Redemption
Since the middle of the nineteenth century an October tradition has been established on the stages of Spain. That very Spanish play, Don Juan Tenorio, is produced all over the country on the last days of the month, just before All Saints' Day. It is a story with a dark ending perfect for Halloween.
Many know what a donjuan is, but few have ever read the play by José Zorilla or the older version from Spain's Golden Age, El Burlador de Sevilla, by Tirso de Molina. I had to read the drama by Tirso de Molina in high school Spanish class. I still remember parts of it, especially the ending. Unfortunately, in Spain it's not taught in schools. (None of the Golden Age writers are touched; the total opposite of Shakespeare in the U.S.) At any rate, Don Juan is a gentleman who makes a bet with another gentleman to see who kills the most people in battle, and who seduces the most women. At the end of the year, they get together and Don Juan is the winner. Don Juan goes on to up the score and decides to seduce a nun. Entering the convent one night, he finds a novice of noble family, Doña Inés. He seduces her and they fall in love. At the end, she pines away and dies from the love she feels for Don Juan, but which can never be corresponded because she is a novice. Her father, Don Gonzalo, confronts Don Juan. In the fight, Don Gonzalo is killed. At the end, Don Juan invites the dead Don Gonzalo to dinner one night. The dead man shows up, and says Don Juan's time is up and God has sent him to bring back Don Juan. He wants Don Juan to despair of being forgiven for his sins and therefore be sent to hell. But the ghost of Doña Inés also shows up and saves Don Juan from despair. He asks for forgiveness at the very end, and Don Gonzalo's intent of vengeance fails.
It's a moralizing play and quite appropriate for this time of year. Many versions have appeared over the years and in various countries. Mozart's opera, Don Giovanni, is based on the legend of Don Juan. Molière also wrote about it. It's a product of nineteenth century Romanticism as applied to Spain, and about as much of a ghost story you will get from Spanish writers of the nineteenth century. Ghost stories were never popular because of the Church's teachings about ghosts. They simply didn't exist. Any soul that needed something done to get it to rest would have been in Purgatory and not wandering the earth looking for someone to do it a good turn. And what we could do for them would be to pray for them and do penance in their stead.
Of late, we don't hear too much about the play. They showed a made-for-tv adaptation a few years ago, and there are regular, yearly showings, such as the one in Alcalá de Henares, where they put on the play in an open air setting where thousands of people come to watch. Otherwise, generally amateur companies put on the play in small cities and towns around the country. Another tradition for All Saints' Day.
Many know what a donjuan is, but few have ever read the play by José Zorilla or the older version from Spain's Golden Age, El Burlador de Sevilla, by Tirso de Molina. I had to read the drama by Tirso de Molina in high school Spanish class. I still remember parts of it, especially the ending. Unfortunately, in Spain it's not taught in schools. (None of the Golden Age writers are touched; the total opposite of Shakespeare in the U.S.) At any rate, Don Juan is a gentleman who makes a bet with another gentleman to see who kills the most people in battle, and who seduces the most women. At the end of the year, they get together and Don Juan is the winner. Don Juan goes on to up the score and decides to seduce a nun. Entering the convent one night, he finds a novice of noble family, Doña Inés. He seduces her and they fall in love. At the end, she pines away and dies from the love she feels for Don Juan, but which can never be corresponded because she is a novice. Her father, Don Gonzalo, confronts Don Juan. In the fight, Don Gonzalo is killed. At the end, Don Juan invites the dead Don Gonzalo to dinner one night. The dead man shows up, and says Don Juan's time is up and God has sent him to bring back Don Juan. He wants Don Juan to despair of being forgiven for his sins and therefore be sent to hell. But the ghost of Doña Inés also shows up and saves Don Juan from despair. He asks for forgiveness at the very end, and Don Gonzalo's intent of vengeance fails.
It's a moralizing play and quite appropriate for this time of year. Many versions have appeared over the years and in various countries. Mozart's opera, Don Giovanni, is based on the legend of Don Juan. Molière also wrote about it. It's a product of nineteenth century Romanticism as applied to Spain, and about as much of a ghost story you will get from Spanish writers of the nineteenth century. Ghost stories were never popular because of the Church's teachings about ghosts. They simply didn't exist. Any soul that needed something done to get it to rest would have been in Purgatory and not wandering the earth looking for someone to do it a good turn. And what we could do for them would be to pray for them and do penance in their stead.
Of late, we don't hear too much about the play. They showed a made-for-tv adaptation a few years ago, and there are regular, yearly showings, such as the one in Alcalá de Henares, where they put on the play in an open air setting where thousands of people come to watch. Otherwise, generally amateur companies put on the play in small cities and towns around the country. Another tradition for All Saints' Day.
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