Don Juan Tenorio
| Author | José Zorilla |
|---|---|
| Country | Spain |
| Language | Spanish |
| Genre | Romantic Play |
| Publisher | (copyright expired) |
|
Publication date
|
1844 |
| Media type |
Don Juan Tenorio: Drama religioso-fantástico en dos partes (Don Juan Tenorio: Religious-Fantasy Drama in Two Parts), is a play written in 1844 by José Zorrilla. It is the more romantic of the two principal Spanish-language literary interpretations of the legend of Don Juan. The other is the 1630 El burlador de Sevilla y convidado de piedra (The Trickster of Seville and the Guest of Stone), which is attributed to Tirso de Molina. Don Juan Tenorio owes a great deal to this earlier version, as recognized by Zorrilla himself in 1880 in his Recuerdos del tiempo viejo (Memories of the Old Times), although the author curiously confuses de Molina with another writer of the same era, Agustín Moreto.
In the first part of the drama, the protagonist is still the demonic rake described by de Molina (he is called a demon and even Satan himself on more than one occasion). The story begins with Don Juan meeting Don Luis in a crowded wine shop in Seville so that the two can find out which of them has won the bet that they made one year ago: each expected himself to be able to conquer more women and kill more men than the other. Naturally, Don Juan wins on both counts. People in the crowd ask him if he isn't afraid that someday there will be consequences for his actions, but Don Juan replies that he only thinks about the present.
It is then revealed that both caballeros have gotten engaged since they last met, don Luis to doña Ana de Pantoja and don Juan to doña Inés de Ulloa. Don Luis, his pride hurt, admits that Don Juan has slept with every woman on the social ladder from princess to pauper, but is lacking one conquest: a novice about to take her holy vows. Don Juan agrees to the new bet and doubles it by saying that he will seduce a novice and an engaged woman, boasting that he only needs six days to complete the task with don Luis's fiancee as one of the intended conquests.
At this point, don Gonzalo, don Juan's future father-in-law, who has been sitting in a corner during this entire exchange, declares that don Juan will never come near his daughter and the wedding is off. Don Juan laughs and tells the man that he will either give doña Inés to him, or he will take her. He now has the second part of the bet concreted with doña Inés set to take her vows.
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