Study Guide by Arpita Karwa
Don Juan by Lord Byron
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Lord Byron’s Don Juan is a satiric poem inspired by the
co
real-life story of Don Juan - a famous womanizer.
In the beginning Canto, the poet says that Don Juan lives
without his parents -- Father Jose and Mother Donna
Inez. Donna Julia, 23 years old, married, is senior to Don
begins.
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Juan by 6 years but falls in love with him. Their affair
Don Alfonso (Julia’s husband) suspects his wife is seeing
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someone else and yells at her in the bedroom. Juan is also
there, hidden. Alfonso finds Juan’s shoes and a fight
begins between the married couple. Consequently, Juan’s
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mother sends him to Cadiz to learn better conduct. He
leaves with his tutor Pedrillo and servants. Julia is sent to a
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nunnery. Juan still hasn't moved on from his love for
Julia. Juan’s ship sinks in a storm and the crew on the ship
runs out of food, they decide to draw lots to decide who
will be eaten. Juan’s dog is eaten after which it's Pedrillo’s
turn. Whoever eats him becomes mad and die. Only Juan
ta
is left and once he reaches the land, he is taken in by
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Haidee and her maid Zoe. Haidee is Lambro’s (a pirate)
daughter who makes money by capturing slaves. Haidee
and Juan speak different languages but still fall in love.
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Lambro returns back from a voyage. Juan is attacked by
Lambro’s fellow pirates and sent to Constantinople on a
ship. He finds he has come to a slave market. Haidee is
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pregnant and after learning about Juan’s loss, she
succumbs to a heart attack and dies. Juan is sold to Baba, a
black eunuch who takes him to a chamber. He warns Juan
that his testicles will be removed if he didn’t dress up as a
woman. Juan is then made to confront Gulbeyaz, the
pretty fourth wife of the sultan. The poet tells that it was
Gulbeyaz who noticed Juan in the market and asked Baba
to purchase him. She presents herself to Juan for sexual
pleasure but he refuses as he still loves Haidee. Soon, the
sultan comes and leaves back with Gulbeyaz. Juan is
dressed as a woman and is taken to a seraglio, the wom-
en’s quarters in the palace. He calls himself Juanna and
is made to share a bed with a 17-year-old woman named
Dudu. The next day, Juan, John and two women escape
and leave for Ismail - a Turkish fort at the Danube on
the Black Sea. A battle is ongoing. A Russian marshal
named Suvaroff has got the orders to take Ismail at any
cost. Juan and John join Suvaroff to fight against the
Turks.
John and Juan take the lives of forty thousand Turks.
Juan rescues a Muslim girl from Cossacks who were
about to kill her. He adopts her. Juan emerges as the
hero of the war. He is sent to Saint Petersburg with the
girl. Catherine II sees Juan in her court and starts to
desire him. Owing to the Russian climate, Juan falls ill
and is sent to England to restore normalcy. He is
bestowed with the title - special envoy; this is just
Catherine’s move to fast track his recovery so she can
bestow him with gifts. Juan gets into a fight with a
mugger in London. He shoots him. He feels sorry and
wants to take care of him but he is already dead.
Juan starts his search for an appropriate guardian for the
orphan girl - Leila. He selects Lady Pinchbeck. Juan
meets Lady Adeline Amundeville and Lord Henry
Amundeville to discuss issues of diplomacy. Juan does a
great job in a fox hunt, thereby finding him flattered by
women around including the Duchess Fitz-Fulke. This
makes Lady Adeline jealous. A sixteen-year-old girl
named Aurora Raby reminds him of Haidee. On one
night, Juan hears a weird noise and he sees a monk. He
feels confused and can’t figure out if this is a dream or a
ghost. The next day, Lord Henry sees Juan and by his
facial expressions, he assumes that Juan saw the Black
Friar. Juan sees Aurora and on that night, he thinks of
her and how he has suppressed his feelings after separa-
tion from Haidee. He hears the sound of the footsteps
and finds the Friar is wearing a hood. Juan finds out that
the ghost is no one else but the Duchess Fitz-Fulke.
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