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Photo via VD Photography on UnsplashHer pale hand trembled as she gripped the pen. She carved each letter into the page with extreme delicacy. Her fingers ached. Each day the pain worsened. She wished she could stop it, but that wasn’t something she could do. Her debts had landed her in the position she was in, and she had no money to pay for the help she so desperately needed. Her arthritis had nearly crippled her hands and her health continued to decline with each year. If she had been born a man, things would have been different. All she could do was write until the day her words ran out. Aphra Behn was going to change the world no matter how long it took.
The plays were supposed to help, but the crowds grew less and less interested in the same old, replayed stories she had written years before. No one cared about “The Amorous Prince,” by Aphra Behn anymore. She needed something fresh. Something new. Something to hold her audience’s gaze long enough to pay off her debts. She sat at her desk and wrote until the words made sense, and eventually, everything did. In 1687, the play, “The Emperor of the Moon,” was born. It gave her the freedom to write prose while the coins trickled into her pockets.
By no means did she feel rich. Every dollar she made went toward her living expenses and payments that seemed to never end. The temporary income did give her space to write what she wanted and how she wanted. She dreamed of writing a story that would inspire other women to write as well. She began to dive into every aspect of her environment. She hoped that something could bring her an ounce of creativity. She walked through the gardens and sat at the coffee shops with her journal. She listened to the low hum of gossip that filled the streets. Everybody was curious about what their neighbor did behind closed doors, and so was she.
One day, she sat on a bench near the garden pond and listened. The leaves rustled through the trees. The geese squawked back and forth. The waves pushed slightly against the shore. A soft giggle could be heard from behind the bushes. She walked toward the voice and peeked through the hedge. A woman stood facing away from her. A man held his hand on her waist and pulled her closer. He looked familiar. His large nose and stiff shoulders could be recognized anywhere. It was Lord Grey. He was a nobleman, a married one at that. What was he doing in the gardens with a mysterious woman? Aphra listened more closely.
“We should run away together and elope, Henrietta,” he said. “Leave this rubbish world behind us.”
“But my Lord, you know we mustn’t do that,” she whispered back. “It would kill my sister if she knew.”
He scoffed and rubbed his hand on his forehead.
“I don’t care what she thinks,” he said. “She never loved me like you do. I choose you.”
“Do you truly mean that?” Henrietta asked.
“Every word, my love.” He kissed her and they laughed.
Aphra stopped watching and wrote down everything she had heard. Lord Grey was to elope with Lady Henrietta Berkeley, his sister-in-law, in secret. It was such a scandal she had to share with the world. She went home and wrote the outlandish story of their love affair. It was a masterpiece. She did change the names and add a little extra drama, but ultimately it was based on a true story. She was so proud of her work, but she was afraid if she published under her own name, then no one would read it.
In 1685, she published the book anonymously. The title was “Love-Letters Between a Nobleman and His Sister.” The streets buzzed with gossip and the story was a huge success. That story would go on to have more than sixteen editions published before 1800. She, however, would not live long enough to see that success. Although she had earned enough money to pay for her medical needs, there hadn’t been enough time to reverse the damage already done to her body.
On April 16, 1689, the first female to make a living for herself with her writing passed away. She was a woman remembered for her wit and cleverness. Her life had been dedicated to poetry and pleasure. Although she didn’t live to see her greatest success, she left an impressionable mark on generations of women to come. Her boldness would pave the way for women everywhere to see that they too can be a writer or an artist or whatever they want to be. There are no limits to what a female can become, and she proved that. The legacy of Aphra Behn will live on for years to come.
About Robbie Wood: Robbie Wood is a senior at the University of Oklahoma. She is majoring in Professional Writing and minoring in Film and Media Studies and Environmental Studies. She will graduate in December 2023 and hopes to get work in the film and writing industry.
About Stories Matter: A mentoring program founded by writer Leslie Zemeckis, and co-sponsored by the SBIFF and ENTITY Magazine, for young female writers, nurturing and inspiring the next generation of writers to tell their stories. A weekly intensive with published female author’s giving their time to encourage greatness and share their writing process. The theme was “A Woman You Should Know.” These stories are the best of the bunch, some remain works-in-progress, some will (hopefully) take these stories and turn them into longer pieces.
