Gender and Power Dyanics in ; ‘Oroonoko’ by Aphra Behn and...

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widespread problematic belief that women are simply the passive, powerless victims of male power is oversimplified and outdated.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,†¦show more content†¦Pope describes Belinda who is meant to represent women in the era in the lines: â€Å"Her lively looks a sprightly mind disclose,/ Quick as her eyes, and unfixed as those:† (‘The Rape of the Lock’, Canto II, p.50). The use of the word â€Å"sprightly† refers to her being gay, vivacious, somewhat ditzy and her being unfixed implies that Belinda, and women in general are fickle and unable to focus on any one thing. Overall, Pope generalizes women as superficial, sprightly and attention seeking. This creates some debate as to whether these women are powerful in being significant enough to be represented in the first place or powerless in having their essence being snatched away by Pope. Additionally, while the poem attempts the critique the values associated with femininity such as vanity, shallowness, self-obsession, and beauty, in order to do so it lends these qualities power to be the central theme of the poem, in a sense glorifying the very same values he aims to critique. Both texts pivot directly around female sexuality and its implications in a patriarchal culture where womens bodies and their purity are regulated and valued as their true value. Imoinda is presented as beautiful and desirable by fellow slaves and their masters. However, she isn’t violated by Trefry even though â€Å"all the white Beautys he had seen, never charm’d him so absolutely as this