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UC Riverside UC Riverside Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title On Both Sides of the Atlantic: Re-Visioning Don Juan and Don Quixote in Modern Literature and Film Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/66v5k0qs Author Perez, Karen Patricia Publication Date 2013 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA RIVERSIDE On Both Sides of the Atlantic: Re-Visioning Don Juan and Don Quixote in Modern Literature and Film A Dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Spanish by Karen Patricia Pérez December 2013 Dissertation Committee: Dr. James A. Parr, Chairperson Dr. David K. Herzberger Dr. Sabine Doran Copyright by Karen Patricia Pérez 2013 The Dissertation of Karen Patricia Pérez is approved: Committee Chairperson University of California, Riverside Acknowledgments I would like to express my deepest appreciation to my committer Chair, Distinguished Professor James A. Parr, an exemplary scholar and researcher, a dedicated mentor, and the most caring and humble individual in this profession whom I have ever met; someone who at our very first meeting showed faith in me, gave me a copy of his edition of the Quixote and welcomed me to UC Riverside. Since that day, with the most sincere interest and unmatched devotedness he has shared his knowledge and wisdom and guided me throughout these years. Without his dedication and guidance, this dissertation would not have been possible. For all of what he has done, I cannot thank him enough. Words fall short to express my deepest feelings of gratitude and affection, Dr. Parr. I would like to thank my committee members, Distinguished Professor David K. Herzberger and Associate Professor Sabine Doran, whose profound knowledge in their respective fields, lectures, guidance, and advice provided me with the foundation I needed to begin my research. In addition, I would like to thank Distinguished Professor Raymond L. Williams and Associate Professor Benjamin M. Liu for their insight and advice at an early stage of my dissertation. I would like to extend my appreciation to Professor Benito Gómez Madrid who introduced me to research in the humanities and has been a role model of dedication and scholarship in this profession, as well as to the Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program and Staff at California State University, Domínguez Hills, without iv whose support I would have never conducted my first research project at UC Riverside and met my Dissertation Chair. I am also indebted to the Director of Academic Preparation and Outreach in the Graduate Division, Maria Franco-Aguilar, a friend, whose unconditional help allowed me to conduct my first studies at this institution, as well as to the Hispanic Studies Department and the Graduate Division Staff for providing me with the information on procedures and regulations and for the distribution of this dissertation. Finally, I could not have completed my dissertation without the unconditional love, moral support, patience and encouragement of my family all these years as I pursued my career, and the support of my fellow doctoral students at UC Riverside that were always there with words of encouragement, covering my classes, or simply greeting me with a friendly smile. v Dedication I dedicate this dissertation to my mother, Gloria I. Layseca Márquez, who is an essential part of my life and my inspiration now and for the future. For her care, love, and dedication to my daughters, Katherine and Sara, and to my family, I am blessed and eternally grateful. vi ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION On Both Sides of the Atlantic: Re-Visioning Don Juan and Don Quixote in Modern Literature and Film by Karen Patricia Pérez Doctor of Philosophy, Graduate Program in Spanish University of California, Riverside, December 2013 Dr. James A. Parr, Chairperson The study analyzes contemporary literature and film based on two of the most universal characters in Spanish literature, Don Juan and Don Quixote, in both Spain and Hispanic America. Although both characters have undergone re-visioning from work to work through the centuries, it is the aim of this work to present the most salient characteristics of both archetypes in modern times only. The focus of this study is on works by well-known writers from Hispanic America and contemporary writers in the Spanish peninsula. The genres that form part of this study in Hispanic America for the Don Juan section are novel, theatre and poetry; and theater and novel for the Spanish section. The aim in this section is to highlight the qualities that make the protagonist bear the name of Don Juan and to discuss their contribution to the myth. vii In the segment on Don Quixote, the concentration is on narrative alone. The sequels analyzed are from the 20th- and 21st-century and attention is directed toward the characterization of the protagonist and his squire. Since the scope of this study deals with most contemporary works, and no sequels were found in Hispanic America after Juan Montalvo’s 1898 continuation, a brief discussion of previous works is offered, with a major focus on a contemporary Mexican film. Bearing in mind that one of the key factors for the success and popularity of both archetypal characters has been the reception they had among audiences after becoming mythical figures in the popular mind, a study is developed from another medium that greatly appeals to that popular mind: film. The works analyzed in relation to the literary adaptations are Leven’s Don Juan DeMarco (1995) and Roberto Girault’s El estudiante (2009) using the concept of intermediality as a framework. The study explores the re-characterizations of Don Juan and Don Quixote in modern times especially, taking into account time and place as well as the idiosyncrasies of certain re-visionists. viii Table of Contents Introduction………………………………………………………………………………1 Chapter 1: Don Juan in 19th-20th-century Hispanic America: Poetry, Theater and Novel…………………………………………………………………………7 Chapter 2: Don Juan in Spanish Literature: From El burlador de Sevilla y convidado de piedra to Don Juan en la mancebía …………………………………………49 Chapter 3: Don Juan and Don Quixote: Intermediality……………………………….....99 Chapter 4: Don Quixote in Spanish America and in Contemporary Spanish Literature…………………………………………………………………...159 Conclusion …………………………………………………………………………….211 Works Cited……………………………………………………………………………231 ix List of Figures Figure 1: Mise-en-abîme of authorial texts in a literary adaptation to film………….102 Figure 2: Don Juan DeMarco (1995). Opening scene……………………………….113 Figure 3: Don Juan DeMarco (1995). The new Don Juan “proposed” in the title.….115 Figure 4: Don Juan DeMarco (1995). Don Juan presented through his reflection in a mirror and with a mask……………………………………………………..119 Figure 5: Don Juan, 1998. Jacques Weber playing the role of Don Juan.……………121 Figure 6: Don Juan en los infiernos, 1991. Fernando Guillén as Don Juan…………..122 Figure 7: Don Juan DeMarco, 1995. Don Juan is in control. ………………………..132 Figure 8: El estudiante, 2009. A bird’s-eye angle effect on Chano look……………..145 Figure 9: El estudiante, 2009. Notice how the high angles continue to make Chano’s image smaller..……………………………………………………………...147 Figure 10: El estudiante, 2009. Note how the light is projected on Chano’s side.……..148 Figure 11: El estudiante, 2009. Association of Chano with an armor………………….150 Figure 12: El estudiante, 2009. Ironic treatment of Chano with a close up to his feet…152 Figure 13: El estudiante, 2009. He is the student in the dark…………………………..153 Figure 14: El estudiante, 2009. The glorious moment; Chano returns…………………157 x Introduction Salvador de Madariaga suggests in Don Juan as a European Figure that there are four great personages that reside on the “Olympus of European Characters”: Hamlet, Faust, Don Quixote, and Don Juan (3-4), two of which are Spanish. One of the main ideas that emerges from Madariaga’s work has to do with universality, not just any kind of universality but one that involves a living presence: “Hamlet, Faust, Don Quixote and Don Juan are not symbols; they are persons, carrying about that enigmatic air which all human beings really alive manage to convey” (4). In this sense, these four archetypal characters have achieved immortality and have imposed their presence on the generations that came after their fictional birth and death, up to the present moment. Even without knowing any of the literary works in which Don Juan appears, it is very likely that any individual on the street of whom we might inquire will be able to attribute some of the following characteristics to Don Juan: handsome and gallant, passionate, sensual, or one who knows how to attract and seduce women. Another might feel that Don Juan is: a deceiver, a liar, womanizer, and unscrupulous. Nevertheless, seen one way or another, most of them would associate his name with two key words: seduction and trickery. The main reason is that Don Juan—like Don Quixote—has rebelled against the pen and the author’s hand that gave him his written form and has taken possession of a body and become a universal character that continues to survive and thrive, often by transforming himself. However, unlike Don Quixote—undoubtedly a Spanish character and a possessor of very peculiar characteristics—in the case of Don Juan, critics even today disagree 1 concerning his origin; and because of the many variations on his character in the works he appears in, Don Juan undergoes many "re-visions" from work to work. According to Leo Weinstein in Metamorphoses of Don Juan, even the Spanish are divided between Tirso de Molina and José Zorrilla; the French between Molière and Musset, the Germans between Mozart or Hoffmann, and the English between Byron and Shaw (2). Despite their disagreement and the different versions that exist of Don Juan, he is considered one of the demigods of the “European Olympus” (Madariaga 3-4).