5 of 17

Write now Article Tools

Some peoples' lives inspire other to do great things. Sometimes they make a mark on history and sometimes they make an impression only on the lives of those around them. More often than not, as the generations move on, they begin to forget those who have inspired earlier generations. Here's a tale about a short journey which brought me face-to-face with someone we could do with remembering. If you should happen to find yourself in the vicinity of Westminster Abbey, take a short 15 minute detour into the Abbey cloisters (these being about the only part that can be visited without paying an entrance fee), meander round the cloisters (a highly recommended diversion from a busy day) and keep you eyes on the tombstones on which you will find yourself walking. Last time I did this, I noticed something I'd not seen before which brought something you don't hear in churches very often, a fairly loud chuckle. What was it that caused so much delight? A gravestone upon which the name read (and continues to read) 'Mrs Aphra Behr'. And the inscription was quite simply: "Here lies a Proof that Wit can never be Defence enough against Mortality". Lovely! So who was she, this person whose last resting place gave so much pleasure to me?, Here's the entry from Google's reference biography. Hope you think all the effort is worthwhile! 'Before becoming a professional writer, Aphra Behn was a professional spy for England, code-named "Astrea" or Agent 160. She was the first professional female writer in England, and for the first twenty years of her career, she was the only female playwright. It was rumored that she was James II's mistress. However, we know very little else about her life. The Restoration, as a period, was badly documented, and the institutions that did keep records, Oxford and Cambridge, the Inns of Court and the Middle Temple, excluded women from their ranks. So our understanding of Ms. Behn's life must depend on the writings she left behind, the voices of her characters, the repeated themes and expressions. Perhaps as a result of her one certain activity, espionage, Ms. Behn was fascinated with the entanglement of sex and power, both in the personal and political spheres. And because this was considered an inappropriate subject for a woman, she was, for centuries after her death, simply regarded as a smutty writer. The Marquis of Halifax went so far as to blame Behn for the oppression of other women when he remarked, "The unjustifiable freedom of some of your sex have involved the rest in the penalty of being reduced." In recent years, however, Ms. Behn has been rediscovered by a more liberal generation of readers and performers. Her plays are now read throughout the English-speaking world and are regarded not as vulgar sexploits, but rather as legitimate and sensual explorations of gender, race and class. It was Virginia Woolf who wrote, "All women together ought to let flowers fall upon the tomb of Aphra Behn, for it was she who earned them the right to speak their minds." '

Learn more about this author, Sebastian Ramshackle III.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

Add your voice

Know something about Inspirational biographies that will change your life?
We want to hear your view. Write now!