Kikteva K.D. —
Don Juan and His Servant: Twins and Antipodes
// Litera. – 2018. – ¹ 2.
– P. 201 - 207.
DOI: 10.25136/2409-8698.2018.2.25839
URL: https://en.e-notabene.ru/fil/article_25839.html
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Abstract: Three well-known interpretations of the plot about Don Juan in European literature of the XVII-XVIII centuries serve as material for the research: the play by Tirso de Molina “The Trickster of Seville”, a comedy by J. Moliere “Don Juan, or the Stone Guest”, opera V. A Mozart's "Don Juan" on the libretto of L. da Ponte. The creator of the image of the seducer, Tirso de Molina, introduced into the text, in addition to the main character, several important characters (Catalinon, Commander), who later migrated to different interpretations of the plot, in particular in the texts of Ponte and Moliere. The main subject of research in the article is the figure of the servant of the seducer, her role in the most iconic European interpretations of the myth and the main functions that it performs. The basis of the methodology is a comparative analysis of texts that exist within a single tradition. The historical-culturological method is also used to explain the changes that are being experienced in the same way within the framework of different literary trends and countries. The key conclusion of the article is the idea that the image of the servant (along with the images of some other characters) is an integral part of the plot about Don Juan (Spanish - Juan) Tenorio only at relatively early stages of its existence. Starting from the Romantic era, with greater freedom in dealing with national myths, the figure of Don Juan’s companion often disappears from the narrative, and its functions (responsibility for the comic, resonance and the affirmation of traditional morality) become irrelevant or carried out in another way.