History of the Nun - Aphra Behn

This story by Aphra Behn was very interesting and kept me wanting to read more. This is a story about Isabella, a young girl whose mother died. As a result of her mothe's death, at the age of thirteen, she had to decide if she was going to become a nun, giving her inheritance to her aunt, or marry a young noble man, gaining her inheritance. She made the decision to become a nun, but shortly after fell in love with Henault.

Her love for him controlled her. She made the decision to runaway with him, breaking her vow to God. She and Henault runaway together after his father disowns him for causing her to break her vow to God. After tough times, his father decides to help out only if Henault goes to war. That is what he does. After years, she thinks and is told that her husband died an honorable death while fighting by Villenoy, a man who loved Isabella but she rejected.

Villenoy stays in her life, and after five years of mourning and finally getting over Henault, she decides to marry Villenoy. Shortly after their marriage, Isabella's maid brings her a ring from a man standing at the gate. The ring is her wedding ring. The man at the gate was Henault - he wasn't dead afterall. She allows him to come in, but does not want to been seen as an adulteress by the public. SHe smothers Henault to death. Villenoy helps her get rid of the body. They put him in a sack, but Isabella sews the sack to Villenoy's jacket. He goes to throw the body off the bridge and when he does, he falls with it. Isabella killed both of her husbands as she hoped this would get rid of the public's judgement of her.

However, the bodies are found, and Henault is identified. Isabella is found guilty of the murders and is sentenced to death, "but her beauty in the eyes of the public was not at all diminished". The people cheered for her and she gave a speech before her death. In this work as well as her other works, Behn describes the gruesome death of the characters.