2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25
"Little Tragedies" - a cycle of dramatic works, which A. S. Pushkin wrote in the autumn of 1830, “locked up” in the village of Boldino, Nizhny Novgorod province, when this part of Russia was engulfed by a cholera epidemic. One of the tragedies included in the cycle is "The Stone Guest" - a small but very capacious work written on the popular story of Don Juan. The legendary seducer of women's hearts, duelist and "hooligan" has been a very popular character in literary works since the Renaissance. Pushkin used the famous story about the seduction of Donna Anna, the widow of the Commander killed in a duel by Don Juan, who came from the underworld to take revenge on his killer.
A. S. Pushkin. "Stone Guest" Summary
There are four scenes in the tragedy. The first is the secret arrival of Don Juan with the servant Leporello from exile in Madrid. Waiting for darkness near the monastery walls, he learns that Donna Anna comes here to the grave of her husband, who was killed by him in a duel. Juan wants to meet her, he is filled with excitement, he dreams of new victories over women, and the inconsolable widow is a suitablefor this purpose. Darkness descends on Madrid, and the voluptuary hurries to his former beloved Laura.
Summary of "The Stone Guest". Scene Two
Laura receives guests in her room. One of them is the brother of Commander Don Carlos, who was killed by Don Juan. He is annoyed and annoyed, because Laura performs a song once composed by her windy lover Juan. Suddenly, he himself appears. There is a skirmish with Carlos, a quarrel, a duel, and he falls dead.
"The Stone Guest": a summary. Scene three
After spending the night with Laura, Don Juan returns to the monastery the next day and, disguised as a monk, awaits the arrival of Donna Anna. A young widow appears. She offers to pray with her, but the Spaniard admits that he is not a monk, but a caballero in love with her. He tempts the woman with passionate speeches and asks for a secret meeting at her house. She agrees. Anticipating another victory and triumphant, Don Juan sends his servant to the commander's grave to invite him to a joint dinner at the widow's. To the servant following the command, it seems that the statue nodded in response. Frightened, he reports this to the owner. Don Juan, not believing, decides to repeat his invitation himself and notices with horror the nod of the statue.
Summary. "The Stone Guest": scene four, final
In the evening, in her house, Donna Anna hosts, unaware of her husband's killer. Don Juan, calling himself by nameDiego, confesses his passionate love to her, trying to seduce a young widow. Seeing her favor, he decides to confess who he really is. Donna Anna, seeing and realizing who is in front of her, is in disarray. Footsteps are heard, the door swings open, a statue of the commander enters. Everyone is horrified. Don Juan, however, boldly greets him, holding out his hand. Together they fall into hell.
This is just a summary. "The Stone Guest" is a work included in the cycle, united by the name "Little Tragedies", small, but very capacious and significant. In the plays of other authors about Don Juan, this character is depicted sharply negatively. He is a terrible sinner, a corrupter and destroyer of women, who turned love into a gambling game. A. S. Pushkin's Don Juan, despite his negative characteristics, is very attractive. For what? This image is solid and strong. The boredom of life around him makes him constantly seek adventure and defy fate. “There is ecstasy in battle and a gloomy abyss on the edge,” Pushkin wrote in another of his works. This ecstasy on the edge of a gloomy abyss attracts Don Juan. Being constantly on the edge of the abyss, he runs the risk of falling, disappearing. Is he scared? Perhaps, but passion always wins fear. To convey only the superficial plot of the work, it is enough to give a brief summary. "The Stone Guest" is a complex philosophical drama, the meaning of which can be comprehended by reading it in its entirety and thinking about each phrase.
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