Don Juan (Wilbur)
by Jean-baptiste Moliere, Richard Wilbur

THE STORY: Long ago in Sicily, the legend of Don Juan began.

In this, Moliére's version of the tale, we meet Don Juan again.

He is a man who appreciates beauty wherever and whenever he sees it—and beauty is almost always a pretty woman, who he appreciates by winning her love.

Don Juan is on a constant quest to conquer women and to enjoy the passion they provoke.

He is accompanied, somewhat reluctantly, by his manservant Sganarelle, who backs him up to the public, but behind his back tries to warn unsuspecting maidens.

Sganarelle and Don Juan constantly debate the presence of Heaven, Hell and God—Don Juan believing none of these things exist, Sganarelle knowing otherwise.

In the course of his attempted seductions, Don Juan is chased and challenged by those he has wronged in the past—or by their very angry brothers whose job it is to uphold family honor.

In the end, Sganarelle wins the debate when Don Juan, heeding no warnings as to his behavior and how it affects his after life, is swallowed up by the Earth and sent to Hell.

He's got his due, leaving behind a world of broken-hearted women and unpaid wages to Sganarelle.