Behn and the Dilemma of Libertinism: Atheism, Conservativism, and Anxieties of Freethinking in Restoration England
Public Deposited- Last Modified
- February 26, 2019
- Creator
-
Lesley, Sarah
- Affiliation: College of Arts and Sciences, Department of English and Comparative Literature
- Abstract
- The inclusion of Aphra Behn in Anthony Collins’ 1713 Discourse of Free-Thinking as the only female in a list of respected libertine thinkers calls into question traditional readings of Behn as solely a sexual libertine. While she certainly engages in controversial sexual and gendered philosophy, Collins considers her a part of a more broadly defined freethinking community of theological and classical inquiry. When Collins lists Behn in a sampling of writers that celebrated Thomas Creech’s 1683 translation of Lucretius’ De Rerum Natura, she joins the ranks of men such as Dr. Edward Bernard, Joshua Barnes, and the provost of King’s College, Dr. Adams (Collins 92). All of these men produced texts of interest for the freethinking community of the late sixteenth and early seventeenth century, from Bernard’s discussions of suicide in Donne’s Biathanatos to Barnes’ fictional utopian world of pygmies. Yet Collins does not know that Behn was unusually controversial in her treatment of Creech’s Lucretius. Her own commendatory poem underwent two editions, one of which was highly edited by Creech. Creech’s edits reveal that he was concerned with her celebration of the freedom of thought—a freedom that even Behn seems to recognize could lead to complex and even problematic theological inquiries.
- Date of publication
- spring 2018
- Keyword
- DOI
- Resource type
- Rights statement
- In Copyright
- Note
- Funding: OB Hardison Jr. Scholarship, Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship
- Advisor
- Barbour, Reid
- Degree
- Bachelor of Arts
- Academic concentration
- English
- Honors level
- Honors
- Degree granting institution
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Graduation year
- 2018
- Language
- English
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