El estudiante de Salamanca

As a work of literature, El estudiante de Salamanca is very clearly a Romantic text. This is especially seen in the character of Don Felix. In my last blog post, I referenced some British Romantic poetry including Byron’s Don Juan. As we talked about in class, the Don Juan character is a prominent figured in Romantic literature. Byron’s epic poem about this ladies’ man is perhaps his most famous work. Don Felix certainly shares many characteristics of Byron’s Don Juan. Don Juan and Don Felix are both handsome, strong, macho men with little to no concern for the consequences of his actions. Both figures are also passionate men with a great interest in seducing as many women as possible. However, there is a substantial difference between the two characters. Don Juan is heartless, with no significant affection for any one person other than himself. However, Don Felix has a clear connection to Elvira. Although he does seem to have been just as cold to her as the Don Juan character would have been, at the very least it appears as if he subconsciously has remorse for his actions towards her as her ghost appears in his life throughout the poem. Clearly, while the two characters are very similar, it is possible that Don Felix is slightly less of an inhumane heartbreaker.