Behn "an inhabitant of Grub Street with the best of them, … a phenomenon never seen and … furiously resented." Felix Shelling called her "a very gifted woman, compelled to write for bread in an age in which literature … catered habitually to the lowest and most depraved of human inclinations. Her success depended upon her ability to write like a man." Edmund Gosse remarked that "the George Sand of the Restoration" lived the bohemian life in London in the 17th century as Paris two centuries later.
Aphra Behn was a prolific dramatist of the Restoration and was one of the female. Her contributed to the amatory genre of literature. People sometimes refer to Delarivier Manley, Eliza Haywood, and her as part of "the fair triumvirate of wit."
In reckoning of Adeline Virginia Stephen Woolf, more important total career of Behn produced any particular work. Woolf wrote, "All women together, ought to let flowers fall upon the grave of Aphra Behn … for it was she who earned them the right to speak their minds." Victoria Mary Sackville-West called Behn "an inhabitant of Grub Street with the best of them, … a phenomenon never seen and … furiously resented." Felix Shelling called her "a very gifted woman, compelled to write for bread in an age in which literature … catered habitually to the lowest and most depraved of human inclinations. Her success depended upon her ability to write like a man." Edmund Gosse remarked that "the George Sand of the Restoration" lived the bohemian life in London in the 17th century as Paris two centuries later.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
April 10, 2013
Honestly, this is probably the most enjoyable Restoration comedy I’ve ever
read. The interweaving plots, while ridiculous, hold together much better than in many
other contemporary pieces, and the tempo is quick without feeling rushed. Although
there is so much going on that sometimes it was a little difficult to keep track of it all, I
think it would come together and be easier to follow when played out on stage. There’s
plenty of physical humor, and the repetition of the fight scenes (which conveniently end
hazardous situations and set up new ones) is both clever and actually works well.
Of course, the play doesn’t really deal with any deeper issues, beyond love winning
out in the end. However, all of the main characters are flawed in some very clear way,
which adds a bit of depth and flavor to the play. Moreover (and I will admit this bit of
analysis was initially realized while reading about the play online), the hyper-Protestant
English characters are shown to be nothing than immoral, bumbling idiots while the
Papish Italians end up being (at least somewhat) more moral and, though embroiled in
several confusing plots, not idiotic at all.
The usually awkward plot-driving subplot is actually both entertaining, and fits much
more neatly into the overall story than is generally the case. Sir Signal and Tickletext, in
addition to being ludicrous, move the play along (albeit often by confusing the situation
for everyone else even further) smoothly and facilitate some of the most amusing full
cast scenes. Which is something else I greatly enjoyed about this show: There are
several scenes in which the entire cast is moving on and off the stage in increasingly
complicated arrangements. The mistaken identities and disguises, plots and subplots
cooked up by the characters, may lead to mass confusion on stage, but would be a
pleasure to watch as an audience. It’d be something like The Government Inspector,
in terms of hilarity and mix-ups, but without the need for hamming it up and being so
utterly ridiculous (except, perhaps, for the two Englishmen).
read. The interweaving plots, while ridiculous, hold together much better than in many
other contemporary pieces, and the tempo is quick without feeling rushed. Although
there is so much going on that sometimes it was a little difficult to keep track of it all, I
think it would come together and be easier to follow when played out on stage. There’s
plenty of physical humor, and the repetition of the fight scenes (which conveniently end
hazardous situations and set up new ones) is both clever and actually works well.
Of course, the play doesn’t really deal with any deeper issues, beyond love winning
out in the end. However, all of the main characters are flawed in some very clear way,
which adds a bit of depth and flavor to the play. Moreover (and I will admit this bit of
analysis was initially realized while reading about the play online), the hyper-Protestant
English characters are shown to be nothing than immoral, bumbling idiots while the
Papish Italians end up being (at least somewhat) more moral and, though embroiled in
several confusing plots, not idiotic at all.
The usually awkward plot-driving subplot is actually both entertaining, and fits much
more neatly into the overall story than is generally the case. Sir Signal and Tickletext, in
addition to being ludicrous, move the play along (albeit often by confusing the situation
for everyone else even further) smoothly and facilitate some of the most amusing full
cast scenes. Which is something else I greatly enjoyed about this show: There are
several scenes in which the entire cast is moving on and off the stage in increasingly
complicated arrangements. The mistaken identities and disguises, plots and subplots
cooked up by the characters, may lead to mass confusion on stage, but would be a
pleasure to watch as an audience. It’d be something like The Government Inspector,
in terms of hilarity and mix-ups, but without the need for hamming it up and being so
utterly ridiculous (except, perhaps, for the two Englishmen).
June 3, 2023
A big "take that" to all of you who thought the cross-dressing dual identities in Shakespeare's comedies As You Like It and Twelfth Night were confusing. Delivered by none other than the first woman to make a living by writing English letters. Genuinely hilarious and so very clever.
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October 13, 2024i probably understood less than a quarter of this play but it's okay because I don't think any of them had a clue either
January 4, 2018
The Feigned Courtesan
Like Behn’s other plays, this classic of Restoration drama is interesting for its historical importance, but for some reason did not grab me. Part of the issue, for me, is that Behn relies quite a bit on physical humor which is difficult to appreciate without seeing it performed. This play does not deal with deep issues – it is a comedy of dunces. This is not my favorite.
See my other reviews here!
Like Behn’s other plays, this classic of Restoration drama is interesting for its historical importance, but for some reason did not grab me. Part of the issue, for me, is that Behn relies quite a bit on physical humor which is difficult to appreciate without seeing it performed. This play does not deal with deep issues – it is a comedy of dunces. This is not my favorite.
See my other reviews here!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews