The Trickster of Seville by Tirso de Molina
"The Trickster of Seville" by Tirso de Molina, written around 1630, is a seminal Spanish play that introduces the infamous character Don Juan Tenorio, a notorious seducer and deceiver. The narrative unfolds through a series of manipulative encounters where Don Juan disguises himself to seduce women, including Isabela, Tisbea, and Aminta, while disregarding social norms and marriage vows. His escapades are marked by a blend of charm and treachery, ultimately leading to a series of tragic consequences.
The play highlights themes of honor, justice, and divine retribution, culminating in Don Juan's confrontation with a supernatural figure—the statue of Commander Don Gonzalo, whom he had wronged. This encounter serves as a pivotal moment that leads to Don Juan’s ultimate downfall, illustrating the moral lessons woven throughout the narrative. The resolution sees the rightful marriages of those affected by Don Juan’s deceit, reinforcing societal values and the consequences of immorality.
Tirso de Molina's work is significant not only for its exploration of human desire and deception but also for its lasting influence on literature and the broader cultural legacy of the Don Juan archetype.
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The Trickster of Seville by Tirso de Molina
First produced:El burlador de Sevilla, c. 1630; first published, c. 1630 (English translation, 1923)
Type of work: Drama
Type of plot: Social morality
Time of plot: Seventeenth century
Locale: Naples, Italy; Seville, Spain
Principal characters
Don Juan Tenorio , a young manDon Diego Tenorio , his fatherCatalinón , Don Juan’s servantIsabela , Duke Octavio’s loverDon Pedro Tenorio , Don Juan’s uncleMarqués de la Mota , Doña Ana’s loverDon Gonzalo de Ulloa , Doña Ana’s fatherTisbea , a fisherwomanAminta , Batricio’s betrothed
The Story:
In Naples, Italy, Don Juan Tenorio deceives Isabela by impersonating her lover, Duke Octavio, under the cover of darkness. After Isabela tells Don Juan that she wants to light a lamp, he confesses to her that he is not Duke Octavio. Isabela screams, and Don Juan is apprehended. He is permitted to escape, however, by his uncle Don Pedro Tenorio, the Spanish ambassador.
During a voyage to Spain, Don Juan is shipwrecked on the coast and is rescued by a fisherman’s daughter named Tisbea. When Don Juan regains consciousness in Tisbea’s arms, he begins to conquer this woman of the lower class. He ardently declares his love, discredits arguments regarding the inequality of their social stations and the responsibilities of marriage vows, and finally obtains her consent to his desires by promising to marry her. Don Juan has ordered his servant, Catalinón, to prepare their horses so that they can escape quickly after he has tricked the young woman. Catalinón repeatedly warns his master that he will some day have to face the consequences of his actions, but Don Juan answers him with the refrain, “That is a long way off.” There are also references to fire: the flames of passion and the burning of Tisbea’s hut.
Upon arriving in Seville, Don Juan discovers that the king has arranged his marriage to Doña Ana, the daughter of Commander Don Gonzalo de Ulloa. Doña Ana, however, is already in love with her cousin, the Marqués de la Mota, with whom she schedules a nightly meeting. Don Juan intercepts a letter containing a message for the Marqués de la Mota to meet Doña Ana at eleven o’clock, wearing a colored cape. The deceiver changes the hour of the meeting to midnight, trades capes with Mota, and arrives at Doña Ana’s at eleven o’clock. Although this rendezvous appears to contain the elements of a master deceit, it causes Don Juan’s demise, for Doña Ana becomes aware of the treachery and screams, alerting her father. The commander fights a duel with Don Juan and is killed. Don Juan departs rapidly from Doña Ana’s home and travels to a small village where a peasant woman named Aminta is going to marry a man named Batricio, who thinks that the presence of this nobleman is a bad omen for his wedding.
Batricio laments Don Juan’s prominent position at the wedding festivities. That night, when Aminta is expecting Batricio to come to her bed, Don Juan appears. Employing the same techniques he used previously to deceive Tisbea, he persuades Aminta to give in to his desires. As he has done in the past, Catalinón prepares the horses in advance, and both master and servant escape. As the two come to a church, however, Catalinón disturbs Don Juan—who is still amused about how he tricked the gullible peasant woman—with the information that Octavio has learned the identity of Isabela’s beguiler and Don Juan is obligated to marry her. Moreover, the Marqués de la Mota is advocating Don Juan’s castigation.
At the churchyard, Don Juan and his servant approach Don Gonzalo’s tomb, on which stands a statue of the dead commander. The beguiler read the tomb’s inscription: “Here the most loyal knight waits for the Lord to wreak vengeance upon a traitor.” This inscription insults Don Juan’s honor, and he proceeds to mock the statue by pulling its beard and by inviting it to dine with him so that it can retaliate against him. Don Juan is so absorbed in his response to the inscription’s affront to his honor that he does not remember his sworn oath of fidelity to Aminta, the oath that led her to give in to him. Don Juan had declared that if he fails to keep his promise to Aminta, God should kill him, by means of a dead man, for treachery and deceit.
Don Juan calmly approaches the hour of his supper engagement with the stone guest. The deceiver even continues to use mocking humor, carelessly entertaining his guest with verses that combine the theme of deceit with that of God’s justice being a long time away. In contrast to Don Juan’s demeanor, the stone guest is quiet, but then he requests that Don Juan shake hands to seal his agreement to the statue’s invitation to join him for supper the next evening. This handshake is the first time Don Juan feels intense fear, and his body drips with a cold sweat.
The final meeting for supper takes place in the chapel where the remains of the commander rest. Don Juan and the statue sit down together to a meal of scorpions and snakes, with wine made of gall and vinegar. Don Juan is the guest, so he is obliged to stay and to listen to mysterious voices that announce the theme of divine justice. When Don Juan again shakes hands with the statue, he feels a fire that begins to burn him. He wants to confess to a priest, but God has already condemned him to the eternal fire of hell.
The king, God’s representative on earth, becomes the dispenser of justice. He resolves the marriage problems that Don Juan has created: Octavio marries Isabela, Mota marries Ana, and Batricio marries Aminta. Tisbea, whose cold heart parallels that of the deceiver, is left without a husband.
Bibliography
Albrecht, Jane. The Playgoing Public of Madrid in the Time of Tirso de Molina. New Orleans: University Press of the South, 2001. Examines the nature of the audience for Tirso’s comedias. Describes how the playwright designed his works to please and influence playgoers.
Conlon, Raymond. “The Burlador and the Burlados: A Sinister Connection.” Bulletin of the Comediantes 42, no. 1 (Summer, 1990): 5-22. Discusses the symbolic connection between Don Juan and Duke Octavio, examining and comparing their treatment of women.
Simerka, Barbara A. “Eros and Atheism: Providential Ideology in the Don Juan Plays of Tirso de Molina and Thomas Shadwell.” In Echoes and Inscriptions: Comparative Approaches to Early Modern Spanish Literatures, edited by Barbara A. Simerka and Christopher B. Weimer. Lewisburg, Pa.: Bucknell University Press, 2000. Focuses on elements of atheism and religious skepticism in The Trickster of Seville and in an adaptation of the play by British playwright Thomas Shadwell.
Thacker, Jonathan. “Cervantes, Tirso de Molina, and the First Generation.” In A Companion to Golden Age Theatre. Rochester, N.Y.: Tamesis, 2007. Provides a concise, accessible overview of Tirso de Molina’s life and career, with analysis of The Trickster of Seville and his other plays.
Weinstein, Leo. The Metamorphoses of Don Juan. 1959. Reprint. New York: AMS Press, 1978. Traces the origin of the Don Juan legend to Tirso’s The Trickster of Seville and explains Don Juan as a practical joker. Shows how various authors have modified the original story.
Wilson, Margaret. Spanish Drama of the Golden Age. New York: Pergamon Press, 1969. Provides an excellent summary of the characteristics of the new comedia created by Lope de Vega Carpio. Compares Tirso’s comedias with those of Vega Carpio; chapters and 7 and 8 contain a helpful explanation of The Trickster of Seville.