The Lover's Watch

by Aphra Behn

As a beautiful and sought-after woman, Iris is well aware of the hours of reflection and sighing due to her—and of the dangers and temptations that await a man whose lover is absent. Thus, the hour between 8 and 9, before Damon is enjoined to rise, may be spent in “Agreeable Reverie,” of which the principle subject would be, of course, Iris, while 5 o’clock is the hour of “Dangerous Visits,” when Damon will be prey to the wiles and machinations of his female acquaintances. Interspersed with exquisite—and instructive—verse, The Lover’s Watch is an ironic, sharp-witted observation of the universal manners of love as well as an invaluable manual for all eager suitors. Proto-feminist Aphra Behn was the first female professional writer in the English language; the author of many plays, she also wrote the highly regarded philosophical novel Oroonoko.

Genres: Poetry, British Literature, Renaissance

104 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1686

About the author

Aphra 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.

Reviews

[Lou Reckinger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aphra Behn was a wife, a spy and possibly a mistress to the King and - she had the audacity to write like a man. Virginia Woolf once said: “All women together ought to let flowers fall on the tomb of Aphra Behn . . . For it was she who earned them the right to speak their minds.” So, consider this my flowers.

“The Lover’s Watch” is a sharp witted letter from the maid Iris to her lover Damon, instructing him on how to be her lover. (The alternative title reads “The art of love making”). She gives him very dominant, highly ironic, hour by hour instructions on how he should pass his time during her absence. It starts by waking up at 8 am and spending an hour thinking good things about her, followed by an hour of writing love letters to her. The rest of the day is pretty much just spent dodging other women. In the evening, Damon should feel miserable about Iris’ absence and then go to a sleepless night thinking about her (from capricious conversations in dreams to jealousy in dreams and finally quarrels in dreams, she’s got it all laid out for him). The book is funny and full of societal commentary, but the interspersed poetry is a bit basic and towards the end it gets really repetitive (we get it - he should have a bad night without you).

[Frank Hestvik · Rating 3 out of 5]

On the inside of the back cover Aphra Behn is called a proto-feminist, so perhaps some stink-eyes will be due when I call this book "cute." But that's what I thought anyway.

The poems were snooze-fests for me, but I did like the structure of the book, and it's full of little soundbites about love. It gets the dissonance right in that the "I" of the book seem to at once want to render love as something lofty and eternal, yet fears it is all too capricious and frail.

[Ana · Rating 3 out of 5]

The structure of the book was interesting and I found the humor charming which I expected. I mean, after all, it's Aphra Behn.

[emilia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first Aphra Behn read, and I really enjoyed it. I would say this was a fun and accessible place to start with her work.

'The Lover's Watch' is a sort of 24 hour timetable for how a man (Damon) should spend each hour of his day when his lover (Iris, who narrates the text and addresses him) is away. It's quite subversive in terms of gender dynamics, and also unlike similar instructions given by men to women (which I imagine there must be a lot of) it doesn't do too much moralising. The key thing Iris demands from her lover is 'sincerity'; if he does something bad, it's ok as long as he tells her about it. Also she explicitly asserts that she must be at the centre of her lover's thoughts most of the time, and humourously allows him a few moments of doing something else, but never quite being occupied by a subject other than herself.

I enjoyed the structure, which alternates between instructional but witty prose, and verses that provide further directions and more general philosophising on life and how to be a good lover. The poetry wasn't bad but also not particularly breathtaking, however I had the impression that it improved as it went on. It was interesting how limited the narrative voice was, as we only get Iris' side, the instructions, not any response from Damon, but paradoxically we learn all about his daily routine (but only as Iris imagines it), and not much about her life – an interesting reversal of content and narration.

I will definitely be reading more Aphra Behn. Perhaps her plays?

[Elda Pappadà · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting read. It was a very good adaptation. I liked the conversation between the two characters and thought it was playful and full of opinions I had not even considered. I did find it a little long, they would go on and on about the same thing sometimes. I can't help but wonder how I would have felt about the piece had I been born during that time. I think Aphra Behn was an interesting woman, full of intrigue who accomplished a lot in her time.

[Kirsten · Rating 3 out of 5]

First published in 1686. This book, a set of instructions from a high-born lady to her absent paramour, is amusing and witty in some places, and interesting for its historical value, but I had a hard time staying interested. It's short, though, and works well read in small doses.