The Lost Diary of Don Juan: An Account of the True Arts of Passion and the Perilous Adventure of Love
320
The Lost Diary of Don Juan: An Account of the True Arts of Passion and the Perilous Adventure of Love
320eBook
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Overview
It is after knowing countless women that he is convinced by the Marquis to keep a diary, and it is here within its pages that Don Juan reveals his greatest adventures and the Arts of Passion he mastered. But what finally compels him to confess everything and risk losing his life, livelihood, and honor is the most perilous adventure of all -- the irresistible fall into the madness of love with the only woman who could ever make him forget all others.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781416556541 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Atria Books |
| Publication date: | 05/01/2007 |
| Sold by: | SIMON & SCHUSTER |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 320 |
| Sales rank: | 457,480 |
| File size: | 541 KB |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
I write in the naked pages of this diary so that the truth will be known and my fate will not be left to the rumors and lies already whispering through the streets of Sevilla. Many, I am sure, will try to turn my life into a morality play after I am dead, but no man's life is so easily understood or dismissed.
I would not risk inscribing my secrets in this diary had I not been convinced to do so by my friend and benefactor, Don Pedro, the Marquis de la Mota. I argued that nothing I would write could be circulated in my lifetime without my being condemned by the Holy Office of the Inquisition and burned at the stake. The Inquisitor himself branded this danger into my imagination just yesterday. Perhaps it is this fresh threat, or the ultimatum of the King, that has at last caused me to pick up this quill and ink these words. The Marquis insisted that it is for posterity that I should write this diary, one's reputation being the only true immortality. But it is hardly vanity alone that causes me to write.
Thirty-six years have passed since my birth, or more correctly since my mother left me, a swaddled bundle, in the barn of the Convento de la Madre Sagrada. It is no doubt a sign of my advancing years that I have been persuaded for the first time in my life to consider how I will be remembered. Yet there is another desire that leads me to write in this diary. It is to pass on what I have learned about the Arts of Passion and of the holiness of womanhood. Since I have forsworn matrimony and have no heirs of my own blood, I must look to all who follow as my descendants and try to share with them what I have learned from the women I have been privileged to know so well.
A man's recollections always tend toward self-flattery, so I will not rely on my testimony alone and will instead write, as faithfully as possible, not only the events but the words themselves that were shouted during a duel or whispered during a passionate embrace.
It is this same pride that leads me to begin my account with the most daring seduction I have ever undertaken. My ambition was nothing less than to free the King's chaste and lonely daughter from her imprisonment in the royal palace of the Alcázar -- for a night. I knew that if I were caught, it would be my privilege as a noble to place my head on the executioner's block and avoid the shame of the gallows.
A man's ambition, however, like his fate, is not always known to him in advance, and as I left the arms of the Widow Elvira, I had no hint of the danger that I would embrace last night.
Copyright © 2007 by Idea Architects
Table of Contents
Editor's Note
Rumors and Lies
A Flicker of Passion
The Desire of a Woman
No One Will Ever Know
Not Every Man with a Mask Is a Burglar
The Love of His Angels
A Vision of God
This I Cannot Do at Any Price
Like Salt into the Land
A Man Is Not Just What He Is Born
The Education of a Libertine
Gold in the Veins of Sevilla
The Slave Market
Taberna del Pirata
Secrets Never Stay Buried
A Thousand Nights with a Stranger
Corpus Christi
The Bullfight
Sins of the Flesh
The Deadliest Sin
Alma's Intuition
The Masquerade Party
Duchess Cristina's Invitation
The Truth
Knowledge That Could Lead to Our Ruin
Alma's Return
A New World
A Moth to a Flame
A Tour of Heaven
A Child of Deception and Cruelty
The Wager of Love
The Secret of Marriage
Safe Passage
Alma's Temptation
In the Name of the Holy Inquisition
Confession at the Alcázar
Dueling on the Rooftops of Sevilla
Doña Ana's Bedchamber
A Farewell
The Last Night: A Final Entry
Glossary and Notes
Acknowledgments
Author's Note
Reading Group Guide
Questions and Topics for Discussion
1. As an orphan Don Juan depended on the convent and Padre Miguel for healing and growth. Don Juan writes: "It was from Padre Miguel that I learned God always sides with the weak, with the widow, and with the orphan" (p. 33). Discuss the quote and focus on the role of the statues, priests, and nuns during his early years.
2. One of the central themes in the story is passion and seduction, and Don Juan's ability to deliver these experiences to women. What qualities does Don Juan possess that make him so successful? What does this say of Don Juan? How would the women he encounters respond?
3. Don Juan repeatedly discusses man's inability to be monogamous and "to be faithful to one's wife seems like an unnecessary penance to almost all men.... I am not willing to wed a woman just to be unfaithful and untrue" (p. 111). What do you think of this statement? How does Don Juan's attitude change by the end of the book?
4. Don Juan's friend and benefactor, Don Pedro, the Marquis de la Mota, played a critical part in the development of Don Juan's noble character. Discuss the significance of the Marquis throughout the book. What forges their relationship?
5. Consider the following statement spoken by Fatima: "There was more pleasure in one kiss from the man I loved than a thousand nights with a stranger" (p. 120). Does Don Juan feel the same? What about the other characters?
6. For some, a sexual experience is a union and a bridge to profound feelings of oneness and bliss. How does The Lost Diary of Don Juan celebrate this idea of a blissful union between lovers?
7. How does the author illustrate the vision of Don Juan's true compassion for women to the reader?
8. Sword fighting was a critical part of a gentleman's existence during this time period. Discuss the art of sword fighting and how Don Juan develops his skill to perfection. How do his strength and his ability to fight with his sword affect how the women in Sevilla view him?
9. Finally Don Juan discusses "True Passionate Love" (p. 257) as he forgets all other women and discovers his need for only Doña Ana. What is it about Doña Ana that secures a hold over Don Juan? What does she have that other woman do not?
10. Don Juan eloquently breathes life into his desire and sensual ability to pleasure women, and is very successful at the art. Consider the following: "Was it not God Himself who made man to desire woman -- flesh of his flesh -- and for a woman's desire also to be for her man?" (p. 248). How is religion used to support Don Juan's relationships with women and his heightened talents?
11. Don Juan declares, "We shared our bodies with a fusion of love and lust -- which I now understand is nothing more and nothing less than the holy consort of love" p. 274). Discuss the beauty in the above statement. How does Abrams illustrate Juan's innocence and tenderness? How does this ending support the passionate ideals of today?
Tips to Enhance Your Book Club
1. Throw a Don Juan party and view the 2005 movie Casanova, directed by Lasse Hallström. Discuss the parallels and differences between Casanova and Don Juan.
2. For further reading on the historical influences of Don Juan, visit don-juan.net and en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Juan to learn more about Don Juan's story. After reading these sites, discuss the historical influences of Don Juan.
3. The tender topics courageously approached by author Douglas Carlton Abrams lends itself to discussion of the oldest debated topics in the world: passion and relationships. Read the book coauthored by Doug's wife, Rachel Carlton Abrams, M.D., The Multi-Orgasmic Woman, for a further exploration of women's passion and sexuality. Let both books act as platforms for further discussion and appreciation of various viewpoints on the topic.
Introduction
Questions and Topics for Discussion
1. As an orphan Don Juan depended on the convent and Padre Miguel for healing and growth. Don Juan writes: "It was from Padre Miguel that I learned God always sides with the weak, with the widow, and with the orphan" (p. 33). Discuss the quote and focus on the role of the statues, priests, and nuns during his early years.
2. One of the central themes in the story is passion and seduction, and Don Juan's ability to deliver these experiences to women. What qualities does Don Juan possess that make him so successful? What does this say of Don Juan? How would the women he encounters respond?
3. Don Juan repeatedly discusses man's inability to be monogamous and "to be faithful to one's wife seems like an unnecessary penance to almost all men.... I am not willing to wed a woman just to be unfaithful and untrue" (p. 111). What do you think of this statement? How does Don Juan's attitude change by the end of the book?
4. Don Juan's friend and benefactor, Don Pedro, the Marquis de la Mota, played a critical part in the development of Don Juan's noble character. Discuss the significance of the Marquis throughout the book. What forges their relationship?
5. Consider the following statement spoken by Fatima: "There was more pleasure in one kiss from the man I loved than a thousand nights with a stranger" (p. 120). Does Don Juan feel the same? What about the other characters?
6. For some, a sexual experience is a union and a bridge to profound feelings of oneness and bliss. How does The Lost Diary of Don Juan celebrate this idea of a blissful union between lovers?
7.How does the author illustrate the vision of Don Juan's true compassion for women to the reader?
8. Sword fighting was a critical part of a gentleman's existence during this time period. Discuss the art of sword fighting and how Don Juan develops his skill to perfection. How do his strength and his ability to fight with his sword affect how the women in Sevilla view him?
9. Finally Don Juan discusses "True Passionate Love" (p. 257) as he forgets all other women and discovers his need for only Doña Ana. What is it about Doña Ana that secures a hold over Don Juan? What does she have that other woman do not?
10. Don Juan eloquently breathes life into his desire and sensual ability to pleasure women, and is very successful at the art. Consider the following: "Was it not God Himself who made man to desire woman—flesh of his flesh—and for a woman's desire also to be for her man?" (p. 248). How is religion used to support Don Juan's relationships with women and his heightened talents?
11. Don Juan declares, "We shared our bodies with a fusion of love and lust—which I now understand is nothing more and nothing less than the holy consort of love" p. 274). Discuss the beauty in the above statement. How does Abrams illustrate Juan's innocence and tenderness? How does this ending support the passionate ideals of today?
Tips to Enhance Your Book Club
1. Throw a Don Juan party and view the 2005 movie Casanova, directed by Lasse Hallström. Discuss the parallels and differences between Casanova and Don Juan.
2. For further reading on the historical influences of Don Juan, visit http://www.don-juan.net and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Juan to learn more about Don Juan's story. After reading these sites, discuss the historical influences of Don Juan.
3. The tender topics courageously approached by author Douglas Carlton Abrams lends itself to discussion of the oldest debated topics in the world: passion and relationships. Read the book coauthored by Doug's wife, Rachel Carlton Abrams, M.D., The Multi-Orgasmic Woman, for a further exploration of women's passion and sexuality. Let both books act as platforms for further discussion and appreciation of various viewpoints on the topic.