Abstract
Discussing the possibility that some men might experiment with circumcision in order to discover whether it could improve their sexual pleasure, the midwifery writer Jane Sharp observed in 1671 that: “The world was never without some mad men, who will do any thing to be singular”. Building on Bernard Capp's research into early modern gossip as a site of resistance, this article uses writings about the body by Behn's contemporaries to explore what light they can shed on a range of her works, including The Rover (1677), The Lucky Chance (1686) and “The Disappointment”. It is argued that Behn's acute awareness of the body's meanings originates partly in her work as a playwright, but also in the relationship of her writing to a half-submerged world of women's talk at gossipings and christenings, and on wedding nights. Some familiarity with early modern writings on the sexual body enables the modern reader to recognize the defensive comic strategies deployed by Behn, and works as well to correct some common recent misreadings of her works.
Published Version
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