Throughout the years of literature, the ways in which sexuality is represented has progressed. In pre-modern works of literature, the outlook on sexuality was heavily based upon the patriarchal society in which people lived. Male sexuality and the desires of men were seen as normal and was connected to their characteristics as males. In addition, male sexuality paralleled with their ability to perform and pleasure their partners. However, with female sexuality and any sexuality viewed as “alternative,” the pursuing of their desires was frowned upon and seen as promiscuous.
Although during these times the way in which sexuality was represented was very conservative, there were poets who went against society and published works on the more progressive images of sexuality, particularly on female sexuality. In contrast to poems like “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” that represented female sexuality as problematic through Lady Bertilak, both poems highlighted sexuality of men and women as somewhat equal. Although there were progressive outlooks, there were also similarities to other works such as Shakespeare’s play “Twelfth Night,” one that addressed alternative sexuality.
Overall, in both “The Disappointment” and “The Imperfect Enjoyment” sexuality is represented as a natural phenomenon in which both men and women hold desires and challenge the current outlooks on sexuality by including a change of power dynamics and including stereotypical characteristics of it.In both “The Disappointment” and “The Imperfect Enjoyment,” the act of sex and human sexuality in general was represented as something that both males and females desired. In “The Imperfect Enjoyment” the poem is written in the male’s perspective. He desires to bed his lover; however, he is unable to do so because he had a pre-ejaculation. In addition, he is nervous and clumsy in his pursuit to please her. “But I, the most forlorn, lost man alive/To show my wished obedience vainly strive/I sigh, alas! And kiss, but cannot swive,” (lines 25-27).
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It is the woman who guides him along and gives him orders, depicting her own desires to have sex with him. This representation of sexuality is unique as it is the man who is unable to continue with the act and the woman is the one trying to continue the act. The dynamic of male aggression and female submission was reversed in a way. The man was also impotent and, therefore, was unable to pleasure his partner. In the end, the man could not satisfy her, and he looked upon others to help her in finding her own release. His quest to help her experience pleasure, even if it was through other means, was not something seen in many works during that time.
This depicted sexuality as one where both the man and the woman are able to experience whatever they desire and neither should have to suppress it.“The Imperfect Enjoyment” includes two individuals who are willing to engage in sexual acts with each other. The guidance of the female was not drawn as scandalous, not like in works such as “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight”. In this work, Lady Bertilak, who actively seeks to tempt Gawain into having intercourse with her, is depicted as a temptress.
Her sexuality was viewed as a tool and a way to trip Sir Gawain. In terms of male sexuality, it was represented through the ideas that men were superior and were able to suppress their own desires, even in the face of temptation. Sir Gawain was able to dismiss the advances of Lady Bertilak because he had the ability to hold his own desires within. In addition, Rochester’s poem includes the man being impotent and unable to satisfy his lover, a fact that would have undermined a man’s masculinity. The inclusion of not being able to perform represents sexuality in a different way because it takes a different approach on the idea of what a man was to be during that time.
In “The Disappointment,” Behn’s representation of sexuality includes the idea of male dominance and female submission that was present within society during her time while also including the idea of female desire. Unlike poems that glossed over the problematic dynamic of submission and dominance and that dismissed the desires that women had, Behn highlighted it within her poetry. In the poem, Cloris has an encounter with Lysander, one that is seen as rape. Cloris voices out her unwillingness to engage with Lysander; however, he takes over aggressively. Cloris’ protests were included as a way to show the problem of how men and women’s relationships were.
Behn tried to address the problem of depicting sexuality as one where men could underestimate the woman and seek out only their own satisfaction. Within this poem, Behn also approached female sexuality. Although Cloris did voice out her rejections, internally, she also wanted to engage with Lysander. Her own desires were clearly present, and although she did not outright confirm what she wanted to Lysander, she did ultimately engage with him. Lysander is unable to satisfy Cloris as he, too, is impotent. This inclusion also plays a similar role as in Rochester’s poem, as the male has lost power over the woman and now she has dominance over him and his desires. By the end of the poem, she does express her disappointment of his inability to pleasure her, which can be seen as a reverse of roles. Behn does eventually include the ideas of submission of shame in the end, but she was able to include her own feminist views on what sexuality meant to her.
In “The Disappointment,” Behn writes the poem in a more feminist perspective. Although, in a sense, the poem is more progressive in the way it represents sexuality, it does compare with other works on sexuality and female sexuality. Like poems such as, female sexuality is seen to be something that must be repressed and not boldy acted upon. Throughout “ The Disappointment,” Cloris is more ashamed of the fact that she desired Lysander’s advances, even though they were forced upon her.
In the end, her needs had to be suppressed by the fear of losing her purity. In Shakespeare’s play Twelfth Night, sexuality was also challenged when characters fell in love with those of the same sex. Although one was dressed as a man and won the affections of a lady, there was the presence of homoerotisism; however, by the end of the play, all of the pairs ended as heteronormative couples, and the one potential homosexual relationship did not occur. Despite including potential homosexual relationships, Shakespeare had to play into the social norms of his time. Such can be seen in “The Disappointment” with female sexuality. It had to be represented as something that was, in the end, shameful and should not be acted upon. Although Rochester’s poem “The Imperfect Enjoyment” includes of concept of a more progressive view on sexuality, he does include what would have been seen as common characteristics of male sexuality.
Angry with his inability to perform, the man goes on to vent his frustrations, pointing to the fact that he had been with many women previously. “This dart of love, whose piercing point, oft tried/With virgin blood ten thousand maids have dyed,” (lines 37-38). He boasted of his ability to dominant and woo many woman. He had power over them; however, it was due to them being but common partners and not the woman that held his affections that gave him the ability to gain power over them. In both Behn’s poem “The Disappointment” and Rochester’s poem “The Imperfect Enjoyment,” the representation of sexuality was present through the desires of both men and women and the taking away of men’s power over women.
In Behn’s poem, Cloris’ desires were strong, and although she had protests against it, internally, she did hold feelings of want. In the end, she held power over Lysander because of his inability to pleasure her. In Rochester’s poem, sexuality was highlighted through both the woman and the man’s aggression. Both sought out sex, and while the man was unable to pleasure her, he still looked to others to bring her what she desired. Although both poems represented sexuality in a different way, they also incorporated typically norms of sexuality during that time. Behn included Cloris’ shame at what could have transpired. She was ashamed of her own sexual desires and actively tried to suppress it. Rochester included the man’s many trysts with multiple women, playing into the idea that men had many lovers and were aggressive in their pursuit of women.
