ABSTRACT
Hellena’s antics in Aphra Behn’s 1677 play, The Rover, are explored in this essay through the lens of the grand tour. This lens allows for a more focused investigation of the play’s preoccupation with youthfulness, and also demonstrates how Hellena’s antics fit within the tradition of not just carnival but also rogue literature. Facing life in a nunnery – a path determined for her by her father and brother – Hellena uses rogue tactics and the carnival season to carve out a space for youthful experiences for herself; and, in doing so, she ultimately alters that patriarchal predetermined path to fit her own desires, which include marriage to Willmore.
