Paper 1; ‘Oroonoko’ by Aphra Behn and ‘The Rape of the Lock’ by Alexander Pope

The relationship between gender and power dynamics is relevant to the understanding of literature through the ages. However, the widespread problematic belief that women are simply the passive, powerless victims of male power is oversimplified and outdated. Power relations, as theorized by Foucault in ‘The History of Sexuality’ are far more complex; the dynamic is ever-changing, from moment to moment and therefore any interpretation of the exchange of power requires a much deeper analysis than what meets the eye. The idea of power determined from and by sexuality can be understood in a comparison of the novel, ‘Oroonoko’ by Aphra Behn with the satiric poem, ‘The Rape of the Lock’ by Alexander Pope. While both authors in their works characterize women as possessions defined in relation to men, in memorializing their work, they empower these female characters. The power and gender of the writers influences the tools utilized and effect achieved in doing so.
‘Oroonoko’ chronicles the story of the African prince Oroonoko and his beloved Imoinda, who are captured by the British and brought to Surinam as slaves. Aphra Behn, who was the first woman in England to make a living by writing, combines elements of travel writing and heroic romance to explore and garner sympathy for African slaves. Women are often defined in opposition to men, which puts into perspective how men are regarded as the “essential” or “self” sex while women are, well, not. They are seen as the “other.” Simply put, women are defined by their relation and in conjunction to men. Bearing this in mind, the condition of Imoinda’s character can be understood. Imoinda’s character is representative of this “othering” especially in her introduction. Behn writes, “This old dead Hero had one only Daughter left of his Race; a Beauty