56 pages • 1 hour read
Aphra BehnThe Rover
Fiction | Play | Adult | Published in 1677A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Act V-PostscriptAct Summaries & Analyses
Act V, Scene 1 Summary
Outside of Blunt’s chamber, the other men knock and call out, cajoling Blunt to open the door. Blunt claims that he is praying, then that he is with a woman. The men force their way in. Belvile, Willmore, Frederick, and Don Pedro enter with Don Pedro’s page. They all laugh at Blunt, who is indignant. Blunt gets upset at the mockery, and the men are more sympathetic to his ordeal. Don Pedro apologizes for such discourtesy by his countrymen, offering to punish those responsible if Blunt can find out their names. Blunt reveals that he is already taking revenge on a woman who he claims he fought off after she attacked him in his own bedroom. Frederick is skeptical of this version of events and tells Blunt to show Belvile the ring. Belvile recognizes it immediately, urgently whispering to Blunt that he needs to forget revenge and hide the ring. Meanwhile, Willmore demands loudly to see the woman. Don Pedro agrees that he can tell them whether she is a person of quality or can be used for their fun. They argue about who will get her first, and decide that the longest sword wins, having forgotten that as the Spaniard, Don Pedro’s would win.
Willmore interrupts Belvile’s every surreptitious attempt to keep Don Pedro from discovering Florinda. Frederick and Don Pedro exit, reentering with Florinda, who is masked. Don Pedro chases her, questioning who she is and implying that he already knows she is a sex worker. Willmore thinks that this might be the same woman he was following. Valeria enters, taken aback to discover that Don Pedro is there, and Florinda is about to be caught. Valeria immediately rushes to Don Pedro and feigns breathlessness to give herself time to think of an emergency to distract him. She says that Florinda has dressed up as a page boy and run away, but Don Pedro can still catch her if he hurries. Don Pedro expresses regret for leaving so suddenly but adds that he expects that if Florinda runs to Belvile, he will return her. Belvile replies, “I shall consult my love and honor sir” (104). Don Pedro exits.
Relieved, Florinda embraces Valeria. Willmore and Blunt are confused. Valeria exclaims that Florinda and Belvile must get married right away before Don Pedro comes back. Willmore realizes that the woman is indeed Florinda and asks for forgiveness, which she gives. They send the page to bring a priest. Frederick is next to show contrition, and Florinda agrees to forgive him as long as he will do the same as Belvile and marry the woman who loves him. The men are perplexed, but Valeria reveals that she and Frederick had made a vow to marry if Florinda managed to marry Belvile. Ashamed, Blunt apologizes too, and Florinda accepts. Blunt tells Belvile to return her ring because he is too embarrassed to go near her. The page returns and announces that he has brought the priest. Belvile, Florinda, Frederick, and Valeria exit to be married, leaving Willmore to stand guard.
The page tells Willmore that a woman has come to see him and a tailor has arrived for Blunt. Blunt exits eagerly with the page. Willmore waits in happy expectation for—so he presumes—Hellena, but instead finds Angellica, masked, and aiming a pistol. Willmore fails to recognize her until she removes her mask. Angellica plans to shoot him as revenge for breaking his vows to her. Willmore tries to talk her out of killing him, reminding her that she has broken many more hearts than he has, although she counters that her promises were always paid. Angellica wavers, knowing that if she listens to him, she will be swayed.
Willmore tells her that life as the old general’s mistress has made her complacent. New, young lovers can match her wit and cunning. Angellica claims that discovering that she did not have complete power over men made her feel weak, destroying her honor. Willmore says that he wishes he could have been “that dull, constant thing” (110) she seeks, offering her money to pay for the services she rendered. Angellica decides that she needs to shoot him for the safety of all women.
Don Antonio enters, sees what is happening, and takes Angellica’s pistol. Don Antonio recognizes Willmore as the man who took the picture, offering to shoot him for Angellica. Angellica tells him to stop. Don Pedro enters and watches. Angellica decides that letting Willmore live is an act of contempt, cursing, “Live where my eyes may never see thee more. Live to undo someone, whose soul may prove so bravely constant to revenge my love” (112). Angellica exits and Don Antonio starts to follow, but Don Pedro stops him. Don Pedro asks why Don Antonio sent a substitute to their duel, and Don Antonio is surprised to learn that Don Pedro had been his challenger, but says that he sent his sword with a worthy substitute because his arm was injured.
Don Pedro is not satisfied, so the two men decide to have a make-up duel once Don Antonio’s injury heals. Moreover, Don Pedro says that if he can find Florinda, he is going to marry her to Belvile just to spite Don Antonio. Willmore interjects that the priest outside has already taken care of that. Offended, Don Pedro demands, “Dares he do this? Does he not fear my power?” (113) Willmore suggests that Don Pedro congratulate the couple lest he decide to have his friends overpower him and lock him up until the next tide, when he will be kidnapped aboard Willmore’s ship. Belvile enters warily, but Don Pedro wishes him happiness and goes off with Belvile to offer Florinda his blessings.
Willmore starts to follow the others, but Hellena enters, still dressed as a page. Willmore is pleased, claiming he did not think he would see her again. Hellena wonders if she can trust someone like Willmore, but Willmore is not sure that he can be friends with someone who is as attractive and good-humored as Hellena. He also claims that Hellena has used him before. Hellena replies that she will continue to use him until she can feel secure that Willmore loves only her because she has driven away the competition. Willmore finds this agreeable and tries to usher Hellena into the bedroom, but Hellena insists that they marry first.
Willmore balks, arguing, “Marriage is as certain a bane to love, as lending money is to friendship: I’ll neither ask nor give a vow, though I could be content to turn gypsy” (115). Hellena points out that without marriage, she stands to end up with a baby and no husband. Willmore asks for a kiss, but Hellena decides that a man who can be satisfied with just a kiss is not passionate enough for her. Willmore stops her from going and kisses her hand, promising to give their fate up to love and fortune. He suggests that they ought to know each other’s names at this point, introducing himself as Robert the Constant. She teases him for having a name that sounds like a dog’s name. Hellena calls herself Hellena the Inconstant. Don Pedro, Belvile, Florinda, Frederick, and Valeria enter, surprised to see Hellena. Hellena and Willmore announce that they have fallen in love and will be married. Don Pedro is furious, as Hellena was meant to be a nun, and turns on Belvile for marrying both of his sisters off to his “lewd friends” (117). Belvile reminds him that they are all still gentlemen—they are just dealing with temporary misfortune.
Hellena asserts that her three hundred thousand-crown inheritance is better used for love than religion. She adds that Don Pedro will no longer be saddled with the task of guarding his sisters’ honor. Don Pedro agrees to give his blessing, hoping that their father will be as generous. Blunt enters, freshly dressed by the tailor in full Spanish garb. The others laugh at him, which angers him. Belvile tells him he looks like a Cavalier and to calm down and join the festivities.
As per custom, a group of men and women in masking costumes come in and dance. Blunt wishes that he could take people’s masks to see if Lucetta is out there. Willmore asks Hellena if she is nervous about getting married. Hellena states that she is no more nervous than he is when he faces a fight or a storm. Willmore replies, “Egad, thou’rt a brave girl, and I admire thy love and courage. Lead on, no other dangers they can dread, who venture in the storms o’ th’ marriage bed” (120).
Epilogue Summary
The epilogue begins by listing some of the lurid aspects of the play: “The banished cavaliers! A roving blade! A popish Carnival! A masquerade!” (121) Devilishness and breaking rules are what pleases playgoers in the Restoration Era, but even after the Protectorate is over, there is still a Puritan presence in England. The narrator pokes fun at the pearl-clutching conservatism that would see comedy as a sinful indulgence for the audience or would try to censor theatre to avoid new ideas and forms. The narrator pushes the audience to consider how Puritan ethics might be infiltrating the way they interpret the play, or how they are forming their responses to the plays through whether they think the court will like it. In the end, the narrator asserts that no character could be as ridiculous as the ones who fill the audience.
Postscript Summary
In a brief postscript, Behn addresses the accusations that began to circulate after the play was first printed that she had plagiarized The Rover and “’twas Thomaso altered” (123). She compliments the source play and admits that she had “stolen some hints” (123), but that her adaptation is nothing more than proof that she thinks highly of it. She adds that even Killigrew’s Thomaso has parts that are lifted from another work. She welcomes the public to read Thomaso and decide for themselves, claiming that she’s only receiving criticism because The Rover was a success and because she is a woman.
Act V-Postscript Analysis
The tension mounts in the final act as Florinda, held captive, is about to become a victim of a gang-rape, with the addition of Willmore and her own brother, Don Pedro, to the group. Given the convention that the masks hide their identities completely, it seems unlikely that Don Pedro would recognize his masked sister, although he is certain that he can discern by looking at her whether she is “of quality” (101) or if her body is sexually available for their use. It is another instance of high-born women becoming indiscernible from sex workers when met outside of social context.
In a final and most blatant phallic display, the men hold a sword-measuring contest to determine whose sword is the biggest, which therefore grants masculine dominance and the right to rape their prisoner first. The fact that Don Pedro’s sword is the longest because that is the nature of Spanish weaponry as opposed to English is a less-than-subtle joke about the Spaniard as a hypersexual and exotified other. Notably, while Belvile frets about how to rescue the woman he loves, it is Valeria whose quick thinking saves the day, diverting Don Pedro so Belvile can reveal Florinda’s identity and stop his friends from raping her. The men’s sudden contrition serves to highlight that the majority of women would have been considered fair game for the men to violate as they pleased.
When Angellica finally confronts Willmore, she declares her plans to kill him as not only revenge, but for the sake of all women who are unsafe while he remains alive. As a strong, self-assured woman who has created her own life and agency within a patriarchal world, Angellica can be potentially interpreted as Behn’s mouthpiece, since the playwright’s perspective as a woman is an essential facet of the play. Her weapon of choice—the gun—emphasizes the flair and showiness of the men’s less efficient choice to battle with swords. However, while the men leap into swordfights at the slightest provocation, Angellica takes the time to articulate her reasoning, both personal and philosophical, for being there with a gun pointed (in additional symbolism) at his heart. She demonstrates that her decision not to kill Willmore is not due to squeamishness, since she declines to let Don Antonio kill him for her. Instead, she decides that the best revenge is to let him live, certain that a woman will eventually make him feel the same pain and heartbreak he caused in her. Willmore immediately turns to Hellena, whose feisty banter suggests that perhaps she might be the one to deliver on Angellica’s curse.
The quick triple-wedding at the play’s end ties up all the loose ends and settles the battle between the sexes, granting the play a conventional comedic happy ending. In marrying as they please, both Florinda and Hellena have succeeded in defying the authority of both their father and brother. However, Florinda’s narrow escapes from sexual violence, Hellena’s experiences of Willmore’s infidelity, and Angellica’s heartbreak all suggest that the women are still condemned to navigate a world where men are always in charge, in one way or another.
