figure
Don Juan
also: Don Giovanni
The legendary libertine seducer of Spanish/European literary tradition; Anna Petrovna casts Platonov as a Don Juan first teasingly, then, later in the same act, as a blunt reproach ("a Don Juan and a pitiful coward in one body").
Reading notes
- Untitled Play (Bezottsovshchina / "Platonov") §3153 Don Juan
Anna Petrovna teasingly casts Platonov as the legendary seducer Don Juan; the label recurs at loc 3981 as her own harsher verdict on him.
- Untitled Play (Bezottsovshchina / "Platonov") §3981 A Don Juan and a pitiful coward in one body
Anna Petrovna's blunt diagnosis of Platonov, echoing her own earlier teasing use of the Don Juan label (loc 3153) but now delivered as a genuine reproach rather than a compliment.
- The Retired Slave §4 Don Juan
The legendary Spanish/European literary seducer, invoked here as shorthand for a compulsive womanizer; Tanya's ignorance of the reference (she asks what it means) underscores her youth and simplicity.