Hi Everyone, I just joined and this is my first post, so please go easy on me! I have written a novel that I think would be primarily enjoyed by women, but men are certainly welcome to chime in if they want. The subject is the legend of Don Juan, an old Spanish story originating from around the late 16th/early 17th century. I am a former opera singer =and the first role I ever sang was in a role in Mozart's Don Giovanni (Italian for Don Juan). Through the years I have been throughly fascinated and inspired by not only my experience, the music and the libretto but the overall legend. I have tried to be as true to the original spirit of the story as possible, setting it in 16th century Spain and using the characters from the opera but it deviates from the libretto quite a bit. Basically, I am sending some test balloons out. Without outlining the entire plot, suffice to say that I have tried to create a character in Don Juan that is truly irresistible in terms of sexual magnetism and charisma but at the same time makes no excuses for his callous abandonment of his conquests. Similar to the opera but I go much more psychologically in depth. Spoiler alert- For those who know the legend, Don Juan does not get dragged to Hell by a statue. His fate is much more realistic. I have humanized him and developed his character more than I believe anyone else ever has. That said, the cruelty is there. I am hoping that readers will be drawn to him but also repelled. It's "complicated". So ladies, would such a character be of interest to you? It’s not a politically correct plot. I do worry about the “me too” culture that we live in. It’s not that I disagree with “me too”; it’s just that I don’t know if such an ambiguous character will appeal to women in the current climate. I hope this isn’t too vague for anyone to comment. I so appreciate anyone's insight and thank you!
Sounds like a great idea to me. Don Juan has fascinated and repelled audiences for hundreds of years. Ambiguous characters and their nefarious doings are generally more interesting than "politically correct plots" about woke Romeos and Juliets who draw up written agreements before embarking om a holy palmers kiss.
I don't know that "me too" necessarily applies. The guy was in love with collecting conquests, but he had devastating charm and there was no element of force. The issue came when he dropped the women immediately after giving them the experience of their lives, and of course some of them had risked a lot to take him as a lover.
I dont like such guys in real life (in my personal experience, they tend to be jocks). But that doesnt stop me from reading about them or watching movies and shows with Casanova/Don Juan characters. Makes for good reads/tv
I neither love nor love to hate such characters. It's all hatred from my corner. So no, I wouldn't read such a book. I would read the back of the cover and immediately put it back down.
When I was young I never could believe that whole Leporello catalogue aria thing. How could his master, who presumably was still a young, handsome man, have racked up such a list of conquests? Then I saw Stanley Wexler perform the title role in Don Giovanni at the Lyric Opera in Kansas City. My gosh. If the Don looked and acted like that, he wouldn't have had to seduce anyone. Women would have been throwing themselves at him in the street. (That was sometime in the 1980s, and it's a pity I can't find a photo of how Mr. Wexler looked back then.) In early 1989 I saw Don Giovanni again at the Volksoper in Vienna. Don't recall who the lead was that night, but he was a big yawn. All his partners/victims would have been done in their sleep. Conclusion? Charm, chemistry, and charisma are everything. In real life, that's the kind of guy who makes me run like hell, and I was never attractive enough to make them want to run after me. But from an artistic distance? Yeah, entertaining. Though I do expect them to get theirs in the end. So to speak.
