The History of the Nun

The History of the Nun, or The Fair Vow Breaker, is a novella by Aphra Behn published in 1689. It is a piece of early 17th century amatory fiction.

Some of the story's main themes include woman's desire, guilt, and reputation. An specific example of certain themes are shown throughout the novella as Isabella's desire to uphold society's expectations of being a virtuous woman, her love for Henualt after breaking her vows, but also for her desire to get away with murder and to maintain her reputation. The book, and Aphra Behn as a female writer, inspired many other writers to use amatory fiction as a way to write about women.

It contains an introduction which may suggest a romantic affair between the author and Hortense Mancini, niece of Cardinal Mazarin, one of the mistresses of Charles II and "adventuresses" of the 17th century.

The main character, Isabella, is the daughter of Count Henrick de Vallary. After the count's wife dies, he sends his daughter to a nunnery run by her Reverend aunt, Lady Abbess, but with the provision that she will decide for herself whether she wants to become a nun when she turns thirteen. Despite the success of her debut, aided by her genius, piety, and beauty, Isabella turns down the lavish lifestyle she could have as the wife of a wealthy man for the life of a nun. However, she had won many suitors during her short debut, and one in particular is eighteen-year-old Villenoy. He alone of all her admirers possessed the courage to confess his feelings, but when she turns him down, he falls deathly ill. Though he does recover, his feelings remain as he heads off to war.

A nun named Sister Katteriena arrives at the nunnery. She is Isabella's bed-companion and closest friend. She has a brother named Arnaldo Henault, who loves his sister dearly and comes to visit her almost every day at the nunnery gate. Isabella comes along with Katteriena and, after some time, falls in love with him. She makes the decision to flee the nunnery with him, thereby breaking her vows. As she flees, she also steals from the nunnery. As a result, Henault's father disowns him. However, they both secure pardons through the aid of Isabella's aunt, they struggle on their own in the country failing at farming and living in poverty. In order to win the favor of his father, Henault joins the army, where he meets Villenoy. After a particularly disastrous military loss Henault is presumed dead. As Villenoy returns to console his widow, he also seizes this as an opportunity to win the hand of Isabella, whom he still loves exceedingly. Impoverished, deprived of her husband, and unwilling to return to the nunnery, Isabella agrees to marry Villenoy, but asks him to wait three years before they marry so she may grieve for Henault. After the three years, they marry and Isabella lives the lavish lifestyle her father first told her she could have when she made her debut.

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