As a Seton Hall Prep student, I have learned a lot more about social issues in Spanish culture
by reading a popular Spanish play, The Trickster of Seville and the Guest of Stone by Tirso de
Molina. This is a play that allows the readers to observe the role of gender, corruption, and
mockery through the perspective of Don Juan and the women who have been mocked by Don.
John. In this work, the great Trickster of Seville, Don Juan, deceives all women to conquer them
and have sexual relations with them. It is clear that Don Juan is quite a handsome and attractive
man. However, it could be said that Don Juan is a vain and selfish man. In reality, Don Juan
does not care about people’s feelings, interpersonal relationships, or death.
In the first mockery of the play, Don Juan pretends to be Octavio to have sex with
Isabella and enjoy her. Don Juan has escaped from this situation because he is Don Pedro’s
nephew. In this situation, Don Pedro lets Don Juan escape from Naples because he lies to the
King that Octavio had enjoyed Isabella, not Don Juan. Also, in the second mockery of the play,
Tisbea, a beautiful woman who mocks men, helps Don Juan after the shipwreck. In this
situation, it could be said that the relationship between Don Juan and Tisbea is quite
consensual. However, Don Juan denies his promise to marry Tisbea and Don Juan leaves him
alone. So, Tisbea, in the end, gets very angry at being mocked by Don Juan.
The truth is that the third mockery is the most emblematic of the work and shows us the
true personality of Don Juan. Don Juan is Marques de Mota’s friend even though Don Juan has
cheated him and had relationships with his lover, Doña Ana. Again, Don Juan pretends to be
someone else to have relationships with a woman. In this case, it could be said that Don Juan
has dishonored Doña Ana. On this occasion, Don Juan has relations with Doña Ana and then
kills her father, Don Gonzalo. On this occasion, Don Juan has committed two mortal sins: he
has sex without being a husband and killed a person.

In the fourth taunt, Don Juan breaks the romantic relationship between Aminta and
Batricio. On this occasion, Batricio becomes very jealous of Don Juan. In this joke, Don Juan
wants to have sex with Aminta; So, Don Juan tells Batracio that he had enjoyed his love,
Aminta. However, at that point in the plot, he hadn’t enjoyed her. In reality, Don Juan, a vain
man, uses the concept that Aminta would have to marry him because she no longer had honor
for not having been a virgin before marriage. Therefore, it could be said that Don Juan takes
advantage of the situation and wants to do what he wants regardless of the consequences of
his actions.

At the end of the story, the great Trickster of Seville ends up mocked by Don Gonzalo. In
this situation, Don Juan wants to mock more and asks Don Gonzalo, a dead man, to dine with
him. Actually, Don Gonzalo accepts this invitation to have dinner with Don Juan. At dinner, it is
clear that Don Gonzalo wants Don Juan to give him an explanation for having dishonored his
daughter, Doña Ana. Furthermore, it is noted that Don Gonzalo tells Don Juan that it is too late
to apologize for the sins of him; Don Juan will have to go to hell for having mocked and
dishonored women in life. In any case, Tirso de Molina’s El Burlador de Sevilla lets us see the
vain character and machismo of Don Juan, someone who ends up mocked.