Don Juan Essay, Research Paper

At seventeen he entered Cambridge University. Determined to overcome his physical handicap, Byron became a good rider, swimmer, boxer, and marksman. He enjoyed literature but cared little for other subjects. After graduation he embarked on a grand tour that supplied inspiration for many of his later works. Of the many poems in which Byron reveals details from his own experiences, Don Juan offers the most intimate look into the life of the artist.

Canto I of Don Juan describes Juan s mother, Donna Inez as being a woman who look d a lecture, each eye a sermon (Longman 577). Donna Inez watched carefully over every detail of her son s education and Catherine Byron did the same for her son, attempting in her clumsy way to provide Byron with preparation for life as a member of the gentry. Mrs. Byron became obsessed with making her son perfect and he in turn submitted stoically to various forms of torture (Grosskurth 29). Although the description of Donna Inez is often interpreted as being directed at Byron s ex-wife, much of Inez s personality is similar to Catherine s. It is possible that Byron s opinion of women was formed by his exposure to these two and many of his female characters would bear their mark.

In stanza 61 of Canto I Donna Julia is described with a mixture of affection and sarcasm. Bright with intelligence, and fair and smooth her stature tall-I hate a dumpy woman (Longman 586). Byron begins with a fairly conventional description of a pretty girl but ends the stanza with what seems to be a truly backhanded compliment.

Donna Julia follows the pattern of the idealized heroine. She is portrayed to be pretty, gentle, sweet, the perfect and passive wife. When she interacts with Don Juan, however Donna Julia breaks out of the traditional role by being the older woman who is eager to educate young Juan in the ways of love. Byron thus reverses gender roles and with a sexually mature woman who actively seducing a naive and innocent young man. Don Juan at sixteen is a pious mamma s boy, dedicated to heaven by a mother from hell (Eisler 612) . This relates directly to Byron as a youth who had been reared by a suffocating mother and prematurely initiated into sexuality by someone the family trusted. His mother unknowingly entrusted her son with a viper when she brought Donna Inez into the family home. While Donna Julia is not as vicious as May Grey, she took equal advantage of the family s trust.

Even more general attributes of this poem and it s characters reflect details from the author s own life. Juan is able to survive shipwreck because he could swim. Byron was also known as an exceptionally strong swimmer. Don Juan embarks on a grand adventure that includes travels very similar to Byron s own. He has a number of sexual conquests during his journey, as did the randy author. Even the naivet of young Juan is strikingly similar to the shy young George Gordon.

In Don Juan, Byron says I want a hero and he adopts a one from the past. He alters the legend of Don Juan to fit his own needs because he cannot find a modern hero that fits the bill. Don Juan s character a direct personification of the poet who has grown older and wiser that his young subject. The author is reflected instead in the many details of the epic drawn from the author s own experiences. Although Don Juan s narrator is not purely Byron s voice, it does seem to speak for him. The poet expresses himself through his interpretation of the story and by using the voice of the narrator to speak for him. Byron s narrator is always present in the poem, commenting and showing off, making quite certain that the he is not being ignored. His voice permeates Don Juan and he appears to be reflecting much of his own life in his creation. Perhaps Byron used this enormous poem as a catharsis for his trouble emotions; perhaps this is the reason that Don Juan was never finished. It was extended throughout the remainder of the poet s life. The poem, like Byron s psychological healing was never finished.