Don Juan Canto 1

SUMMARIZE the tale here. If you choose this one, I expect a DETAILED summary of both plot and characters.

Don Juan is our hero. He was born is Seville, a city in Spain. His parents lived by a stream. His father, Don Jose (which an accent on the o and not the e, but I'm not sure how to manage that on the discussion board) was a noble man, or Higaldo and purely a Spanish man at that. The man was an amazing rider. Don Juan's mother was Donna Inez and she was incredibly smart, well educated in every science and every "christian language" (though I'm not sure what exactly that entails personally, it later mentions Greek, Latin, French, and Spanish, though the last was a given) and was as virtuous as she was intelligent. Then her memory is also perfect and she knew many plays by heart that she could correct actors in their lines. She and her husband, who was notably less intelligent, often fought, but no one knew why though many people guessed.
Don Juan was a curly haired and naughty child. The only thing his parents could agree on was doting on the boy and they wouldn't send him to school to improve his behavior. His parents lived unhappily though, to the point of wishing each other was dead. However, they acted properly in public.
One day, Inez called in druggists and physicians and insisted her husband was crazy. Since he was often lucid though, she decided he was simply a bad man. When asked, she never explained why she thought either of these things however. She kept notes on his behavior and received many letters on the topic of his behavior. But she simply bore the information.

The couple's friends and family tried to help, but only made matters worse. Lawyers were trying to work out a divorce for them, until Don Jose died and spoiled the case. All of his land and houses were left to Donna Inez of course and Don Juan was then raised by just his mother. She decided that her son would be raised properly as befit his family names and holdings. He would be taught of chivalry, along with riding, fencing, gunnery, and how to scale a fortress. The thing his mother wanted most of the boy was that he lived by good and strong morals. Because of the, Don Juan had tutors for every subject and learned everything except for natural history, because it would provide a sexual education in the form of plant life. She also didn't care for mythology, so his education in that topic was a bit off as well. Though his tutors were loathe to exclude so much, especially with her concern for morals, they did somehow manage.

When Juan was sixteen and a page. Everyone but his mom thought he was nearly grown. During this time, Inez had a friend, Donna Julia. She was amazingly pretty and of Moorish origins. This woman was the result of a Moorish great great grandmother and a Hidalgo from a line that intermarried not cousins, but nieces and aunts. Julia was the last of this line at this point. She is twenty-three, married, and loyal to her husband, who was fifty and named Alfonso. The public had a very average opinion of him, neither hateful nor loving. He was still a jealous man though.

Julia liked Juan as a child and would often caress him. That became inappropriate by the time he was sixteen of course. She grew distant and he grew bashful around her, both seeming embarrassed. Julia knew it was because of her attraction to him, but Juan had no clue. Though she acted coolly, he did take it to heart after feeling her small hand in his own. When they would see each other, she would seem sad but it actually looked sweeter than her smile because it was full of deeper feelings.

Donna Julia felt herself falling in love with Don Juan, but she tried her best to not allow it and to remain faithful. She vowed to never see Juan again. She went to his mother's the next day and expected him to come, but twice the door opened and it wasn't him. Her anticipation made her decide she'd rather confront her feelings to overcome temptation. Don Juan hadn't a clue of any of this, or at least that nothing would come of it.

One day Juan was walking by the brook when he laid beneath a tree as he thought. Here he meditated on many things, himself, the earth, war and earthquakes, air-balloons, the skies and Donna Julia's eyes. He thought so long that he was late for dinner.

On the sixth of June, around six thirty or possibly closer to seven, Donna Julia sat with Don Juan. They might just be staring lovingly at each other, but then they also might be kissing. At least. It's implied more was done, I'll even suggest that they had sex. Julia sighed, but then cried and though she said she would not, she still did it.

Then we jump to November. It was a cloudy night. At midnight, Donna Julia was asleep when a loud noise occurred at her door. A servant banged at the door and told her Don Alfonso was coming with a bunch of people. They all entered her bad chambers then, while Donna Julia was panicking, screaming, crying, and yawning. Her maid, Antonia, tried to make it look like she had been in her mistress's bed. The men searched the room, but they didn't find what they were searching for. The entire time, Don Juan was hiding in the bed, the one place the men didn't search. Julia took much insult by this searching and decided right there she would divorce Don Alfonso.

Don Alfonso was confused by this declaration. Antonia, the maid, went about the room fixing things. Alfonso watched her suspiciously. With nothing found, Alfonso tried to beg forgiveness, but didn't receive it. When he tried to speak again, Antonia cut him off and sent him away. They all left, the lawyer lingering the longest and getting the door shut in his face. After all the men left, Don Juan came out of hiding, but before he and Julia could start fooling around again, Antonia insisted on sticking him in the closet.

Don Alfonso returned and sent Antonia away, though she tried to linger he wouldn't allow it. He made excuses to his wife for coming in late, but not for his actual actions. He asked for her forgiveness which she gave him under certain conditions. He was thinking about this when he tripped over Don Juan's shoes. He left to get his sword and Julia sent Don Juan to flee. When he tried to run, he ran into Don Alfonso and knocked the man down in fear of death. The two men fought but then Juan ran off with Alfonso still holding the man's shirt.

So Don Juan ran home naked. Don Alfonso sued his wife for divorce. Donna Inez then sent her son away to Cadiz. He hoped he could repair his morals by traveling Europe. Donna Julia was sent to a nunnery. She did write a letter that showed her tragic love for Don Juan.