I was a bit wary of the 120-page introduction to this edition, but in light of the complex issues surrounding this play, the scholar Alfredo Rodrígues López-Vázquez is probably justified in providing the reader such a long-winded study. Whereas Racine, in a play like Bérénice, was able to construct a compelling play that could take place in a single setting on a single day, the author of this play took all the liberties he wanted, and I was entertained just the same. This is all fine with me: while I enjoyed seeing how one might construct a play while respecting the theatrical unities of space, action and time, It certainly doesn't seem entirely necessary. The play spans months in time, with Don Juan traveling from Naples to the shores of Spain within a single act. They jump from Italy to Spain, at a moment's notice, and actions that take place in one place are immediately followed by other that take place hundreds of miles away. Whereas they strove to maintain the unity of space, action and time, this play tears all three of these continuities asunder. I also enjoyed comparing this play with some of the French plays by Racine and Corneille that I've read recently. I've known some young people who did bad things and thought they could get away with them due to their parents' social status, and it was interesting to think that they are the contemporary incarnations of the legendary Don Juan. Don Juan was indeed recognizable to me, just not quite as the guy I thought he was going to be. Although it was not particularly graphic, at lease not as much as I remember La Celestina being, I was still surprised by the play's treatment of the upper classes and its depiction of an out-of-control child of privilege. In fact, he took a great deal of pleasure in leaving women without their honor, which in those times was a pretty awful and shameful thing.
My idea of Don Juan was more that of a good-natured lover of the ladies, and this guy was certainly not good-natured. It was surprising to see a nobleman depicted in such a negative light, because his priveleged upbringing got him off the hook for most of the play even the king was content to turn a blind eye to a certain extent and seek a solution that would make the Don Juan problem disappear, rather than punishing him for his lies and deceit. I really enjoyed this play, and was surprised by the title character's complete lack of remorse for his acts.
They have a final showdown there, because Don Juan, sure to the end that his smarts and trickery will allow him to escape from any situation, gladly accepts the statue's ominous invitation to dine at the church. Eventually, he makes a joke about how only a dead man would be able to do him in, and soon afterward, an animate statue of the man he recently killed during his escape from the home of Ana de Ulloa knocks at his door, accepting Don Juan's invitation to join him at his table then inviting the trickster to the church in order to return the favor. He jumps from place to place, from Italy to the shores of Spain to Sevilla and on, leaving a wake of dishonored women behind, never doubting that he'll be able to get away with it all in the end because his father works for the king.
He laughs off the warnings of his servant, Catalinón, as well as his father, both of whom warn him that he'll pay for his sins, if not in this life, then in the next one. He runs through four women, deceiving them, pretending to be their fiancé, promising to marry them, and doing whatever is necessary to obtain their physical favors. He admits, straight up, that what he enjoys most in life is tricking a woman out of her honor, and that's basically what he does for the entire play. I'd read José Zorilla's 19th century interpretation of the story, so I had an idea of what was going to happen, but I was still surprised by the dastardly ways of the 17th century Don Juan. Don Juan is a pretty famous guy, and I had been meaning to read this play for quite some time so that I could see him in his original manifestation.
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