Jean-Baptiste Molière, "Don Giovanni": summary, heroes of the work

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

The famous comedy written by the great French playwright Jean-Baptiste Molière, Don Juan (read the summary below), was first presented to the Parisian public on February 15, 1665 at the Palais Royal Theatre. But what is surprising is that after fifteen performances Molière removed it from the repertoire, and during the life of the master it was not staged or published again.

Moliere "Don Giovanni": analysis of the work

In this play, the writer presented the scandalous image of a European nobleman who lives only for the sake of his love affairs and victories. His name is Don Juan. The heroes of Molière's work, in general, all together included the characteristic vices of the society of that time, but, of course, they are not devoid of external charm and individual merits.

So, the protagonist of the play is a passionate and straightforward, sometimes virtuous and honest person. The image of Don Juan in Moliere is not entirely unambiguous, he does not believe in God and has great contempt for public morality and morality, always ready to marry any beautiful lady who won his heart.

Don Juan coSganarelle is always extremely honest with his servant, although he never listens to his opinion, but is often interested in him. Noble honor and fearlessness help him, without any doubt, to stand up for the defense of his enemy - Don Carlos, who fought with his opponent one against three. With people of low social status, he does not stand on ceremony and can give a slap in the face at any moment. Be that as it may, for all his amorous and passionate nature, Don Juan is rapidly and steadily on the road to Hell, Molière is sure.

Don Juan (an analysis of the work confirms this) is more afraid of physical death than spiritual. He understands that the whole society has long been mired in sins. And hypocrisy alone helps people get along with their passions and not be afraid of public hostility and condemnation.

Moliere "Don Juan": a summary of the chapters

The first part tells that Don Juan is already bored with his wife dona Elvira, now he is again in search of another beauty who can captivate his heart. He was not at all tormented by conscience due to the fact that he had once arrived in the city in which he wanted to kidnap her, while killing her jealous fiancé commander. The court justified this duel, and therefore Don Juan did not suffer the proper punishment. However, the law of God was certainly violated. This fact embarrassed his servant Sganarelle, who understood that the deceased in this city was full of relatives and friends who would definitely want to get even with the murderer.

Servant

And then Molière's comedy "Don Juan" tells thatSganarelle, in the depths of his soul, considered his master a vile atheist, who had a highly developed bestial instinct. The way he treated women was worthy of the highest and cruelest punishment.

He kidnapped Donya Elvira from the walls of the monastery, but she, breaking her vows, completely trusted him and, as a result, was deceived and abandoned. She became his wife, but this did not stop him in his adventures "to the left", he married almost every month, by this he literally mocked the sacred rite.

Tirades

His servant still sometimes found the courage to reproach the master for inappropriate behavior and warned that it was not worth joking with Heaven. But Don Juan always had in stock on this subject folding tirades about the diversity of beauty, the impossibility of forever attaching oneself to one of its manifestations, the sweet desire to achieve the goal, and how dreary and boring it is to have what has been achieved.

These judgments from a human point of view are literally all to the point, this is what makes Molière unique. Don Juan (summary) continues with the fact that when the master had no words to answer his restless servant, he simply threatened to kill him.

Elvira

Dona Elvira could not understand and accept such behavior of her unfaithful husband and therefore decided to figure it out herself and demand an explanation from him. She went after him. However, he did not begin to explain anything to her, only advised her to return to his monastery as soon as possible. Doña Elvira endured these wordshumbly, did not curse and reproach her husband, only in parting predicted his inevitable punishment and anger from above.

Another victim

This theme will be further developed by Molière. Don Juan this time chased after another beauty, whom he planned to kidnap during a boat trip, but an unexpected storm overturned their boat with Sganarelle. They were very lucky, they were pulled ashore by the peasants, who were not far from the shore.

But Don Juan reacted to this endured danger as easily as he treated everything that happened to him. Not having time to go ashore and dry off, he immediately became interested in one young and playful peasant woman, and then another fell into his eyes, a friend of Pierrot, who saved him from the water, and he began to court her with compliments, even seriously assured that definitely marry her. And when both girls were in front of him at the same time, he verbally twisted so that they were pleased.

The respectable Sganarelle rushed to tell the stupid simpletons the whole truth about his dishonorable master, but the truth didn't seem to interest them at all.

Hunting

Further, the plot of his dramatic comedy Jean-Baptiste Molière wraps up even more intriguingly. Don Juan (the summary continues with this particular event), while being escorted with these girls, suddenly sees a robber he knows, who warns him that twelve horsemen are looking for him throughout the district.

Don Juan goes to the trick and offers to change dresses with a servantSganarelle, which causes him extraordinary joy. They changed clothes, but a little differently from what was originally intended. The owner dressed like a peasant, and the servant was dressed as a doctor, and therefore he immediately began to rant about the merits of this vocation, about the drugs prescribed by doctors, but then he smoothly moved on to matters of faith. But his master again shrugged off his attacks with the words that you only need to believe in twice two - four and twice four - eight.

By the way, you can type a whole quote from his words, they sound like a counterweight, but not an argument, Molière specifically puts an emphasis on this. Don Juan, however, never thought of anything that could so excite or touch his soul.

Faith

When they were walking through the forest, a beggar tramp approached them and asked for a copper penny, for which he promised to pray to God for his benefactor all his life. Don Giovanni acted in his usual role here too, offering the beggar a golden louis d'or if he blasphemed. But we must pay tribute to the beggar, he flatly refused to do it. Despite this, our hero gave him the coin, and he himself rushed to help the stranger, who at the same time was attacked by three people armed with swords and daggers. Together they were able to fight off the attackers.

Subsequently, from their introductory conversation, Don Juan realized that it was the brother of doña Elvira. It so happened that he lagged behind Don Alonso - his brother, with whom all this time they were looking for the malicious offender of their sister, in order to avenge her suffering. Don Carlos did not know this offender by sight, but Don Alonso, who hastened to help his brother, knew Don Juan very well. And when he rode up to them, he immediately wanted to punish him, but Don Carlos asked for a delay as a token of gratitude in order to cross blades with him some other time and in another place.

Statue

In general, the master and the servant continued on their way, when suddenly they noticed a magnificent marble structure and, coming closer, saw in it the tomb of the commander killed by Don Juan. And above it stood a huge statue of magnificent workmanship. Don Juan was in high spirits and with a grin asked the servant to ask the commander if he would like to dine with him today at his place. Sganarelle timidly asked this mocking question to the monument and suddenly saw that the statue suddenly nodded its head at him. Then Don Juan decided to repeat the invitation, and the statue nodded to him.

Dinner

In the evening of the same day, the master was in his apartment, and his servant, under a strong impression, tried to explain to him that today's event did not predict anything good, but most likely looked like a warning, and that it was time for him to change his mind. But Don Juan demanded that he shut up immediately.

Molière develops a terrible intrigue on an even larger scale in his drama. Don Juan, be that as it may, never really thought about anything serious. The evening turned out to be very turbulent, and he could not manage to have a calm dinner. At first, various visitors came to him, then a supplier to whom he was heavily indebted, but, resorting to flattery, he calmly saw him off. Then came his father don Luis. He was extremely upset by the frivolous behavior of the dissolute son and spoke of the memory of his ancestors, which he had tarnished with his unworthy deeds. Don Juan was completely bored by his words, and his father continued that it was better for fathers to die early so that their stupid sons would not annoy them.

Lady

As soon as the angry father left Don Juan's house, the servants then reported that a certain lady with a veil wanted to see him.

And here Molière brings his work to a tragic end. Don Juan saw that Doña Elvira had come to say goodbye to him. Moved by love, she came to him for the last time to beg him to reconsider her life, since it was revealed to her that her husband's sins were already so great that heavenly mercy was no longer enough for them. And that he, perhaps, had no more than one day left to live, and it would be better to spend this day on repentance in order to turn away from cruel punishment. Sganarelle burst into tears at these words. The woman left. Don Juan, as usual, did not take her words seriously, however, as soon as he began to have dinner, suddenly an invited guest appeared to him - a statue of the commander. The owner was not timid, they had a quiet supper, and, leaving, the statue now invited him to her place with a return visit. And he accepted this invitation.

Remorse

The plot continues in the same vein by Molière. Don Juan met his father the next day. Don Luis heard rumors that his son had repented and decided to start a new life. Don Juan confirmed hisintentions to end the past. Sganarelle was as happy as anyone, but then the owner explained to him that all his words were just cunning and hypocrisy - a fashionable human vice that can easily be mistaken for virtue and which is a sin not to succumb.

How useful this hypocrisy was, the servant was quickly convinced when they met with Don Carlos, who demanded in public to recognize dona Elvira as his wife. But he, referring to the will revealed to him from heaven, for the sake of saving their souls, convinces him that they should not renew their marital relations. Don Carlos let him go, but reserved the right to challenge him to a duel at any time in order to make the matter clear.

Omens

But it didn't take long for Don Juan to blaspheme, referring to a voice from above. The sky gave him a sign in the form of the ghost of a woman with a veil, who spoke menacingly that he had very little left to appeal to God's mercy. The ghost, meanwhile, turned into an image of Time with a scythe in his hand, which immediately disappeared.

Then, a statue of the commander appeared before Don Juan, she extended her hand to him, and he also extended his without fear and instantly felt an invisible fire burning him and heard the fateful words of the statue about the terrible death of the one who rejected heavenly mercy.

And suddenly the earth dissolved and swallowed him up in its hellish flame. The death of Don Juan was beneficial to many, only Sganarelle was most worried that no one would pay him now.

Hereso cruelly ruined his hero Molière. Don Juan, whose quotes in the work are witty, but not wise, was too narcissistic and arrogant, for which he paid in full.