The Modern World and Don Juan

The Modern World and Don Juan

Romanticism

Romanticism is one of the oldest factors that has been developed over time from the mid-1700s, a period referred to as pre-romanticism to the twentieth century and continues to define the modern world. Romanticism has been exhibited through a diverse set of plays, music, texts, and plays over time from the pre-romanticism period. Don Juan is one of the most renowned forms of work that has been recognized for ages and translated in various versions of the character that one particular aspect of romanticism.  Additionally, Don Juan marked the beginning of modern or romanticism.

Don Juan is both a legendary and fictional that has been written and converted in various forms as long as time can tell. Ultimately despite the narrative having been written in many different ways, the message of the story has always remained constant. Additionally, according to many critiques of the given text, the name don Juan has been primarily used over time to refer to a womanizer. Nonetheless, from the given description of the name, don Juan exists as a non-clinical psychiatric descriptor. The play Don Juan portrays various factors such as family, sex, gender, youth, education, and romanticism. However, romanticism is the most prevalent aspect throughout the text.

A point to also note is despite the fact Don Juan significantly critiques romantism, and it is entirely romantic due to its leading characters that essentially carry themselves as the heroes of romance. Romanticism refers to the nature or aspect of being romantic. Additionally, romanticism can also be described as the form of writing gin works of literature that encourages and emphasizes on inspiration, primacy, and subjectivity. The aspect of romanticism is displayed in several different ways in the texts Don Juan.

In the analysis and development of the topic, the following sources have provided resourceful information about the topic.  The annotated bibliography has provided an analysis and an evaluation of how the articles fit in this discussion to facilitate an easy understanding of romantism.

Beers, Henry A. A History of English Romanticism in the Eighteenth Century (Routledge Revivals). Routledge, 2015.

According to the given article, the aspect of romanticism in Don Juan is described in as seven act drama setting by Jose Zorilla. Ultimately, zorilla brings out the element of romanticism and sensibility thought the narration of Don Juan, who is mainly full of many uncouth characteristics. Firstly, Don Juan is seen as a drunkard who dwells in the wenches of Sevilla. At a given point, one young lady named Ines falls in love with Juan and eventually dies after Juan leaves her. Consequently, due to Juan’s bad character, he goes ahead and kills Ines’s father, Don Gonzalo. Additionally While speaking with father, the character of Don has irritated his father to the extent where when Don Juan Asks his father to sit and say a word, his father responds and says “No you insolent puppy, I will not sit nor will I speak another word, I see that nothing I say makes impression on you” (Don Juan, 133). The statement suggests the change of character that Don Juan had developed to the extent that he would not heed to his father’s advice.

Ultimately, even though Juan is a selfish and lustful individual due to his encounter with different women, he is seen as more of an enchanter than a chronic seducer due to his irresistible nature to women. Juan significantly appreciated the beauties of life, which were mostly women. Additionally, Juan exalted the use of emotions instead of reason among other personalities such as heightened human personality, existence as an intellect, and lack of adherence to set formal rules of life. Also, in the given text, Juan is described as a romantic hero, summative of which the given aspects portray attitudes of romanticism.

Seguín, Bécquer. “José Zorrilla in Mexico: Transatlantic Romanticism and the Question of Artistic Labour.” Journal of Latin American Cultural Studies 28.1 (2019): 67-81

This article describes Don Juan as a man who is in touch with both nature and sexuality. When discussing sexuality, most of the time, women are the ones who are acted upon by men. However, when it comes to Don Juan, the facts go contrary to the usual argument as Juan is note portrayed as the seducer but the seduced. Moreover, this factor is made possible by the fact he is seen as irresistible and charming. Thus, he does not need to trick to play with the various women that he comes in contact with.  In act iv scene Vii, Don Juan says “Would you believe it but I again found it in my heart to experience a faint twinge of feeling for her?” (Don Juan, 136) such an expression indicates that although the feeling of love was little, it still existed.

Consequently, the women are given a masculine nature and characteristic of being the pursuers exhibiting their sense of authority and independence.

The article also describes Don Juan as an individual who, instead of making rational decisions, is driven by a natural and unquenchable thirst for feelings. Ultimately, Don Juan has a love for nature and travel, as it is one of the most important aspects to him. Moreover, Juan’s voyage at sea served as a chance for escape and liberation from his normal life. Juan primarily utilizes the aspect of travel in conjunction with the eyes of a voyager from a different civilization to build an empire of his own. None the less, traveling for Don Juan serves to primary purposes of creating the hero in him and learning the real modern world.

López-Vázquez, Alfredo Rodríguez. “Don Juan and the discourse of seduction: the two ways of textual transmission.” Rivista di Filologia e Letterature Ispaniche 21 (2019): 61-78.

According to this article, Don Juan exists as a critique of romanticism. However, this aspect is also seen as romantic because Juan goes against convention due to the romantic hero character that he possesses. Moreover, romanticism can be described or defined as going against conventions agreeing to the fact that Juan goes against convention with both epic and romanticism. One may ask a question on the types of the convention that Juan goes against in terms of romanticism. Juan essentially goes against one given convention of gender roles. Moreover, he goes against the convention of gender roles when he is seen as the seduced instead of the seducer.

At some given point, Donna Julia, contrary to Juan, expresses brevity when she struggles with her conscience and faces her husband when things go rogue when she is discovered to have been sleeping with Juan. Julia stands up to her husband by saying that “for in silence I have suffered long with a husband like you and have been disdained to hold the common privileges of my sex.” (López-Vázquez, 63) Contrary to Julia, Juan flees, when he is caught in bed, exhibiting a more feminine role of fear. Nonetheless, even though Don Juan has a satirical characteristic, he significantly embodies some given aspect or a romantic hero.

Zorrilla, José. Don Juan Tenorio. Anaya Infantil y Juvenil, 2019.

According to this article, the original features and characteristics of romanticism include primitivism, sympathetic for the past, love of nature, and sensibility. Additionally, the other fundamental aspects of romanticism also include sympathetic interest in the past, mostly the medieval ages, mysticism, individualism, and the wild enthusiasm that is irregular both in natures and art. Also, other characteristics involve a free form of imagination, passion for both the uncivilized and natural aspects, human rights, and romantic interests.

In the text, Don Juan creates and establishes a character that portrays and essentially brings up the central aspect of romanticism. Consequently, in the given narrative, Don Juan is brought out as a defiant, dejected young individual who is significantly despondent about mysterious and unforgivable scenarios in the past. Ultimately, Don Juan, in the story, is seen to be isolated from the community and has to exist in the community as a wanderer who has been sent to exile. Additionally, Don Juan, in the story if often found to be troubled, moody, or happy and passionate about a given issue.

Conversely, the play gives Don Juan good qualities such as intelligence and emotional capabilities that are beyond the average individual. Additionally, the playwright presents Don Juan as an idealistic individual who has excellent talent, great passion but at the same time, existing as an imperfect and flawed individual. Although, Don Juan has a dislike for society, social institutions, and respect for both privileges and ranking. Don Juan possesses each factor despite his arrogance and lack of foresight that leads him to live in a self-destructive life.

In the given setting, Don Juan presents a romantic conquest due to his rejection of domesticity and archetype form of family. Additionally, even though he is an outcast, Don Juan is essentially more passionate and over sexual in a given way. Travelling also seems to be an essential aspect for Don Juan in which the fascinating point o

Work Cited

Beers, Henry A. A History of English Romanticism in the Eighteenth Century (Routledge Revivals). Routledge, 2015.

López-Vázquez, Alfredo Rodríguez. “Don Juan and the discourse of seduction: the two ways of textual transmission.” Rivista di Filologia e Letterature Ispaniche 21 (2019): 61-78.

Seguín, Bécquer. “José Zorrilla in Mexico: Transatlantic Romanticism and the Question of Artistic Labour.” Journal of Latin American Cultural Studies 28.1 (2019): 67-81.

Zorrilla, José. Don Juan Tenorio. Anaya Infantil y Juvenil, 2019.