Dear Reader,
Hopefully most of you will have heard the musical Beauty and the Beast. The Broadway version has a song entitled "Me." It is a song all about the slightly misogynistic view Gaston has about women. Long story short, it is a song that can somewhat relate to the main character of another theatrical work: Don Juan Tenorio. At the beginning, Don Juan has a mentality similar to the sentiment that the song expresses. Allow me to expound upon Don Juan Tenorio by telling you about our weekend here in Spain.
Bright and early was the hour when we got on a train from Alcalá to visit Siguenza, a small city about an hour away. Halloween was possibly the best day we could have spent a day in the town, because noone was in the streets. We passed by the Cathedral, the Castle and the house of Doncel, a young knight who, according to our tour guide, "Was no one important."
Hopefully most of you will have heard the musical Beauty and the Beast. The Broadway version has a song entitled "Me." It is a song all about the slightly misogynistic view Gaston has about women. Long story short, it is a song that can somewhat relate to the main character of another theatrical work: Don Juan Tenorio. At the beginning, Don Juan has a mentality similar to the sentiment that the song expresses. Allow me to expound upon Don Juan Tenorio by telling you about our weekend here in Spain.
 |
| The Train Station in Siguenza. |
 |
| Part of our BYU Group, with our professor (Photo Credit: James Skidmore) |
Upon arriving back, we met up directly with our literature professor, who invited us to the 30th anniversary performance of Don Juan Tenorio in Alcalá de Henares. The show is a little unique here. Instead of going to a theater and paying for a ticket, the show is done in several outdoor locations, meaning the audience has to move with the actors to the new scenes. We started the show in the Plaza de Cervantes, the main square of the city. The play would then move to the north side of the church about three blocks away and eventually end up in a field next to a forest. It is a unique experience to be active and follow the show wherever it goes.
The story, however, was even better. Don Juan, as described above, is a misogynist and player who delights in boasting about his conquests. The show starts out with him and a friend, Don Luis, comparing their stats in a tavern over some drinks. Don Juan and Don Luis are both proud of their ability woo, sleep with and abandon the women in all parts of the world. They enjoy it so much, that they make a bet. Don Luis proposes that Don Juan woo a Nun in the nearby convent, Doña Inez. As a counter proposal, Don Juan raises the stakes by accepting the challenge to woo Inez and Ana, Don Luis' fiance. The thing is, they are getting married the next day. Don Luis accepts the proposal and gives him 20 days to woo them both. Don Juan, is his egoism, says he will complete the challenge in 6 days.
That night, Don Juan goes and successfully conquers Ana, after having knocked Don Luis unconscious in order to do so. He then moves on to the convent, where Doña Inez had previously received a letter from Don Juan. In this love letter, he showers her with flattery and compliments, successfully making her fall head over heels. When he shows up at the convent, Inez is more than willing to run away with him. In fact, she is so infatuated that she faints upon seeing him. He then whisks her away to his home on the riverside. When she wakes, she and Don Juan talk about how much love there is between them and Don Juan there realizes that he feels something for Inez. This love he finds deters him from making love to her and he decides he is going straight. He decides he wants to marry her.
This does not last long when her father shows up, along with Don Luis. In a series of arguments and brash words, Don Juan ends up killing them both and then runs away for several years, leaving Doña Inez behind.
Juan returns to his home several years later to find that his home is now a mausoleum of all the people he had ever wronged. His initial enthusiasm to turn his life around is all but gone and he talks with all the statues of the people he had wronged, including Inez who had died during his absence. He gets into a fight with a couple of old friends who used to help him on his escapades when they decide to have dinner together. Don Juan gets shot and in his short interim between life and death, he is approached by Inez's father, Don Gonzalo who fakes being his friend and invites Don Juan to join him in eternal rest. Don Juan quickly realizes that Gonzalo wants to drag him to hell and starts shouting about how he wants to repent and go to heaven. His repentance is apparent when he repeats with solemnity the same words he used to boast about his conquests earlier in the show:
"Por dondequiera que fui Wherever I strayed
la razón atropellé, I trampled on right,
la virtud escarnecí, virtue, the jade,
a la justicia burlé, I scorned, tricked the might
y a las mujeres vendí. of the law, and women betrayed.
Yo a las cabañas bajé, I went down the alleys.
yo a los palacios subí, and up to the palaces,
yo los claustros escalé, boarded cloisters, like galleys,
y en todas partes dejé and wherever I sallied,
memoria amarga de mí. left bitter memories"
The show ends with the appearance of Doña Inez, who gives her soul for his and God is merciful and allows them both to go up to heaven.
What I love most about the show was the realization Don Juan had. The viewer can see the transformation of mentality through the play. He obviously starts out as a womanizing, sleazy man who doesn't care for much more than himself. The turning point was when he saw how Doña Inez felt about him. After their conversation, he realizes he needs to change some things. Changing turns out to be hard considering everything he has to take responsibility for. He runs away after committing even more crimes. He feels bad for it and then comes back to see what he can do. The most important part of his encounter with Don Gonzalo is the emphasis they put on time. It is easy to see that if Don Juan had more time, he would have turned his life around and become more honorable. However, his time ran out.
Despite this, we know that we can repent now. As it says in Alma 34:32, "For Behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold, the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors." In other words, you should start changing your life the moment you see that it is necessary. In the case of both Don Juan and Gaston, those changes need to start with their view on women and how much worth they have.
The story, however, was even better. Don Juan, as described above, is a misogynist and player who delights in boasting about his conquests. The show starts out with him and a friend, Don Luis, comparing their stats in a tavern over some drinks. Don Juan and Don Luis are both proud of their ability woo, sleep with and abandon the women in all parts of the world. They enjoy it so much, that they make a bet. Don Luis proposes that Don Juan woo a Nun in the nearby convent, Doña Inez. As a counter proposal, Don Juan raises the stakes by accepting the challenge to woo Inez and Ana, Don Luis' fiance. The thing is, they are getting married the next day. Don Luis accepts the proposal and gives him 20 days to woo them both. Don Juan, is his egoism, says he will complete the challenge in 6 days.
That night, Don Juan goes and successfully conquers Ana, after having knocked Don Luis unconscious in order to do so. He then moves on to the convent, where Doña Inez had previously received a letter from Don Juan. In this love letter, he showers her with flattery and compliments, successfully making her fall head over heels. When he shows up at the convent, Inez is more than willing to run away with him. In fact, she is so infatuated that she faints upon seeing him. He then whisks her away to his home on the riverside. When she wakes, she and Don Juan talk about how much love there is between them and Don Juan there realizes that he feels something for Inez. This love he finds deters him from making love to her and he decides he is going straight. He decides he wants to marry her.
 |
| The Forest where Don Juan's house is. |
Juan returns to his home several years later to find that his home is now a mausoleum of all the people he had ever wronged. His initial enthusiasm to turn his life around is all but gone and he talks with all the statues of the people he had wronged, including Inez who had died during his absence. He gets into a fight with a couple of old friends who used to help him on his escapades when they decide to have dinner together. Don Juan gets shot and in his short interim between life and death, he is approached by Inez's father, Don Gonzalo who fakes being his friend and invites Don Juan to join him in eternal rest. Don Juan quickly realizes that Gonzalo wants to drag him to hell and starts shouting about how he wants to repent and go to heaven. His repentance is apparent when he repeats with solemnity the same words he used to boast about his conquests earlier in the show:
"Por dondequiera que fui Wherever I strayed
la razón atropellé, I trampled on right,
la virtud escarnecí, virtue, the jade,
a la justicia burlé, I scorned, tricked the might
y a las mujeres vendí. of the law, and women betrayed.
Yo a las cabañas bajé, I went down the alleys.
yo a los palacios subí, and up to the palaces,
yo los claustros escalé, boarded cloisters, like galleys,
y en todas partes dejé and wherever I sallied,
memoria amarga de mí. left bitter memories"
The show ends with the appearance of Doña Inez, who gives her soul for his and God is merciful and allows them both to go up to heaven.
What I love most about the show was the realization Don Juan had. The viewer can see the transformation of mentality through the play. He obviously starts out as a womanizing, sleazy man who doesn't care for much more than himself. The turning point was when he saw how Doña Inez felt about him. After their conversation, he realizes he needs to change some things. Changing turns out to be hard considering everything he has to take responsibility for. He runs away after committing even more crimes. He feels bad for it and then comes back to see what he can do. The most important part of his encounter with Don Gonzalo is the emphasis they put on time. It is easy to see that if Don Juan had more time, he would have turned his life around and become more honorable. However, his time ran out.
 |
| The first stage in the middle of the town square. |
Comments
Post a Comment