86 Don Juan in Literature (aka The Case of the Red-Hot Lover)

The History of Literature

Jacke Wilson

Arts, History, Books

4.6 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 2 April 2017

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

From his earliest days as a popular legend, through many appearances in drama and poetry and fiction and film, the sexual conquistador Don Juan has been the vehicle for authors and artists to wrestle with themes like sexual desire, guilt, honor, gender relations, and the psychology of an unrepentant sinner. Early versions of Don Juan condemned this profligate lover to hell, but as society’s views of morality evolved, so too did Don Juan, with some fascinating results. Host Jacke Wilson takes a look at the many faces of Don Juan, from the character’s earliest stage appearance in 1630 to the recent Jersey Boy incarnation in the film version Don Jon (2013), with stops along the way for Moliere, Mozart, Goldoni, George Bernard Shaw, Sam Malone from Cheers – and of course, the great “satiric epic” Don Juan, written by the “mad, bad, and dangerous to know” Lord Byron. FREE GIFT! Write a review on iTunes (or another site), then send us an email at jackewilsonauthor@gmail.com to receive your free History of Literature card as a thank you gift. Act now while supplies last! Show Notes: Contact the host at jackewilsonauthor@gmail.com or by leaving a voicemail at 1-361-4WILSON (1-361-494-5766). You can find more literary discussion at jackewilson.com and more episodes of the series at historyofliterature.com. Check out our Facebook page at facebook.com/historyofliterature. You can follow Jacke Wilson at his Twitter account @WriterJacke. You can also follow Mike and the Literature Supporters Club (and receive daily book recommendations) by looking for @literatureSC. Music Credits: “Handel – Entrance to the Queen of Sheba” by Advent Chamber Orchestra (From the Free Music Archive / CC by SA). “Monkeys Spinning Monkeys” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0. *** This show is a part of the Podglomerate network, a company that produces, distributes, and monetizes podcasts. We encourage you to visit the website and sign up for our newsletter for more information about our shows, launches, and events. For more information on how The Podglomerate treats data, please see our Privacy Policy. Since you're listening to The History of Literature, we'd like to suggest you also try other Podglomerate shows surrounding literature, history, and storytelling like Storybound, Micheaux Mission, and The History of Standup. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	The History of Literature Podcast is a member of the Podglamorate Network and LIT Hub Radio.
0:07.0	This episode is brought to you by Vonage. With Vonage Voice API, you get comprehensive call analytics,
0:16.0	virtual assistance, automated speech recognition,
0:19.0	and text to speech benefits across multiple languages.
0:23.0	Developers can add smart voice functionalities into your app,
0:27.0	giving your customers an easier way to reach you,
0:29.0	and you can start collecting real-time data
0:32.0	to drive more meaningful engagement to move your
0:34.1	business forward. Learn more at Vonage.com. The The Hello, we're listening to the climactic scene from Mozart's opera Don Giovanni, where the
1:17.2	statue of the commander comes to life and says, I'm here for dinner, Don Giovanni, you invited me, and it's time for you to repent and die.
1:28.0	In the movie Amadeus, Salieri says that this is Mozart resurrecting and attempting to exercise the ghost of his father, Leopold, who drove him so hard and whose memory had haunted him all his life.
1:40.0	Why did Don Giovanni need to repent?
1:43.0	What sin did he need to have forgiven?
1:46.0	In a word, sex.
1:49.0	Mozart's Don Giovanni is one of many examples of our subject today,
1:52.0	the mythical literary figure Don Juan.
1:55.4	From its earliest days as a popular legend through many instances in drama and poetry and
2:00.5	fiction, the sexual conquistador Don Juan has been returned to again and again,
2:05.8	as authors and artists wrestle with the central paradox of human, and particularly male sexuality.
2:13.0	Men dream of becoming a Don Juan
2:15.0	with partner after partner after partner.
2:17.8	As Chris Rock might say,
	...

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