Carnival time in The Rover is a period when prohibitions are temporarily removed, privileges and rank suspended, and women – from convent girls to courtesans – take the initiative. Featuring multiple plot lines, which deal with the adventures of a group of love-struck Englishmen in Naples, Aphra Behn’s play explores issues of love, trickery and deception, forced marriage, male power, fidelity, and the excesses of sexual passion. Hers is a male-dominated society, but one with a clear-sighted portrayal of the female predicament.