The decision to become an author in the 17th and 18th centuries was itself a daunting task, not to mention the choice to narrate one's work as a feminine and personal perspective. This was the case of two famous texts read through a female narrative voice, Oroonoko and Northanger Abbey. Aphra Behn's Oroonoko tells the story of an African prince who is captured and forced into slavery in the British colony of Suriname in the West Indies, while Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey follows the life of its protagonist, Catherine, through her travels to Bath and Northanger . Abbey. Although their stories are unique, through a female narrative voice both women are able to situate themselves depending on how they would like their readers to see them. Behn and Austen's roles as female narrators are beneficial to both women as it gives them some authority over their respective texts while eliminating any personal responsibility. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Behn demonstrates authority by interrupting the text to insert her personal opinions, a strategy ultimately intended to control the reader's perception of her. Behn's first speech to his readers proves this to be true when he clarifies that Oroonoko is a story "without the addition of invention," a story not written to "entertain [his] readers with the adventures of a pretended hero" ( 2137). . It can be seen that these statements were designed not only to display her authority, assuring the audience that the events were fact and not fiction, but to lend some credibility thus ensuring that the reader can trust her and deem her reliable for the time being. duration of the story. Behn also interrupts the text to provide context as to why he was on the island of Suriname, explaining that his father would be “lieutenant general of thirty-six islands, in addition to the mainland of Suriname,” and upon arriving in the country, “the the best house that was there was presented” (3162). By informing readers of her father's social status, and her own, she is able to demonstrate that she is part of the dominant and dominant force on the island, distinguishing her from the slaves and once again demonstrating her authority over the story. Perhaps the most interesting way Behn shows control is through the continuous use of phrases such as “I assure my reader” and “as I said” throughout the story (2140). Although he remains, for the most part, silent when telling the part of Oroonoko's story for which he was not present, Behn still manages to remind the reader that he has full control over the text by needlessly adding statements like the ones above. Through the recognition of her social status and the constant intrusions of personal opinions throughout the story, Behn controls how the reader perceives her, ultimately exhibiting her power over her work. Although Behn exercises her authority over the text, it can still be read as a true reflection of the times in which she was writing, as in the 17th century a female author was still considered a very new and developing concept. It is clear that Behn struggles with her identity as a female author and may reflect this in her writing as she blatantly undermines her own talent when she talks about Oroonoko's story by saying, "her misfortune was to fall upon a dark world, which could only offer a female pen to celebrate her fame,” but then contradicts herself by explaining that not many people could have told her story better than she (2158) In her informative diary, Gender and Narrative in the Fiction of Aphra Behn, Jacqueline Pearson explains Thatwhile authority and power constitute a central theme in Behn's work, "her ambiguous status as white (and therefore powerful) but also female (and therefore powerless)" almost compromises her authorial power because of her gender (187) . In this way, we can see Behn conforming to the social limitations of his genre that were true of his time while still struggling to maintain some authority throughout the text. Through the provision and interjection of personal opinions and the claiming of a certain ownership over her characters, Austen displays authority and maintains control of her story, Northanger Abbey. Although Austen initially speaks ill of her character, Catherine, she eventually gains a sense of ownership over her when her behavior finally becomes pleasing to Austen. This can be noted when Austen seems to take credit for her new and improved protagonist when she says, “if the company had seen her but three years before, they would now have thought her extremely beautiful” (47). Austen further flaunts her control over her character when she says "I take my heroine back to her home in solitude and disgrace" (224), and "I could lay off my heroine on the sleepless couch" (107). Naming Catherine, “my heroine,” not only reminds the reader that Austen is the one in control, an authority that only the narrator can possess, but also shows Austen marking her territory by treating Catherine as a kind of possession. A further, if not as interesting, way in which Austen maintains control of the novel is by including her opinion on women reading novels – a topic of great debate during the time Northanger Abbey was written. Austen wholeheartedly defends her choice to have Catherine and Isabella read novels when she says “Yes, novels; for I will not adopt that ungenerous and impolitic habit so common among novel writers," clearly refusing to be an author who portrays her heroine as one who makes fun of reading novels (58). Austen's personal opinions serve to reinforce the ultimate authority she holds over her story. In contrast to her authoritative role, by completely distancing herself from events in Oroonoko that readers might find particularly problematic or disturbing, Behn is able to free herself of any personal responsibility. thus shifting the blame onto others. The first event in which we see Behn take an objective stance occurs after Oroonoko is brutally whipped as punishment for leading her fellow slaves in an attempt to escape informing the reader of his authoritative qualities, is nowhere to be found at the time of Oroonoko's whipping. Later, explaining the reason for his absence, he rationalizes that he was not there to protect Oroonoko because he had heard that he was coming to "cut all [their] throats" (2173). Behn even visits Oroonoko to "protest [his] innocence of the deed" and "[seek] as much pardon for criminals" (2173). In describing the event, Behn strategically uses the word "they" when talking about the perpetrators of the crime, making it clear to her readers that she was in no way involved or associated with the crime, effectively removing any responsibility from her. Oroonoko's death serves as a second example in which we see Behn carefully empty himself of responsibility through the use of third-person language. Upon her departure, Behn says that the people who had Oroonoko in their custody "promised everyone to take as good care of [him] as possible," but killed him as soon as she was gone (2177). The very act of moving away from Suriname makes her not responsible for Oroonoko's death due to the lack of her physical presence. Because he has the power,. 24, 2012.