AWE (A Woman’s Experience)
Keywords
Katherine Philips religious poetry, Aphra Behn Libertine feminism, female authors challenging authority
Abstract
Susa Young Gates Award 2024
Winner
The mid to late 1600s were a time of intense societal change in England as a result of the English Civil War and the abdication and restoration of the English monarchy. During this time of religious and political upheaval, those who had historically been silenced found more opportunities to speak up regarding recent changes. This was the case for Katherine Philips and Aphra Behn, two female writers who had their own distinct views on the recent political and religious upheaval. In past studies concerning these two women, there has been a trend of either placing these women within the same belief system or portraying them as opposites, with Philips being the domesticized poet of the private female sphere and Behn her revolutionary double. However, these two perspectives present an oversimplification of their nuanced connections.
Recommended Citation
Hirtle, Sophie
(2025)
"An Examination of Katherine Philips and Aphra Behn: Differing Approaches to Male Authority Inside and Outside the Private Sphere,"
AWE (A Woman’s Experience): Vol. 11, Article 11.
Available at:
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/awe/vol11/iss1/11