El burlador de Sevilla - Book Report/Review Example

He is thus unoccupied and enjoying the idleness of the rich. The play starts with Don Juan deceiving the young Duchess Isabela into having sexual intercourse with him by disguising himself as her suitor, el Duque Octavio. When she discovers the deception and calls for help, Don Juan's uncle, Don Pedro, comes to arrest the rapist. He soon realizes the criminal is his own nephew and decides to let him go. Before, however, he reprimands him and reminds him of a previous incident of a similar nature: "no bast emprender con ira y fuerza extraa tan gran traicin en Espaa con otra noble mujer, sino en Npoles tambin".

In spite of the fact that Don Juan is unrepentant, Don Diego goes to see the king and informs him that the man that assaulted Isabella was Octavio. In accordance with the laws of the times, Octavio, now a suspected rapist, is ordered by the king to marry the dishonored Isabela. In the meanwhile, Don Juan escapes to Spain. During the trip his boat is shipwrecked and himself and his servant Catalinn are washed up on the shores of Tarragona (Spain), where a young lady called Tisbea comes to their rescue.

Foreseeing his master's intentions ("por Tibea estoy muriendo, que es buena moza"), Catalinn shows his disapproval but Don Juan ignores him, quickly reminding him it is not the first time and will not be the last ("si burlar es hbito antiguo mo, qu me preguntas sabiendo mi condicin"). Don Juan makes her his second victim after promising to marry her. As he leaves, she is overwhelmed by guilt and leaves with the intention of drowning herself in the ocean. In Seville, the king is in talks with the Comendador Don Gonzalo, a nobleman and ageing knight, discussing the possibility of an arranged marriage between his daughter Ana and Don Juan.

Don Gonzalo is happy with the suggestion and goes to consult his daughter. In the meantime, Don Diego Tenorio, Juan's father, informs the king that the man who raped Isabela was not Octavio, but Juan, and confirms it by presenting a letter from his brother Don Pedro. Don Diego, ashamed of his son's behavior, tells him he has been evicted from Seville as a punishment for the crime he committed in Naples. The marriage plans that the king had contemplated are, of course, abandoned. At the same time, Don Juan meets his old friend the Marqus de la Mota, an admirer of Don Juan's adventures and of his condition of womanizer.

He confesses his love for Ana and admires her beauty, stimulating the curiosity of Don Juan. However, the Marqus is sad as he knows her engaged to someone else (Don Juan!). When he tries to arrange a meeting with her, Don Juan, who had secretly followed the steps of his friend, intercepts the messages between the Marqus and Ana. As he contemplates his next "burla", Don Juan laughs at the love of the Marqus, "Desdichado amante! Hay suceso semejante Ya de la burla me ro", and it is him who attends the date wearing his friend's cape.

At Don Gonzalo's house, Ana is deceived by Don Juan. When she realizes, she calls upon her father who comes to her aid and finds death by Don Juan's sword. Before passing away, Don Gonzalo swears to haunt Don Juan [2]. The murderer leaves the house and returns the cape to the Marqus, who is in turn arrested for a crime he did not commit and sentenced to death. Don Juan and his