Literature

Although the year 2020 turned to be an unfortunate one in many ways, female authors around the world were able to find a silver lining. It marked the beginning of a movement to help them their voice. Yes, we are talking about the ‘Reclaim Her Name’ campaign.

For breaking into male-dominated genres or to escape gender bias, throughout history many women have published their books under male or gender-neutral pseudonyms. Much has changed since then, but these books continue to be published under their male pen names.

In a bid to rectify it, Women’s Prize for Friction, along with its sponsor Baileys, re-released the books of 25 female authors with their names for the first time. The book covers too were revamped and illustrated by women.

The series known as “The Reclaim Her Name’ marked the 25th anniversary of the Women’s Prize for Friction. It is aimed at initiating conversations regarding the reasons many female authors had to hide their real names.

One of the books that has been re-released is the classic “Middlemarch”. More than 149 years since its publication, many still do not know that George Eliot was actually the pen name of author Mary Ann Evans.

Born in 1819, Evans adopted a male pseudonym when George Henry Lewes – the English philosopher and critic – encouraged her to take up writing fiction. Evans believed that a male pen name would help her overcome gender bias.

Ironically, “Middlemarch” is a story about women stifled by a patriarchal society.

Some of the books:

• “Middlemarch” Mary Ann Evans (pseudonym George Eliot)
• “Marie of the Cabin Club” – Ann Petry (Arnold Petri)
• “Indiana” – Amantine Aurore Dupin (George Sand)
• “The Life of Martin R. Delany” – Frances Rollin Whipper (Frank A. Rollin)
• “Keynotes” Mary Bright (George Egerton)
• “Attila, My Attila!” – Edith Cooper and Katherine Bradley (Michael Field)
• “Painted Clay” – Doris Boake Kerr (Capel Boake)
• “For Our Country” – Fatemeh Soltan Khanum Farahami (Shahein Farahani)
• “Atla – Story of a lost Island” by Ann Smith (J Gregory Smith)
• “Twilight” – Julia Frankau (Frank Danby)
• “The Silence of Dean Maitland” – Mary Tuttiett (Maxwell Gray)
• “The Head of Medusa” – Julia Constance Fletcher (George Fleming)
• “Cecilia De Noel” – Mary Hawker (Lanoe Falconer)
• “Echoes from Mist-land” – Aubertine Woodward Moore (Auber Forestier)
• “Valerie Aylmer” – Frances Tierman (Christian Reid)
• “A Diplomat’s Diary” – Julia Cruger (Julien Gordon)
• “The Roadmender” – Margaret Fairless Barber (Michael Fairless)

Picture Credit : Google

About Aphra Behn

Details on Aphra Behn’s personal life are scant, because she meant to leave it that way. She was born Aphra Johnson, possibly near Canterbury in 1640 AD. Not much is known of her parents –one story goes that her father was a barber and mother, a wet nurse, and another is that her father’s name was Cooper. Although it is sure there was a Johnson in her early life, it is uncertain if he was her biological or adopted father.

Aphra travelled with Johnson and his wife to the West Indies in 1663, where he passed away. Aphra and her mother lived in Surinam for several months, and this left a lasting impact on her. Her most famous work “Oroonoko” is about her time there and her friendship with a prince of the indigenous people.

When she returned to England in 1664, Aphra married Johan Behn, a merchant from writing name remained Mrs. Behn.

By 1666, Behn was attached to the court of King Charles II and was a spy in Antwerp. Her code name was Astrea, and it is said that the cost of living as a spy was shockingly high and that Charles II was a slow payer (if he paid at all). She returned to England under a lot of debt and petitioned the King’s Company and Duke’s Company. Her first play “The Forc’d Marriage” was shown in 1670. She eventually went on to become a successful comic writer.

A woman with few like-minded contemporaries, Aphra was a trailblazer at a time when women wrote as a hobby and their work was accompanied by a warning that it was written by a member of the ‘fair sex’. She was unapologetic and did not ask for acceptance, constantly working outside gender-based roles.

Aphra wrote 19 plays in all, becoming one of the most popular and saught-after dramatists in Britain. In her final years, her health began to fail due to poverty and increasing debt, although she wrote as ferociously as ever. Aphra died in 1689

Excerpt

This poem by Aphra talks about love’s power over humankind.

O Love! That stronger art than wine,

Pleasing delusion, witchery divine,

Won’t to be prized above all wealth,

Disease that has more joys than health;

Though we blaspheme thee in our pain,

And of thy tyranny complain,

We are all bettered by thy reign.

What reason never can bestow

We to this useful passion owe;

Love wakes the dull from sluggish ease,

And learns a clown the art to please,

Humbles the vain, kindles the cold,

Makes misers free, and cowards bold...

Did you know?

Virginia Woolf, in her iconic book “A Room of One’s Own”, mentions what women owe Aphra Behn. She says, “All women together poght to left flowers fall upon the tomb of Aphra Behn, for it was she who earned them the right to speak their minds.”

Picture Credit : Google

Mah Laqa Bai of Hyderabad Deccan wore many hats during her lifetime. She was an archer and an expert javelin thrower, and accompanied the Nizam in wars dressed in male attire. Valued for her intellect, she was consulted in court about political affairs. She travelled with a parade of 500 soldiers when she met officials. As per her wish, after her death, her wealth, including jewellery and land, was donated to homeless women.

Born to Raj Kunwar and Bahadur Khan, Chanda Bibi (her birth name) was adopted by Raj Kunwar’s sister Mehtaab Mah, a courtesan. She grew up being exposed to literature and culture. By the time she was a teenager, she was an expert at horse riding and archery. A talented musician and poet, she also mastered Deccani kathak.

She was a courtesan in the Nazim’s court and held a position of respect and power. For her contributions as a warrior she was rewarded pieces of land from the Nizam from time to time. She was bestowed with the title ‘Mah Laqa Bai’ or ‘moon-faced madame’. During her time as  courtesan, she made considerable wealth, which she used to build libraries, sponsor artists and poets and also commission the Mahanama (history of the Deccan).

A staunch feminist, Mah Laqa also built a cultural centre where she educated and trained young girls. He had a walled compound built to hold mushairas (poetic symposiums) every week. It was here that she was buried after her death in 1824.

There were many courtesan during the Deccan Nizam period but none could parallel the strength and authority of Mah Laqa Bai. She was among the first women whose poems were published posthumously – the ‘Gulzar-e-Mahlaqa” is a collection of Urdu ghazals.

Mah Laqa Bai’s works were hard hitting and articulate here’s an example:

Who has the power to praise God, should a tongue try to speak

It’s as if this world were nothing but silent and weak

To tell Muhammad’s virtue, who needs a poet’s glittering gathering?

Keep the tongue from babbling, like a candle’s flowing wick.

Maha Laqa Bai gained ‘Omrah’ status I the Nizam’s court, which is rarely provided to women. As an Omrah, she could attend the Nizam’s durbar and advise him on state policies.

Picture Credit : Google