Agnes de Castro; or, The Force of Generous Love

Agnes de Castro; or, The Force of Generous Love (also known as The History of Agnes de Castro) (French: Agnes de Castro, Nouvelle Portugaise), is a tragic novel written by Jean-Baptiste de Brilhac.^[1] An English translation by Aphra Behn was published in 1688.^[2] It dramatizes the life and murder of Inês de Castro, the lover and posthumously recognized wife of King Peter I of Portugal.

Plot

The novel focuses on Constantina, Princess of Portugal; Dom Pedro, Prince of Portugal and Constantina's husband; and Agnes de Castro, who is Constantina's loving and loyal friend.

Pedro secretly adores Agnes, but Elvira (who is in love with Pedro herself) reveals this to Constantina. Meanwhile, Don Alvaro (the brother of Elvira) tries to secure Agnes's affections. Agnes tries to leave Coimbra, but Constantina and Pedro convince her to stay. Constantina, Pedro and Agnes try to preserve their friendship and love for each other, but struggle with their divided affections. Constantina dies of grief.

Alvaro, following King Afonso's advice, kidnaps Agnes. After her death, Pedro takes his revenge by embarking on a war against his father.

Reception

Behn's translation was an inspiration for Catharine Trotter's tragedy of the same name, performed at the Theatre Royal in 1695 with great success.^[3]

References

^ Hargrave, Jocelyn (January 2017). "Aphra Behn: Cultural translator and editorial intermediary". Cerae: An Australasian Journal of Medieval and Early Modern Studies. 4: 1–31.
^ O'Donnell, Mary Ann (2017-03-02). Aphra Behn: An Annotated Bibliography of Primary and Secondary Sources. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-351-95779-3.
^ Villegas Lopez, Sonia (2004). Aphra Behn's Sentimental History: The Case Study of Agnes de Castro, or, the Force of Generous Love (1688). p. 240.

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[1] Hargrave, Jocelyn (January 2017). "Aphra Behn: Cultural translator and editorial intermediary". Cerae: An Australasian Journal of Medieval and Early Modern Studies. 4: 1–31.

[2] O'Donnell, Mary Ann (2017-03-02). Aphra Behn: An Annotated Bibliography of Primary and Secondary Sources. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-351-95779-3.

[3] Villegas Lopez, Sonia (2004). Aphra Behn's Sentimental History: The Case Study of Agnes de Castro, or, the Force of Generous Love (1688). p. 240.

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v t e Aphra Behn
Plays	The Forc'd Marriage (1670) The Dutch Lover (1673) Abdelazer (1676) The Town-Fopp or, Sir Timothy Tawdrey (1676) The Rover (1677–1681) Sir Patient Fancy (1678) The Feign'd Curtizans (1679) The Young King (1679) The False Count (1681) The City-Heiress (1682) Like Father, Like Son (1682) The Luckey Chance (1686) The Emperor of the Moon (1687) The Widdow Ranter, or, the History of Bacon in Virginia (1689) The Younger Brother, or, The Amorous Jilt (1696)
Poems	"The Disappointment" (1680)
Prose	Love-Letters Between a Nobleman and His Sister (1684–1687) The Fair Jilt (1688) Oroonoko (1688) The History of the Nun (1689)
Translations	Agnes de Castro; or, The Force of Generous Love (1688)