The Enduring Myth of Don Juan: From Seducer to Symbol
Origin and Myth of Don Juan
The figure of Don Juan Tirso de Molina created by the Burlador of Seville and recreated by José Zorrilla in the nineteenth century in his ‘Don Juan Tenorio’ has been one of the most productive contributions of Spanish literature in European culture:
- Opera: Don Giovanni by Mozart.
- A symphonic poem by Richard Strauss.
- The Don Juan of Molière or Lord Byron.
They show enough of the influence that this character has had over time in the fields of creation. The Don Juan, the trickster, he must already exist in the popular imagination before cashing body of literature and its survival as a myth is in fact a moralizing mood and chaotic that aims to keep within the established order of life and thought of the people.
Its origins (the myth) and treat the dead have been sought repeatedly in legends, ballads and traditions of different places. Cited by legends and traditions such as Seville Vazquez de Leca, bold and arrogant man who chases a woman until the church and at tear the veil that covered her face, finds a skull, or the degree of Miguel de Mañana , which includes his own funeral.
What is Don Juan is the absolute break all the rules and prescribed rules. Neither the church nor the moral justice of men are worthless, only the game and enjoy life as meaningless. That is possibly one of the oldest dreams of humanity: a life lived in absolute freedom, and that’s the worst nightmare imaginable for the rigid mentality of the Spain of the Counter. The Seville Burlador ends tragically with a Don Juan scorched by hellfire. Zorrilla’s Don Juan dies after repentance redeemed by love. His conduct was wrong and is rightly punished. That outcome, interestingly, has been forgotten in the transposition of myth to reality: today ‘being a Don Juan’ is a compliment, the greatest compliment you can give a ‘macho’. If a man receives this qualification have to understand that, first one of its main jobs is to seduce women, and secondly, it also rendered women literally falling at his feet. A couple of verses known by almost everyone and the basic idea of the man who can seduce any woman, including a nun is all that is left of Don Juan. What reasons have led to a radical simplification of a literary character originally full of nuance and moral traditions? Certainly it is tradition to represent Don Juan Tenorio de Zorrilla Nov. 1, and is surely one of the Spanish literary works than any known, regardless of their cultural level, however, the myth has become trivialized forget transcendent portrait Tirso de Molina made the human condition through this contradictory character, driven by his utter selfishness, hard facing the essence of instinct with religious beliefs, behavioral norms and laws, often absurd, with which the civilized man tried to bring that instinct over the centuries.
El Galan and Lady in the comedy-century Baroque Gold
In these comedies, the plot often develops an amorous conflict between the protagonists, who are almost always a gallant and a lady.
The suitor Galán summarizes the moral understanding, courage and constancy in love. In the case of ‘The Burlador’ Tirso, Don Juan, not known for this integrity but as a palpable character immorality. One of the innovations Tirso to New Comedy.
The Lady, young, single, wife, combines the qualities of inner and outer beauty, the gallant acts of love or husband and in defense of family honor, if necessary showing own initiative. The dramatic role of women, however, appears subordinate to the lover
Topics of The Burlador
Distinguish between real issues and symbolic themes.
Real · Topics:
1, warnings: continuously warns Don Juan from his wrongdoing. A warnings responds to the expression: ‘Let me Fiais lake! “.
2 º deception: it is natural to work because it is inseparable from Don Juan but the deceiver will, in turn, tricked by the statue of the Commendatore. Don Gonzalo, the father of Doña Ana and Don Juan had killed whom.
3 º promises: Don Juan promises to be her husband Isabela, Tisbea and Arminta. In contrast correlation and also insists his word to the statue of the leader who asks her to dinner. Unfortunately for the Tenorio, this is the only one that complies.
· Topics symbolic:
1, the fire crosses that reason all the work:
- The fire of love in the mouths of many fans.
- The fire of passion and dishonor in the lament of Tisbea.
- At the end of the symbolic ‘burn in divine justice’ when the commander returns the dinner invitation and Don Juan comes to the appointment, to shake hands with the statue, is dragged into the fires of hell.
2 nd week: highlights from the trickster, love and death, occur at night: ‘These are my hours, “say the Tenorio.