Gunst der Stunde

Abstract Don Juan is rightly regarded as the most famous seducer in literary history. However, only few attention has been paid so far to the political order in which Don Juan acts. Two famous seventeenth-century Don Juan plays, Tirso de Molina’s El burlador de Sevilla and Molière’s Le Festin de Pierre ( Dom Juan ), characterize Don Juan as a royal favourite, i. e. as the protagonist of a favouritism that makes his seductions possible and his transgressions visible. Thus, Don Juan’s case shows that the royal favourite is not only a historical phenomenon, but also a key figure of early modern theatre, ideally suited for reflecting upon pressing social and political questions. In addition (and more generally speaking), Tirso de Molina’s and Molière’s plays exemplify the relationship between theatre and a court literature in the long tradition of Castiglione’s Cortegiano .