ABSTRACT
Don Juan’s fortunes change sharply through the centuries. At first regarded as an appalling villain, he is later abruptly transformed into a tragic idealist. Many critics see the beginnings of this sporting Don Juan already in El Burlador, whose hero seems to delight in his skill at trickery as much as in the ensuing sensual gratification. The sporting instinct is very prominent in the hero of Pushkin’s play of 1830. It will be recalled that this Don Juan first contrives a meeting with Anna by impersonating a holy recluse. Some modern Don Juans have been shown as similarly motivated. The transformation of Don Juan into a hero has thus entered into a new phase. Byron had implied that the battle between self-indulgence and conformity was part of a wider conflict between natural and unnatural attitudes in human conduct and society.
